I was born in the USA and lived in New York City. In May 1948 I was recruited by representatives from Israel. They told me that there would be a need for someone with my knowledge and skills to assist in the formation of the IAF. During World War11, I served as a communications officer in the US Air Force. I was in charge of radio facilities at air bases. These included Air Traffic Control Towers, Navigation Facilities, Message Centers, and Cryptographic Facilities.
At that time I was working for the Civil Aeronautics Administration as a Licensed Senior Air Traffic Controller. I was 26-years-old and my wife Anne was 23, and we had been married for nearly three years. When I told her about this contact she said, without any hesitation, that we must help our fellow Jews and we could put our lives on hold for a while.
First my wife and I were flown to Haifa via Paris and Rome. Upon reaching Tel-Aviv, I set up a class for instruction at Air Force Headquarters, having brought as many manuals and maps as I could purchase. After intense instruction, my students were assigned to various airfields. I then went on to help with the tower at the Ramat David airbase.
The US State Department must have suspected something, because they gave us restricted passports with a very short expiration date. We had to return home in November, a few days before our passports expired.
The service my wife and I rendered to the State of Israel was one of the highlights of our lives.
