Lincoln resident had a hand in making of history

Fly Me To The Moon - on a rocket or missile. Just make sure the radar guidance system is working properly.Better yet, get to know the guy that helped develop it. Bernard "Bernie" Barquist developed such systems and more.Remember the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945? It was followed by the bombing of Nagasaki, on Aug. 9, 1945.The two bombings brought an end to World War II. The official Japanese surrender took place with the signing of the surrender documents aboard the Aircraft Carrier Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945. Barquist worked on the Enola Gay's radar system the night before the famous flight from Tinian Island. "It was very secretive," he said. "We didn't know what was going on. We knew a specialist that was working with us knew, but we didn't. It turned out that Col. Paul Tibbets would be piloting the plane that would carry an atomic bomb called 'Little Boy' in its belly and release it over Hiroshima. Our plane was flying 50 miles from where we were based and dropping practice bombs. It didn't participate in long range practice runs. That was raising our suspicions."Our assignment was to insure the plane's target, guarantee the plane's radar located the exact spot of the bomb drop," he said. "The flight was to cover 1,500 air miles from Tinian Island to Japan and then return to its base. The crew of the Enola Gay sustained no injuries and the plane's altitude prevented it from being damaged." Did Barquist suffer any guilt regarding his efforts to assure the success of that mission?"No," was his prompt answer. "I know that the bomb saved thousands of American lives. That was what we were assigned to do. Yes, it was a shame so many lives were lost in Japan, but we didn't start World War II. Our job was to finish the war - and we did."Tibbets was sorry he had to fly the plane but it was his job, his task to do," he said.As a side note, Barquist added that the Enola Gay was named after Tibbets' mother.After leaving the Army Air Corps, Barquist started college on the G.I. Bill. He attended the University of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee School of Engineering, securing his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering followed by some postgraduate studies.Barquist had remained in the Air Corp Reserve and was called back into active duty at the Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino. Oddly enough, the electronics officer at Norton was the same man he served with on Tinian Island.Barquist drew assignments to install radio and radar units at numerous air bases around the country. He was separated from the service in 1951 and spent five years in civil service, including trips to Aniwitok, the Hawaiian Islands and the Johnson Islands. "All of my work was classified and I had Atomic Energy Commission clearances," he said. "I'll never forget going to Hawaii, getting there four days before my work began and taking tons of pictures while air cruising over the islands. The Atomic Energy Commission confiscated all but one roll of pictures I sent home and, wouldn't you know, I accidentally exposed that roll and had to throw it away!"Barquist said he did not enjoy the red tape associated with civil service work. He jokingly referred to it as the "Silly Service."In 1956, Barquist went into private industry with the Lear-Siedler Corp. In 1964, he became program manager for Martin Marrietta, where he designed and installed instrumentation systems for testing the Titan missile even before the United States landed on the moon.After that, he worked on the Polaris missile and the Trident missile, a missile fired from submarines."Back then, everything was totally classified," he said. "We worked on a program for NASA concerning space suits as we measured all bodily functions in connection with the X15 Aircraft, which was propelled into the atmosphere. This was a most interesting assignment, an intriguing program."During this time I hired a chief designer from Rosemarie Swim Wear to develop a spandex outfit that would hold all the instruments we needed. He was a sharp guy but what a character!" Barquist also worked for Stoddard Electric Systems, developing radio frequency connectors of electronic equipment on the Apollo missile. Barquist remembers playing golf one day and getting hired right on the golf course to design antennas on Lockheed aircraft planes.After all of this, he retired in 1986 from Lockheed.Barquist also worked on the space shuttle at Cape Canaveral, where he stated, "Wow! What a sight! We worked on shuttle modifications."He and his wife, Ellie, moved to Sun City from Murphys. Ellie is a talented artist and a member of the Arts Club of Sun City. Here in Sun City, his interests include golf and just fun. Barquist is a past president of the Big Sirs, a "Big Sir" and still an active SIR member. He is a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Barquist is also on a committee reviewing Sun City's CC&Rs. This, he says, "is not a lot of fun."Ellie Barquist likes to talk about her husband's youthful fortitude.When choosing a high school to attend in Wisconsin, Barquist was torn between a small school near his home and a more distant, bigger, school. Bus transportation would cost more at the distant school.What did he do? He opted to grow cucumbers, take them to market, sell them and use the proceeds to pay his bus fare. It has been his way of thinking ever since - find solutions to problems. Got a problem? Just ask Bernie.- Joey Chisesi is a resident of Sun City Lincoln Hills. He can be reached at joeycathie@sbcglobal.net.