Sgt. Bob Werner printed top secret aerial photos of Russian bases during ‘Cold War’
PHOTO PROVIDED
Bob Werner is pictured as a 20-something U.S. airman who served in the Pacific on Okinawa as part of the occupational forces in 1947-48 after World War II was over.
PHOTO PROVIDED
Werner is pictured in the darkroom where he spent much of his time while in the Army Air Force. He printed top secret aerial pictures of industrial complexes and military bases in Russia and China for U.S. intelligence purposes.
PHOTO PROVIDED
This cluster of Quonset huts was part of Kadena Air Force Base on Okinawa that was home sweet home for Werner and the 10th Photo Tech Unit. He only left the base one time in almost two years to fly with his commander on a weekend pass to Manila.
SUN PHOTO BY DON MOORE
Bob Werner today.
A Canadian resident with an American father who met his mother while living in the Montreal area, Bob Werner of Bay Indies Mobile Home Park in Venice was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force in 1946. He ended up in Sheppard Field, near Wichita Falls, Texas, for basic, which was the beginning of a series of educational experiences for the 20-year-old.
Sent on to Geiger Field outside Spokane, Wash., for training to become a printer, he got a good look at the spectacular mountainous countryside during the last leg of his trip by train to the base. From there it was on to Eglin Field, 30 miles east of Pensacola.
