This makes me so sad. Some of the happiest times of my life were spent at this base back in 1979-1980 training to be a weather observer, (then back in 1984 for weather forecasting school). I celebrated my 19th birthday at Chanute. I loved the buildings especially the one prominently shown in the video, the long hallways with windows made for great airflow (unlike the enclosed, buildings we have to work in these days). It was pristine and clean back then, we kept it that way. So sad to see it in ruins now, what a waste.
I was a Marine going through Power plants school back in 1978. I remember seeing a bumper sticker at Chanute that said "weather men do it with crystal balls." I never forgot that. Makes me laugh to this day. I too hate to see this old base deteriorate away. Best wishes
I too, was there during that time period. I graduated weather observer school April 1980, Forecasting School 1983, Tropical school 1985. Good memories. Do you remember Mr Caruso (sp). I loved that man. He actually remembered me several years later when we crossed paths.
I graduated the Weather Radar school there, back in 1983. The good old FPS-77! It was antiqated and older than I was, but it did the job. I'll always be grateful for my time at Chanute AFB. The knowledge and self-discipline obtained have benefitted my life ever after. 😊 Thank you for posting this. It's bitter-sweet, and hard to see the deterioration. But the memories are like honey for an aging mind.
One of the reasons why youtube can be so awesome!!! It's great to actually read comments from someone who has been in the same career field as myself!!! I am also an Electrician (2A656) apart of the 315th AMXS (Go Blue Knights!!)... nowadays though they do all the training at Sheppard AFB.It's so great to look back at some awesome valor and to know that we and everyone else, who has been apart of the BEST AIR FORCE EVER!!!, has been apart of something much larger then themselves!! FLY, FIGHT, WIN!!!
Hauntingly beautifully and visually shocking. I was stationed @ Chanute in 1984 and re-visited around 2000. Those images of White Hall are quite disturbing. How could such decay occur in only two decades? Its as if it had been abandoned a century ago. Kudos to the filmmaker. Your style was simplistic, raw, and powerful. The audio tracks you incorporated into the piece made the visuals even more poignant.
I attended the Aerographer's Mate "A" School conducted at Chanute (in White Hall) in early 1982. The building was very special. Seeing it in decay now is heartbreaking. Thank you for posting the video.
My dad worked in White Hall for 6 years and we still live in Rantoul now. It breaks the citizens of Rantouls hearts and not only this building but the entire base. The entire base looks like this and is very sad knowing the history and the things that could have been done to save this place.
@@charlesvelarde6563 it was in total disrepair and a huge public safety issue when they eventually decided to tear the whole thing down a few years back now..probably around 2016-17.
It’s so sad that another base the size of Chanute, in 1993, Goodfellow AFB Texas, escaped the BRAC closure but Chanute did not. The AF moved the fire school from Chanute to Goodfellow. After Chanute closed, Goodfellow underwent a major update, with buildings modernized and new ones built. This could of happened at Chanute too! Apparently, no one in congress was fighting for Chanute!
Thank you for the info about the planes. I trained to be a jet engine mechanic there and, after my four years were over, I was able to work for both Northrop and Lockheed in that field. Brings back some mostly good memories. I had relatives in Chicago and was able to visit on a few occasions. Thanks again. .
I was there in 1983. Trained to be a Jet Engine Mechanic. Retired after 21 years in the ANG as MSGT. It made me cry to watch this. Good people worked there. And good people in town. What a waste.
Great work on this video. I was at Chanute for my tech school from late July 1971 to November of same year for Airframe Repair. We were housed in these real old wooden barracks that I'm sure were built during WW 2. Great times.
I was in Airframe there also from November thru April in '71/72 and stayed in those older barracks too. Remember the vendor that would come to the door and yell into the barracks, " Hey! Pizza Pop!"
This is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. I spent 9 months there in 1985 learning how to fix fire trucks. This video brought me to tears 😭. Excellent job!!
Thanks for the kind words! As a fellow "Walt" I appreciate it even more :) If you head over to my blog ( www.ArtOfAbandonment.com ) you can look for the Chanute post and then scroll to the bottom and see hundreds of comments from people that trained or taught there, if you are interested!
My father trained there in 1941. I was there in 1985 for Aircraft Electrical. It was so full of life once. Very sad to see it decaying away now. So much history is there.
Great work Walter! I was at WH from July-Dec '79 for Automatic Flight Controls (AFCS/auto pilot). If I recall, we were on the 3rd floor, inside hallway where our classes met at the corner with the weather forecasters/observers. I was there when the embassy in Tehran was taken over - we had Iranian students 2 classes down from us in AFCS, we never saw them again as they were hushed off of Chanute and out of the country(?). That area between the buildings (square area) was the interior parking lot for the instructors. Ironically, I left here for my first assignment with the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at George AFB California flying the F-4G Wild Weasel and like Chanute, it too was closed in '93. Sad.
I went there for the same afcs training but from October 73 til April 74. Went to myrtle Beach afb and worked on a7d after Chanute. Myrtle Beach afb closed down the same year as Chanute. Regards
Trained for fuels there, end of May through beginning of July 1992. Sad to see what has become of a place that so many souls were trained to protect this country.
I was there late July of '79 for my fuels training there. Was pretty much being at home for those six weeks of tech school as I grew up in a small town just outside of Peoria.
Thank you for a very nice video of a place in my past. I spent 36 weeks at Chanute, in 71-72, learning to be a flight simulator tech. We marched about a mile from our barracks to White Hall every school day, past the B-36, B-52, and other statics along the way. I immediately recognized the old school building and the hallways with classroom after classroom. So sad to see it look like it did before it was demolished. But that's the way it goes when the funds aren't there to maintain it.
It's been many, many years since I walked those halls while going to my basic electronics and Avionics Instrument systems classes. It's such a shame that the government allowed this to happen. I watched over the years on Google Maps as the building was deserted and finally removed. My past, in many cases like this, has been erased.
I walked these halls as a instrument 325×1 student from Dec 1970 until July 1971 and as an instrument \ autopilot 32672B instructor from 1974 until 1977.
We arrived at Chanute the same day (29 Dec 88) it was placed on the base closure list. About 40 of us or so left Lackland as happy as ever and it felt like we arrived late to a funeral. Everyone was very depressed about the closure list. The base was active for another four years. I had several friends in the 3344th STUS who did tech school in White Hall. I was in Grissom as a Minuteman maintenance tech trainee. It is sad to see what happened to the base. I visited there in 1998 and again in 2002. Not all of the base was left to rot in decay but the areas we lived in were not used much. I think the state of Illinois used one of the dorms as a boot camp place for troubled kids from Chicago. I did enjoy the video, sad as it is.
Was just there today. They're tearing down all the airplanes, even the extremely rare ones. Even the Minuteman missile that's in front of the facility. Really does make me sad. Wish there's a way I can save all of it
I was at Chanute from August '59 til January '60 and trained as an Aircraft Electrician. This has saddened me to see all the building going to waste. I have great memories of the base and the men that trained me and trained with me. Proud to be Air Force but not happy at what I saw.
What memories.....I was there in 1971 and graduated from Jet Engine mechanic training and just connected with a fellow graduate who just shared a video of him landing his own aircraft there . I still remember the columns of smoke off in the distance from the fire fighting training. At that time the many shifts of the largest cafeteria in the world existed there. I was one of the last airmen to do KP there before the local population took over . Saw my first Thunderbirds air show ....everyone I knew is either dead of in their sixties . I wonder what ever happened to the Pizza - Pop man who came around the barracks shown in this video and sold those God awful pizzas for one and soda. I have other memories , you can't duplicate the camaraderie we had ....I would meet fellow graduates later in Travis,Vietnam and Thailand .......
Graduated Sept 1971 Cryogenics Fluid Production Specialist. 3368 Stu Sq (ATC). I Remember KP, pots and pans from 3am to 3pm for 2 weeks in July, waiting for class to start. always thought it was funny hearing some guy yelling "PIZZA POP" and we would go out and grab some pizza and a pop. great memories. BRYAN GETTLER and I served together for 4 years from Basic,Tech School and 32TFS Sq. Netherlands. great times and memories.
Joe I was there and graduated in 71 as well.. Probably early April of 71 from Jet engine school.. We had our graduation pic taken in front of the TF-39 engine.. I left there for Castle AFB.. Lots of memories... Hope is all well with you and your family .. God Bless...
I spent from October .1965 through September 1966 at Chanute, for Automatic Flight Control Systems and Electronic Countermeasures training, F-101, F-102/106, F-4, and F-105. Every day we walked by a B-36, a B-58, a B-52 and various fighters on static display. The experience was quite enjoyable and I'm sorry to see it go. Spent the next several years in Thailand working on F-105 Thunderchiefs, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, Operation Rolling Thunder.
Weather observer school there in 1973. Finished school in time to get caught in a 19 inch snowfall on the way home. Spent 18 months in Montana at Glasgow AFB and 2 years at Upper Heyford in England. I'm pretty sure White Hall were my barracks and before that I spend a few weeks in casual in the ww2 era barracks. Saw my first stripper at the Airman's club.
Me: October 1981 - April 1982, autopilot school. My dad: 1957 electricians school. I was the senior red rope for my squadron for about half my time so everyone lined up in the hallway with the windows while I went outside to see if we were going back in full formation or sidewalk formation due to too much snow (usually the latter). Wonderful memories.
As an Air Force veteran, a lot of the building look like many I served at. Years have passed and the buildings and halls are now silent......so many Airmen passed thru these halls. They kept America Free! History is a wonderful thing but also a sad thing.
My Dad was stationed there during the Korean war. He took me there when I was a kid in the late seventys. The base was still opened and he was proud to show me around telling me of the great times he had. We drove thru many years later but didn't see White hall in this condition. What a disgrace, glad he didn't see it this way.
Seeing all the murals, made me suddenly realize why every class was to paint a mural on each team floor. I attended Lincoln's Challenge Academy in 2012, which is on Chanute base. We used to be housed in one of the barracks. Now, they've torn everything down. Including Grissom Hall where the museum was. (Also where we marched to attend school.) They've replaced it with a modern facility for the academy's use. It was heartbreaking.
+Walter Arnold You need to do a video on Andersen AFB Guam Agent Orange was sprayed there but DOD denies ...contact us at Agent Orange vets of Guam.Msgt Leroy Foster please he's dying and has a wish for the world to know the truth.I will not go silently into the night a story of courage to help his comrades who were at Andersen during the Vietnam era and before and beyond.
The first night I was there my roommate BoB Anderson who was there for SRAM and going to Guam had a girl climb through the window...he left and left her with me it was great experience for my A school...I was an FB-111 CC at Pease AFB in 88’
Sad to see. My brother (Ronald L. Brown) was there in '66 before going to Carswell, where he died accidentally. I remember being there as a 12 year old, driving from Galesburg to see him. I can't remember the building name we were in but I think it was a dining hall or commissary of some kind. Bob Dylan ("Rainy Day Women") in the background. I wonder if that building is still standing.
I spent two months there from Nov 91 to Jan 92. I had my corrosion control training at Sheppard AFB, TX then to Chanute for sheet metal training. After that, I got stationed at Castle AFB, CA. So for me, it was two bases in a row which I was sent to that later got closed. Both were due to close when I was sent there.
@ Jefff Castle AFB! Another great memory, along with Canute, Kadena, and, of course, Lackland. Was at Castle from 78’-80.’ Atwater, Merced! Miss Castle, also! Worked on B-52 Bombers and KC-135 Tankers aircraft pneudraulic systems (pneumatic and hydraulic systems). Everyday of our lives should be cherished and lived to the best of our abilities. It’s at each moment of everyday of our lives that our memories are being made. The better the very moments themselves are lived out, small or great, the sweeter and more precious those future memories will be. This video is proof!
Today, Structural Maintenance (both corrosion control & Sheet Metal) are at Pensacola NAS. I was there for 7 level training with the ANG. Most of the building is Navy & Marines and we are in a corner of a huge building. Their classes were mix Sailers & Marines but ours are only Air Force.
Rantoul City hired a demolition crew and demolition has already begun with the removal of asbestos first before tearing it down due to the concern of the nearby residents. Sad to see it went to waste but good to know it doesnt have to suffer anymore.
+Jake Eden As of right now(late March 2016) the demolation is half complete. This is sad. All that military Americana art,*gone*. Ive been taking pics at various stages of demolation. When I go over to do this,there are usually a couple other people out there taking pics also.
June 1 1986 , few in on nothing( lowest cost) air plane, took a "Pakie taxi" to base 3 tallest Missel ( Mininet Man ) at the front gate. The base was the town, 24 hrs nonstop. The one small building had 200-300 Pay phones was around clock 7 days a week.... White hall was the place you actually marched in formation at 5:00 am .. 1.5 miles there. 1.5 miles back doom eat lunch marched 1.5 miles back to white hall. then 1,5 miles at 6 pm . 6 miles a day. Then 7:00 pm had form up PT in court yard another hour physical work out. Then assigned dorm duties cleaning ect. then Got to study all night next days test..... When Friday came you were good ready for a week end......those dorm parties....all week end....head into Blooming normal... go part college women!! Reagon was president....I was working on NUKEs ..life was GREAT!. Years later came back...all pay phones gone. white hall was owned by birds...Now I believe it gone... Work on nukes ( the trainers are still there) ....it was a place remember.... I was in England when wall came down1989 ...we won!!!
Thanks for posting. Those of us who trained and worked there still see it in our minds as it was, full of excited students learning skills which still serve many of us long after retirement. My special thanks to the instructors. Ya did good.
Went through fire fighter training the November 1991 to January 1992 then on to my first base in Germany. Retired from the Air Force in November 2011 . seams like only yesterday. Sad to see it like this.
Salute to those who served at Chanute! I feel your pain. Hate to see the old buildings that were so full of life at one time, age and decay. Wasn’t in the Air Force, but my old base is now mostly gone. I have similar memories and when I see these videos, it’s bittersweet. The 70’s and 80’s was such a great time to be alive! Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
EP and Avionics there, February til August '84. Some fond memories, some not so. The first 2 weeks were the closest I came to going AWOL! I'm from a mountainous area and that place is FLAT! : ) But I made some good friends over the six months - J Pico, M Menard, R Fouts, C Schmidt, J Gillette, K Cirilli, more. Went camping with some at I think it was called Lake of the Woods? Ran into some of our instructors there. Those were good memories. The summer of 2017 I was driving across the country with my wife and kids and got to go to Chanute. The first building I lived in, 341 (imagine that!), was still there. The building I moved to a few weeks later and spent most of my time at was gone - something else was being built there. I tried to find the school building (White Hall) and drove around it's area and walked around it's area a couple of times before I realized that big field is where it was. Thanks for posting the video - bittersweet.
+mojostevo Ah, the memories. It looks as though we have something in common. I've owned many Porsches of the years and still have one. Can't imagine anything else.
Aircraft: Many of the static displays were rounded up and they turned one of the Hall’s into a museum. But the operation was unsustainable. Instead of transporting the aircraft to the DM Boneyard, they contracted a guy and they are all being demolished. Fortunately, a fire happened during demolition in which I thought I heard that a safety investigation has to happen before the contractor guy can resume demolition. I said “fortunately,” because there IS still one iconic air-related structure standing and untouched for now. When the final go-ahead is given though, the West Gate Minuteman Missile is also slated for demolition; as of this reply however, it still stands untouched. I live here. If you ever want to know what is happening or has happened, just ask away again.
AGE Instructor, 1980-1984. Best memories of my life. So sad to see all the videos on UA-cam of what Chanute has become. I wish I'd never have seen them now.
I was stationed here for tech school from Jan 1985-August 1985. Even then, my class was the last class for AFSC314X6. Had a great time there. Terrible to see what it has become. Very sad.
I was there in 1966 in AGE school. I lived in the old WW2 barracks. Time has not been good to that old base. It sure looks different now. I'm 76 and I thought I looked old!
Sad. I was a K9 handler there. I was assigned to the 3345th Security Police Squadron from March 1981 to March 1988. I was extremely proud to have been assigned there and work amongst some of the finest people I’ve know.
I went there right after boot camp in March '81 for non-destructive inspection (NDI). Sadly, I don't remember much about anything and watch alot of Chanute videos hoping to bring back some memories but they're not helping my tired mind. I vaguely remember marching early in the morning near a big hanger to go to class.......Can anyone tell me if White Hall is where I marched to for class? The one picture that has the dome roof makes me think that I marched into that area and then fell out of attention to go to class. Or maybe not
Stopped there on a Nuclear Road Trip a few years back hoping to see the museum. Unfortunately, it had closed several weeks before. Watched as they were tearing down classrooms. Very sad. I had wanted Chanute for tech school in 1971 because it was close to home, but I did electronics at Keesler.
Very sad indeed!!! I went through tech school in '89 Parachute/Surival Equipment. After hearing Chanute had closed in 93, I wanted to go back up and see but never did, whish I had! Cant believe that big old building is gone! But the memories will remain.
It's even sadder they tore everything down 3 or so years ago. I went to Lincoln's Challenge and then, worked as a peer mentor after graduation. I'm also a history buff. I was born on the 50th anniversary of D-Day. To lose Grissom Hall where I received my education was especially heartbreaking. I did manage to sneak into the post office with a peer as a cadet. Even though it was beyond disrepair, I was beyond thrilled to step into history.
I was there in the Spring '84. Can't recall what training squad I was in. Might have been 3361..62..71..or 72. It was electronics training. What did 3372 train in?
Got to Chanute in June 83 ; Permanent Party. Soon got out and went Civil Service until they turned the lights off. Only live 15 miles away; haven't went back, and I don't know if I even want to go back. I have nothing against the base itself, it's just some of the personnel there at the time were not concerned with keeping the brown off their noses.
I was assigned duty as an instructor in the aircraft mechanic school late 1957 until 1958. The school was closed and moved to Sheppard. Since I was "short" I finished my enlistment servicing t-33's. It was cold on the runways that winter. Not my favorite base.
![[4K] DRT - Route 915: To Ajax GO (New Flyer D40LF 1012, Pt. 1)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gRzsA2QuNhM/mqdefault.jpg)
This makes me so sad. Some of the happiest times of my life were spent at this base back in 1979-1980 training to be a weather observer, (then back in 1984 for weather forecasting school). I celebrated my 19th birthday at Chanute. I loved the buildings especially the one prominently shown in the video, the long hallways with windows made for great airflow (unlike the enclosed, buildings we have to work in these days). It was pristine and clean back then, we kept it that way. So sad to see it in ruins now, what a waste.
I was a Marine going through Power plants school back in 1978. I remember seeing a bumper sticker at Chanute that said "weather men do it with crystal balls." I never forgot that. Makes me laugh to this day. I too hate to see this old base deteriorate away. Best wishes
I too, was there during that time period. I graduated weather observer school April 1980, Forecasting School 1983, Tropical school 1985. Good memories. Do you remember Mr Caruso (sp). I loved that man. He actually remembered me several years later when we crossed paths.
I am also sad. I went to school there and it was one of the best times of my life.
I graduated the Weather Radar school there, back in 1983. The good old FPS-77! It was antiqated and older than I was, but it did the job.
I'll always be grateful for my time at Chanute AFB. The knowledge and self-discipline obtained have benefitted my life ever after. 😊
Thank you for posting this. It's bitter-sweet, and hard to see the deterioration. But the memories are like honey for an aging mind.
I became at Chanutte an Aircraft Electrician. Those classrooms and hallways brought memories to me!
One of the reasons why youtube can be so awesome!!! It's great to actually read comments from someone who has been in the same career field as myself!!! I am also an Electrician (2A656) apart of the 315th AMXS (Go Blue Knights!!)... nowadays though they do all the training at Sheppard AFB.It's so great to look back at some awesome valor and to know that we and everyone else, who has been apart of the BEST AIR FORCE EVER!!!, has been apart of something much larger then themselves!! FLY, FIGHT, WIN!!!
Joe when did you go thru? I was there in 87 -88 before the merge with environmental shop
Hauntingly beautifully and visually shocking. I was stationed @ Chanute in 1984 and re-visited around 2000. Those images of White Hall are quite disturbing. How could such decay occur in only two decades? Its as if it had been abandoned a century ago. Kudos to the filmmaker. Your style was simplistic, raw, and powerful. The audio tracks you incorporated into the piece made the visuals even more poignant.
Thank you for your kind words Terrence Brady glad you enjoyed the piece!
I attended the Aerographer's Mate "A" School conducted at Chanute (in White Hall) in early 1982. The building was very special. Seeing it in decay now is heartbreaking. Thank you for posting the video.
My dad worked in White Hall for 6 years and we still live in Rantoul now. It breaks the citizens of Rantouls hearts and not only this building but the entire base. The entire base looks like this and is very sad knowing the history and the things that could have been done to save this place.
Lived at 154 Circle Drive at Chanute. Went to Pleasant Acers I think it was
would it be possible to bring it back to her glory days. I mean like cutting trees, trimmings you know, rasing funds to do the job.
@@charlesvelarde6563 it was in total disrepair and a huge public safety issue when they eventually decided to tear the whole thing down a few years back now..probably around 2016-17.
It’s so sad that another base the size of Chanute, in 1993, Goodfellow AFB Texas, escaped the BRAC closure but Chanute did not. The AF moved the fire school from Chanute to Goodfellow. After Chanute closed, Goodfellow underwent a major update, with buildings modernized and new ones built. This could of happened at Chanute too! Apparently, no one in congress was fighting for Chanute!
Agent Orange in Rantoul water and the base...big coverup!! Michael Glasser
Sad to see and shocking how quickly things fall apart and decay. I was at Chanute in the spring of 1991 for weather observing school.
Indeed so sad. I was there from May to Oct 91 for ICBM Maintenance.
This was my last base till 1991 when I retired,,, I recognize a couple of murals I painted,,,still there !!!!
How many murals did you paint in White Hall?
All gone now as White Hall was torn down
Thank you for the info about the planes. I trained to be a jet engine mechanic there and, after my four years were over, I was able to work for both Northrop and Lockheed in that field. Brings back some mostly good memories. I had relatives in Chicago and was able to visit on a few occasions. Thanks again.
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I was there in 1983. Trained to be a Jet Engine Mechanic. Retired after 21 years in the ANG as MSGT. It made me cry to watch this. Good people worked there. And good people in town. What a waste.
I taught Block I and Block II at the Jet Engine school from 1980 to 1983. My future wife taught block IV.
Great work on this video. I was at Chanute for my tech school from late July 1971 to November of same year for Airframe Repair. We were housed in these real old wooden barracks that I'm sure were built during WW 2. Great times.
I was in Airframe there also from November thru April in '71/72 and stayed in those older barracks too. Remember the vendor that would come to the door and yell into the barracks, " Hey! Pizza Pop!"
Gives me the goosebumps. How you make such things so beautiful is beyond me.
This is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. I spent 9 months there in 1985 learning how to fix fire trucks. This video brought me to tears 😭. Excellent job!!
Thanks for the kind words! As a fellow "Walt" I appreciate it even more :) If you head over to my blog ( www.ArtOfAbandonment.com ) you can look for the Chanute post and then scroll to the bottom and see hundreds of comments from people that trained or taught there, if you are interested!
My father trained there in 1941. I was there in 1985 for Aircraft Electrical. It was so full of life once. Very sad to see it decaying away now. So much history is there.
Great work Walter! I was at WH from July-Dec '79 for Automatic Flight Controls (AFCS/auto pilot). If I recall, we were on the 3rd floor, inside hallway where our classes met at the corner with the weather forecasters/observers. I was there when the embassy in Tehran was taken over - we had Iranian students 2 classes down from us in AFCS, we never saw them again as they were hushed off of Chanute and out of the country(?). That area between the buildings (square area) was the interior parking lot for the instructors.
Ironically, I left here for my first assignment with the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at George AFB California flying the F-4G Wild Weasel and like Chanute, it too was closed in '93. Sad.
I went there for the same afcs training but from October 73 til April 74. Went to myrtle Beach afb and worked on a7d after Chanute. Myrtle Beach afb closed down the same year as Chanute. Regards
I was there with you!
Instruments class and on to Beale.
Wow! Great video, Walter! I leaned how to fix aircraft hydraulic systems in White Hall back in 1989/90. Thanks for posting!
Trained for fuels there, end of May through beginning of July 1992. Sad to see what has become of a place that so many souls were trained to protect this country.
I was there late July of '79 for my fuels training there. Was pretty much being at home for those six weeks of tech school as I grew up in a small town just outside of Peoria.
I trained fuels(P.O.L.)feb.82,,,,good times I'll never forget.
WOW, just WOW ... Sad & breathtaking, so many emotions in this video.... Thank you for sharing this ....
Thank you so much Gina! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for a very nice video of a place in my past. I spent 36 weeks at Chanute, in 71-72, learning to be a flight simulator tech. We marched about a mile from our barracks to White Hall every school day, past the B-36, B-52, and other statics along the way. I immediately recognized the old school building and the hallways with classroom after classroom. So sad to see it look like it did before it was demolished. But that's the way it goes when the funds aren't there to maintain it.
It's been many, many years since I walked those halls while going to my basic electronics and Avionics Instrument systems classes. It's such a shame that the government allowed this to happen. I watched over the years on Google Maps as the building was deserted and finally removed. My past, in many cases like this, has been erased.
325X1
I was an Instrument guy (in 1981) too! 325x1. While I didn't enjoy Tech School I learned a skill which even today I still utilize.
I walked these halls as a instrument 325×1 student from Dec 1970 until July 1971 and as an instrument \ autopilot 32672B instructor from 1974 until 1977.
@@jnbfrancisco We probably passed each other. Started classes in April '71 til Oct. 70 Squadron.
This is a wonderful video; I love how you capture the lighting and the history footage; your the best so far at this urban exploration that I've seen.
We arrived at Chanute the same day (29 Dec 88) it was placed on the base closure list. About 40 of us or so left Lackland as happy as ever and it felt like we arrived late to a funeral. Everyone was very depressed about the closure list. The base was active for another four years.
I had several friends in the 3344th STUS who did tech school in White Hall. I was in Grissom as a Minuteman maintenance tech trainee. It is sad to see what happened to the base. I visited there in 1998 and again in 2002. Not all of the base was left to rot in decay but the areas we lived in were not used much. I think the state of Illinois used one of the dorms as a boot camp place for troubled kids from Chicago.
I did enjoy the video, sad as it is.
Was just there today. They're tearing down all the airplanes, even the extremely rare ones. Even the Minuteman missile that's in front of the facility. Really does make me sad. Wish there's a way I can save all of it
Such a shame :( I wish I had gotten to see more of the grounds.
AGE School 1986, some of the best times of my life. Hurts to see it like this .
Same
Rick, I was in AGE school from Dec. 86 to May 87. do you remember an instructor SSGT. Luby?
I was at Chanute from August '59 til January '60 and trained as an Aircraft Electrician. This has saddened me to see all the building going to waste. I have great memories of the base and the men that trained me and trained with me. Proud to be Air Force but not happy at what I saw.
What memories.....I was there in 1971 and graduated from Jet Engine mechanic training and just connected with a fellow graduate who just shared a video of him landing his own aircraft there . I still remember the columns of smoke off in the distance from the fire fighting training. At that time the many shifts of the largest cafeteria in the world existed there. I was one of the last airmen to do KP there before the local population took over . Saw my first Thunderbirds air show ....everyone I knew is either dead of in their sixties . I wonder what ever happened to the Pizza - Pop man who came around the barracks shown in this video and sold those God awful pizzas for one and soda. I have other memories , you can't duplicate the camaraderie we had ....I would meet fellow graduates later in Travis,Vietnam and Thailand .......
Graduated Sept 1971 Cryogenics Fluid Production Specialist. 3368 Stu Sq (ATC). I Remember KP, pots and pans from 3am to 3pm for 2 weeks in July, waiting for class to start. always thought it was funny hearing some guy yelling "PIZZA POP" and we would go out and grab some pizza and a pop. great memories. BRYAN GETTLER and I served together for 4 years from Basic,Tech School and 32TFS Sq. Netherlands. great times and memories.
I went thru Jet school in 1966, and when I viewed this video it made me sad to think that the AF let it go into this condition
Joe I was there and graduated in 71 as well.. Probably early April of 71 from Jet engine school.. We had our graduation pic taken in front of the TF-39 engine.. I left there for Castle AFB.. Lots of memories... Hope is all well with you and your family .. God Bless...
🍕 Pizza Pop and Ping!!!!
I spent from October .1965 through September 1966 at Chanute, for Automatic Flight Control Systems and Electronic Countermeasures training, F-101, F-102/106, F-4, and F-105. Every day we walked by a B-36, a B-58, a B-52 and various fighters on static display. The experience was quite enjoyable and I'm sorry to see it go. Spent the next several years in Thailand working on F-105 Thunderchiefs, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, Operation Rolling Thunder.
MANY OF SAC'S FINEST PEOPLE PASSED THRU THESE HALLS.
Wow! The memories come flooding back. I was at Chanute from 1/76 through 8/76 for Analog Flight Simulator School. I remember those huge hallways.
Went to Weather Observer school there in 1966, and Weather Forecaster School in 1970
Weather observer school there in 1973. Finished school in time to get caught in a 19 inch snowfall on the way home. Spent 18 months in Montana at Glasgow AFB and 2 years at Upper Heyford in England. I'm pretty sure White Hall were my barracks and before that I spend a few weeks in casual in the ww2 era barracks. Saw my first stripper at the Airman's club.
Attended technical school there in 1966. Stayed the winter in an ol wooden WWII barracks. Had meals and did KP I thr large mess hall.
Went in 71. We were 5 Army Sp-5s's in a large class of Airmen!
i have lived here 13 yrs and i have been in some of the buildings. they make me want to cry :'(
I attended Autopilot school there from Feb 82 thru July 82. Can't believe this has happened.
I was there at the same time. Flight Simulator School.
Me: October 1981 - April 1982, autopilot school. My dad: 1957 electricians school. I was the senior red rope for my squadron for about half my time so everyone lined up in the hallway with the windows while I went outside to see if we were going back in full formation or sidewalk formation due to too much snow (usually the latter). Wonderful memories.
Sad to see this. I was stationed there for my aircraft maintenance training in 1968. So much activity and purpose back then.
As an Air Force veteran, a lot of the building look like many I served at. Years have passed and the buildings and halls are now silent......so many Airmen passed thru these halls. They kept America Free! History is a wonderful thing but also a sad thing.
Brilliant edit Walter. Well done.
Proud and Lucky
To have been called
Airman 1980-84.
Our school, our beautiful school.
My home from October 1992-February 1993. I was in the last 411x0 class before they shut it down and moved to Vandenberg
My Dad was stationed there during the Korean war. He took me there when I was a kid in the late seventys. The base was still opened and he was proud to show me around telling me of the great times he had. We drove thru many years later but didn't see White hall in this condition. What a disgrace, glad he didn't see it this way.
When I drove by Chanute Air Base I felt pround knowing my great grandpa was there during world war 2
Great video and touching tribute!
So sad to see a building with such great history go to waste like this , you would think they would want to preserve it for future history ....
Seeing all the murals, made me suddenly realize why every class was to paint a mural on each team floor. I attended Lincoln's Challenge Academy in 2012, which is on Chanute base. We used to be housed in one of the barracks. Now, they've torn everything down. Including Grissom Hall where the museum was. (Also where we marched to attend school.) They've replaced it with a modern facility for the academy's use. It was heartbreaking.
I will go to your blog to read more....we always had airmen at our Thanksgiving table. (Champaign, IL) This is really sad.
Thank you! I fixed the links in the description so they actually work now :)
Thank you!
+Walter Arnold You need to do a video on Andersen AFB Guam Agent Orange was sprayed there but DOD denies ...contact us at Agent Orange vets of Guam.Msgt Leroy Foster please he's dying and has a wish for the world to know the truth.I will not go silently into the night a story of courage to help his comrades who were at Andersen during the Vietnam era and before and beyond.
The first night I was there my roommate BoB Anderson who was there for SRAM and going to Guam had a girl climb through the window...he left and left her with me it was great experience for my A school...I was an FB-111 CC at Pease AFB in 88’
Sad to see. My brother (Ronald L. Brown) was there in '66 before going to Carswell, where he died accidentally.
I remember being there as a 12 year old, driving from Galesburg to see him. I can't remember the building name we were in but I think it was a dining hall or commissary of some kind. Bob Dylan ("Rainy Day Women") in the background.
I wonder if that building is still standing.
I spent two months there from Nov 91 to Jan 92. I had my corrosion control training at Sheppard AFB, TX then to Chanute for sheet metal training. After that, I got stationed at Castle AFB, CA. So for me, it was two bases in a row which I was sent to that later got closed. Both were due to close when I was sent there.
@ Jefff
Castle AFB! Another great memory, along with Canute, Kadena, and, of course, Lackland. Was at Castle from 78’-80.’ Atwater, Merced! Miss Castle, also! Worked on B-52 Bombers and KC-135 Tankers aircraft pneudraulic systems (pneumatic and hydraulic systems). Everyday of our lives should be cherished and lived to the best of our abilities. It’s at each moment of everyday of our lives that our memories are being made. The better the very moments themselves are lived out, small or great, the sweeter and more precious those future memories will be. This video is proof!
Today, Structural Maintenance (both corrosion control & Sheet Metal) are at Pensacola NAS. I was there for 7 level training with the ANG. Most of the building is Navy & Marines and we are in a corner of a huge building. Their classes were mix Sailers & Marines but ours are only Air Force.
An amazing video! A great tribute! thanks for posting!
AbandonedSC Thanks so much!
I was there in 1974, B-52 training. Went to Mather AFB and became a Crew Chief.
I taught block IV there from 74 to 78. We may have met during your training.
We are all just passing through and time waits for no one.
Excellent editing and filming. Sad to see it like this.
Found memories. Sad to see it gone...
Rantoul City hired a demolition crew and demolition has already begun with the removal of asbestos first before tearing it down due to the concern of the nearby residents. Sad to see it went to waste but good to know it doesnt have to suffer anymore.
+Jake Eden As of right now(late March 2016) the demolation is half complete. This is sad. All that military Americana art,*gone*. Ive been taking pics at various stages of demolation. When I go over to do this,there are usually a couple other people out there taking pics also.
+ehrldawg the price of the demolition is more than it ever cost to build the building.
Probably because of the asbestos.
+ehrldawg Has the old radar tower come down? I know there used to be an air raid siren on it and am trying to find information on what happened to it.
I'm not sure,but I think it disappeard quit awhile ago.
June 1 1986 , few in on nothing( lowest cost) air plane, took a "Pakie taxi" to base 3 tallest Missel ( Mininet Man ) at the front gate. The base was the town, 24 hrs nonstop. The one small building had 200-300 Pay phones was around clock 7 days a week....
White hall was the place you actually marched in formation at 5:00 am .. 1.5 miles there. 1.5 miles back doom eat lunch marched 1.5 miles back to white hall. then 1,5 miles at 6 pm .
6 miles a day. Then 7:00 pm had form up PT in court yard another hour physical work out.
Then assigned dorm duties cleaning ect. then Got to study all night next days test.....
When Friday came you were good ready for a week end......those dorm parties....all week end....head into Blooming normal... go part college women!! Reagon was president....I was working on NUKEs ..life was GREAT!.
Years later came back...all pay phones gone. white hall was owned by birds...Now I believe it gone...
Work on nukes ( the trainers are still there) ....it was a place remember....
I was in England when wall came down1989 ...we won!!!
My tech school for E&E was at Sheppard AFB but I almost got teary eyed watching this. Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks for posting. Those of us who trained and worked there still see it in our minds as it was, full of excited students learning skills which still serve many of us long after retirement. My special thanks to the instructors. Ya did good.
Went through fire fighter training the November 1991 to January 1992 then on to my first base in Germany. Retired from the Air Force in November 2011 . seams like only yesterday. Sad to see it like this.
Memories of the Weather Observer training I attended there in 1959 & 1961
Salute to those who served at Chanute! I feel your pain. Hate to see the old buildings that were so full of life at one time, age and decay. Wasn’t in the Air Force, but my old base is now mostly gone. I have similar memories and when I see these videos, it’s bittersweet. The 70’s and 80’s was such a great time to be alive! Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
well done , have subscribed, look forward to watching more of your work,thanks
+john tetreault Thank you!
It is hard to see the bases where we served with pride..fall into decay
EP and Avionics there, February til August '84. Some fond memories, some not so. The first 2 weeks were the closest I came to going AWOL! I'm from a mountainous area and that place is FLAT! : ) But I made some good friends over the six months - J Pico, M Menard, R Fouts, C Schmidt, J Gillette, K Cirilli, more. Went camping with some at I think it was called Lake of the Woods? Ran into some of our instructors there. Those were good memories. The summer of 2017 I was driving across the country with my wife and kids and got to go to Chanute. The first building I lived in, 341 (imagine that!), was still there. The building I moved to a few weeks later and spent most of my time at was gone - something else was being built there. I tried to find the school building (White Hall) and drove around it's area and walked around it's area a couple of times before I realized that big field is where it was. Thanks for posting the video - bittersweet.
(Instrument Troop?)
@@BraesBladesmyth Yup.
@@robertjackson4054 Building 341 gives that away. We all went there.
I trained in White Hall. I have letter of appreciation from the commander for "shoveling the snow around White Hall in an outstanding manner".
I was trained there. I've walked many of those halls and spent many hours learning to work on the Minuteman III missile.
What did they do with all the airplanes? Each squadron had an airplane on display around the base and ours was the B36 Peacemaker.
+Mike Forest Hopefully they were rescued by museums or private groups.
+mojostevo Ah, the memories. It looks as though we have something in common. I've owned many Porsches of the years and still have one. Can't imagine anything else.
Aircraft: Many of the static displays were rounded up and they turned one of the Hall’s into a museum. But the operation was unsustainable. Instead of transporting the aircraft to the DM Boneyard, they contracted a guy and they are all being demolished. Fortunately, a fire happened during demolition in which I thought I heard that a safety investigation has to happen before the contractor guy can resume demolition. I said “fortunately,” because there IS still one iconic air-related structure standing and untouched for now. When the final go-ahead is given though, the West Gate Minuteman Missile is also slated for demolition; as of this reply however, it still stands untouched.
I live here. If you ever want to know what is happening or has happened, just ask away again.
That B36 is now on display at Castle AFB CA. I loved that UGLY ASS PLANE! Pusher Props ands Jets!
I attended technical training there in '70. Jet engine mechanic school.
Would you be interested in being apart of a documentary on this base?
I taught Jet Engine Mechanics at Chanute from 1980 to 1983, and returned in 1986 to 1991. What a shame.
Airframe repair school,winter of 76,what a shame to see.
AGE Instructor, 1980-1984. Best memories of my life. So sad to see all the videos on UA-cam of what Chanute has become. I wish I'd never have seen them now.
I was stationed here for tech school from Jan 1985-August 1985. Even then, my class was the last class for AFSC314X6. Had a great time there. Terrible to see what it has become. Very sad.
While in the Air Force I attended school here in 1969 to become a Hydraulic Technician. See this breaks my heart.
I was there in 1966 in AGE school. I lived in the old WW2 barracks. Time has not been good to that old base. It sure looks different now. I'm 76 and I thought I looked old!
Was there for AGE school in 1969. Was Mr. Law teaching then? He had a reputation!
@@brutus6819 I never heard his name.
I too was in school at Chanute Refueling school 72-73 i miss this place
I was class 30 of 2008 I was 18 when I went to Lincoln challenge and it breaks my heart to see them tearing down what was the best year of my life
Every base I was stationed at, both here and overseas, have closed ….so sad.
Sad. I was a K9 handler there. I was assigned to the 3345th Security Police Squadron from March 1981 to March 1988. I was extremely proud to have been assigned there and work amongst some of the finest people I’ve know.
I was in Chanute 1972 Security Police Squadron. Many memories
Fantastic job!!! Thank you
Thanks Eric! I really appreciate it!
I went there right after boot camp in March '81 for non-destructive inspection (NDI). Sadly, I don't remember much about anything and watch alot of Chanute videos hoping to bring back some memories but they're not helping my tired mind. I vaguely remember marching early in the morning near a big hanger to go to class.......Can anyone tell me if White Hall is where I marched to for class? The one picture that has the dome roof makes me think that I marched into that area and then fell out of attention to go to class. Or maybe not
Stopped there on a Nuclear Road Trip a few years back hoping to see the museum. Unfortunately, it had closed several weeks before. Watched as they were tearing down classrooms. Very sad.
I had wanted Chanute for tech school in 1971 because it was close to home, but I did electronics at Keesler.
Very sad indeed!!! I went through tech school in '89 Parachute/Surival Equipment. After hearing Chanute had closed in 93, I wanted to go back up and see but never did, whish I had! Cant believe that big old building is gone! But the memories will remain.
Love the video! Great job!
Was there in 86 being trained to repair weather equipment. White Hall was the first step to that training.
i use to live in Rantoul when the base was going strong,very sad to see her like this. brings back alot of memorys.
White Hall was named after Edward White, Astronaut to die on Apollo 1.
Wow. Was there for 6 months in 87. AGE mechanic
1984 Aircraft Environmental Systems. Thanks for the video.
As of now,May 2016,White Hall is little more than rubble. The building is completely tore down.
Graduated from Chanute tech school in 1988, sad to see it in such decay.
OMG, so incredibly sad for me. I walked White Hall. Loved Chanute. Just unreal. 1986, mar-november
So sad this was my base back in 1968, so sad!!!!
it is very sad to me too
It's even sadder they tore everything down 3 or so years ago. I went to Lincoln's Challenge and then, worked as a peer mentor after graduation. I'm also a history buff. I was born on the 50th anniversary of D-Day. To lose Grissom Hall where I received my education was especially heartbreaking. I did manage to sneak into the post office with a peer as a cadet. Even though it was beyond disrepair, I was beyond thrilled to step into history.
I went to school in White Hall. I learned electronics there. I retired from the USAF.
Rantoul was beautiful then, especially the fall.
I was young...
I was stationed at Cganute afb in 1984 1985. i was in the 3372 student sqd,
I was there in the Spring '84. Can't recall what training squad I was in. Might have been 3361..62..71..or 72. It was electronics training. What did 3372 train in?
Terrence Brady
i was trained as a 42354 pneudraulics systems specialist.
Bob N I found an old news clipping in The Pacesetter from when the T-birds were there. I was in the 3362nd.
I was 3372 in feb-july 1982,a female Gen.Brown was base commander at the time.
@ Bob 942
Same here! 1976, between April and August, if memory serves me right. Trained on T-38’s. Great times!
Enjoyed that a lot! Thank you.
Abandoned UK Thanks much, glad you enjoyed :)
My late father was stationed there in the late 1940s, early 50s before he was stationed in Buffalo NY where I was born in 1956.
This was my tech base in 87. AGE.
Awesome clip! I am semi close to the area and would love to walk around there. Do you know who I need to contact to gain access for photography?
I believe the area (White Hall) that I photographed have been demolished. I have not been there in over 10 years, so I can't really say beyond that :(
So sad. 1980 for Aircrew Life Support Tech school. 1987 for Aircrew Life Support Supervisors course.
Got to Chanute in June 83 ; Permanent Party. Soon got out and went Civil Service until they turned the lights off. Only live 15 miles away; haven't went back, and I don't know if I even want to go back.
I have nothing against the base itself, it's just some of the personnel there at the time were not concerned with keeping the brown off their noses.
I wish I had done this when the building was still standing i lived 20 minutes away
I was assigned duty as an instructor in the aircraft mechanic school late 1957 until 1958. The school was closed and moved to Sheppard. Since I was "short" I finished my enlistment servicing t-33's. It was cold on the runways that winter. Not my favorite base.