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My company's cover name was "Boyd Company" I did find such a company in Las Vegas and stood in front of it while a pix was taken. Baird Atomic was the actual company located in Cambridge, MA. Baird supported the sexton equipment on the U2 and had follow on equipment on the SR-71. Because of the projector which contained the flight path info, I was assigned to the Flight Planning group where Harold Mills, Al Rossetti, Sam Pizzo, Walt Smith and Frank Moon, in particular, made my life pleasant in the area and later at Kadena.
Because my connection with Lockheed, I could not drive through the site but had to come in by the back road, with permission from security, whenever people from the section were visited in Vegas. When my father was near death, Major Pizzo got permission and drove me to Vegas through the site.
With the support of the flight planning folks, I received a chamber card and then flew in the back seat, mostly, of the F101 on many occasions. After the first flight, I took a helmet bag with me. The bumpy final approach sequence, when the cockpit cooling is at minimum, got to me every time. At some point, someone changed my desk name plate to "Barf Goodwin." On one F101 flight, then Lt. Col. Schrecengost asked me if I had ever gone over Mach 1 and then we did. I read later in a book on the F-101 that this man had been the first man to take a F-101 beyond Mach 1.
At Kadena the opportunity to ride in the back seat of F-101 flights continued. One day Major King (WX) was scheduled to fly and I was to be the back seat. A training flight for the A-12 was delayed and I was in a staff car waiting to take a routine movie of the take off. Somehow Maj. King contacted me saying that he could not wait any longer so we would do it next time. This was his last flight, upon rotation the tail came off the 101, he apparently ejected successfully, but unfortunately the aircraft landed on top of him.
Until Article 123 crashed, life for those on the ground was quite casual. Had the crash not occurred, everyone in flight planning with a chamber card had been "promised" a ride in the trainer.
There were many civilians associated with the A-12 project that enjoyed experiences that would not have been possible in normal non-project life. The reunions bring us in contact with people who were important to a phase in our lives.
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