Touch of Gray - March / April 2006

Female Meadows Resident Rose to the Rank of Major During World War II
Indonesian Odyssey Reunites Carolina Meadows Teacher and Student

Female Meadows Resident Rose to the Rank of Major During World War II
   Betty Wiker's first assignment after completing six weeks of basic training as a WAAC at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa in 1942 was to track the route of aircraft in the "plotting room" at Bolling Field in Washington, D.C. "I hated it," she said in a recent interview at Carolina Meadows, where she has lived since 2004. "I hated being cooped up in a stuffy, underground room repeating the same old routine task day after day."

   But it wasn't long before Betty, a vigorous and aspiring young woman of 21 was transferred to the motor pool where she relished a stint driving a jeep. "Then I was in seventh heaven," she said. That is, until she spied, nearby, a five-foot-tall recruit standing in front of a huge truck during inspection. "And there I was." she laughed, "all six feet of me, standing alongside a jeep. We both looked ridiculous." The two women solved the disparity by simply exchanging vehicles.

   Betty rapidly surmounted her fledgling status, and went on to build a substantial ten-year career in the military service, moving up quickly in the early years to the rank of Second Lieutenant with assignments of Finance Officer, Club Officer, Recruiting Officer and Squadron Commander in charge of over 100 women. She served extensively all up and down the east coast and throughout the country, at Ft. Des Moines, Iowa; Wright Patterson Field, Dayton Ohio; Hill Field, Ogden, Utah, Ladd Field, Fairbanks, Alaska; Love Field, Dallas, Texas. Westover Field, Springfield Massachusetts, and Governors Island, New York City, as well as Bolling Field, Washington, D.C.

   She's always liked being known as someone who served her country, and has never fretted if her calling was derided or misunderstood. Over the years she was asked, "So what is it, exactly, that women do in the Air Force?" Considering this a fair question, she went on to show skeptical inquisitors photos from her large collection that depict women performing assignments ranging from transport duty, aircraft mechanics, clerks, medics and recruiting, to preparing and serving chow.

   Betty made it clear in passing that she always managed to avoid kitchen duty, with the emphatic statement," I don't cook."

   "Of course women these days do all kinds of things from which we were excluded back in the forties," she remarked, "such as flying planes, and participating in combat. Although, aircraft were piloted by women doing ferry service in the WASP."

   "Still," she added, "back in the forties female recruits were considered essential to the efficient conduct of the war. We were always regarded as an important part of the team."

   Betty smiled, certain incidents during tours of duty stick in her mind. She refers to them with a degree of fondness; aware that they might have offended some fellow recruits, or transgressed certain feminist sensibilities, even then.

   For instance, when assigned to the repetitive chore of signing checks, she was given the exalted title of Finance Officer. And when asked to staff the recruitment center in Manhattan, which was known as the "fish bowl" (so named because of its location in the center of Times Square), she was advised to assign the most attractive enlisted women she could find. At one point she was able to find a prominent female movie star to appear in a public relations group photo.

   Of course beauty was not a stated condition for serving in the armed forces. Betty remarked with a chuckle that it was perhaps quite inappropriate to favor physical attractiveness over such noteworthy qualities as loyalty, patriotism, and strength of character.

   Eventually, after months of service, Betty was abruptly summoned to Washington. D.C. for an appointment with the Commanding Officer of the WAF. She thought she'd performed well as an officer, but still she worried all night before the appointment. What could I have done wrong, she wondered. Did I break some draconian rule of which I was unaware? The following morning she was greeted by a stern commander who "looked me over for several long minutes, then placed me in charge of the first group of women headed for Ladd Field in Fairbanks, Alaska."

   In Alaska, Betty witnessed first hand a feat of war, which remains a vivid memory vivid even now, after more than fifty years of civilian life. One day a pilot asked if she'd like to join him on a mission to bomb the Chena River, to break up the ice. Always defiant and ready for adventure, she accepted eagerly, though looking back now, she wonders if her eagerness might have been due in part to a subconscious desire to briefly escape the frosty chills of Fairbanks, where temperatures often dipped down to below 50 degrees.

   At any rate, she bolted into the Air Craft, landing on the bomb rack leading to the tail gunner's seat. There she perched, surrounded by glass, with a spectacular view of sky and earth. In a short time the plane reached it's target, and looking down, Betty saw that the river was frozen solid. "It appeared." she said, "to be all glass, like a mirror."

   Then, suddenly, she heard a drawn-out roar and witnessed the impressive and unrestrained spectacle of falling bombs as the bomb bay doors opened behind her. She said,"I felt both scared and excited at the same time."

   Before this exploit, Betty had been precluded from any calculated exposure to risk, because of her gender. Now, a half-century later, she notes with some sadness the apparent disappearance of the chivalrous attitude.

   She remarks that such an attitude was abundantly clear when upon returning to base from a field mission to the Aleutian Islands one afternoon, she was shocked to find that their company barracks had burned to the ground. It was an appalling sight. All the occupants had managed to escape, but she learned later that one enlisted woman, a cook off duty, had died in the blaze. No one knew, at the time, what had caused the tragedy.

   Every soldier on base, noting that the women had lost not only their sense of security, but all of their possessions as well, offered whatever he could to help ease their despair, including, in some instances, his own clothing.

   Betty had joined the service after attending Moser Business school for six months, then working at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where she earned, along with food, uniforms and housing, the magnificent sum of twenty one dollars a month. There was no money to attend college but this didn't impair her capacity to learn, nor did she mind the minor restrictions of being in the military. She says, "I've always led a simple life."

   The inability to pay for higher education was not unusual at the time, said Betty, especially for young women whose parents had trouble saving for tuition and expenses on a moderate income. Her best friend, Rita Van Coutren, whose mom took over her job at a dime store when she entered the WAACs, was one of ten children in her family to join up.

   Betty met her husband, Kenneth, at a USO dance while she was visiting her grandmother in Michigan. She had gone to the mixer with her friend Lorraine who, when one of the dancers offered to take her home, persuaded Betty to pick out some attractive solder to make up a foursome. "From across a crowded room" she spotted Kenneth who was six feet, six inches tall and, she said, "a dream come true."

   At the time, Kenneth had been stationed at Selfridge Field, Michigan. Later, he was sent to India and put in charge of the parachute shop. He was able to make use of his skills as a patternmaker for women's garments in that assignment.

   After the two married in 1949, Betty resigned from the service at the rank of major and gave up what would have been a twenty-year pension in order to start a family. They moved to Teaneck, New Jersey where Kenneth pursued his civilian vocation as a patternmaker. They remained married for fifty years and raised two children, son Bob and daughter Nancy, who both now live in North Carolina. Betty speaks proudly of her four grandchildren who have inherited the height gene.

   While in Teaneck, Betty received numerous awards for her volunteer activities in Scouting and community work, and was honored by the national office of the American Association of Retired Persons as one of the most active volunteers in the United States for her 45 years of participation in community projects.

   Betty lost her husband in 2000. Now she continues to pursue her lifetime habit of giving to others by looking for opportunities to be of service at Carolina Meadows, where she has worked, so far, at such events as the annual Activities Fair, the UNC-TV fund raising drive, and the adopt-a-highway and summer camp programs.

   She is reluctant to speak of her accomplishments, many of which can be inferred from her years of military service, her long marriage, and the many laudatory articles that were written about her in the Teaneck newspapers. -- Carol Klein, Resident

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Indonesian Odyssey Reunites Carolina Meadows Teacher and Student
   Having lived in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Nepal over a lifetime career in teaching and the ministry, Myles Walburn was amazed to receive an e-mail in late October 2005, from Tan Hong Liong. "Do you remember me? You were my favorite lecturer." Myles, recalling his teaching days at a theological school in Indonesia in the 1960's, replied, "Of course I remember you - I have always wondered what happened to you after you, left Makassar." He had not been in contact with Tan in 40 years. In fact, Myles had a part in causing Tan to be expelled from the school just a couple of months before his graduation.

   After a few e-mail exchanges Tan astounded Myles and his wife, Barbara, by inviting them for a 3-week visit at his expense. Myles wrote to another former student, Alex Sasabone, whose son was soon to be married in Indonesia, and asked, "Is Tan crazy?" Alex responded, "No, he is a generous, successful businessman - accept the offer!" Travel dates were confirmed and Tan wired money to their bank for plane tickets. Visas and tetanus shots were obtained, before their departure on January 18'. The route was to Detroit and Tokyo and then on to Indonesia. They were still saying, "This is just too good to be true!"

   They were greeted in Jakarta by two men with a friendly "MYLES" sign and handed them a packet from Tan which included business class airline tickets for use within the country, first class hotel reservations, a pre-programmed cell phone and the equivalent of $500 US in rupiahs. There was also an invitation to the Sasabone wedding in Bandung.

   At the hotel they barely had time to change clothes before appearing at Tan's pest control company dinner for 200 where they were greeted by employees dressed in pest costumes (bugs, mice, ants). Also greeting them was Tan wearing black jeans and tee shirt. Many employees wore clothing that sported a Rosie the Riveter picture, and the slogan "We can do it", the company's 2006 motto. There was an extensive buffet dinner with musical entertainment, recognition of various individuals and a motivational video. It was clear that Tan has a unique style of management, which encourages individual initiative and generously rewards competence.

   On the way to the airport the next morning Myles and Tan talked about his being asked to leave the school. Myles had always thought it was because Tan had tried to lead a student revolt, but learned from Tan that he had identified and exposed dishonesty in accounting practices to the rector.

   The two-hour flight across the Java Sea to Makassar on the island of Sulawesi was an emotional experience for Myles because of the importance of his years there (1960-1966), a critical time in Indonesian history and because of his love of the country, its history, culture and people. With the explosive population growth Makassar had changed dramatically over the years and was hardly recognizable to Myles. On Sunday the Walburns attended a downtown church where Myles had occasionally preached and afterwards had lunch with several former students. One of them is still driving the car Myles brought to Makassar in 1964! One of the highlights of the trip for Myles was a visit to the theological school, where he was invited to address the student body.

   The number of mosques that seem to have sprung up on every block surprised the visitors. They were told that construction costs are financed by the government, a policy not available to other religious groups.

   Recent years have seen a time of heightened tension between Christians and Muslims, especially in the eastern part of the country. On February 3rd, in Jakarta, President Yudhoyono, addressing a Chinese Confucian group during Chinese New Year, said, "In this country there is no such thing as religions that are recognized or not recognized by the state. The constitution guarantees the freedom of every citizen to have a religion and practice their faith. The state should never interfere in any religious teachings..." But two days earlier on the island of Lombok about 2,000 Muslims attacked a compound housing 31 families who were followers of Ahemadiyah, an Islamic sect with origins in India. There were no deaths but all the houses were burned. The attack had the tacit approval of the local government and Muslim leadership. A 1965 presidential decree never revoked identifies six religions that can be recorded on identity cards. These are Islam, Christianity, Roman Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. That leaves other minority religions, like Ahemadiyah, subject to attack.

   Bali was their next destination and they first went to Ubud, Bali's cultural capital. The hotel accommodations Tan had arranged for them there was situated in a lush tropical setting. Their thatched roof bungalow had many amenities including a small private swimming pool. Following a breakfast of green banana pancakes, bacon/eggs, fried noodles and papaya juice, they visited an area of scenic beauty dominated by Mt. Kintimani and Lake Batur. Back in Ubud a 30-piece gamelan orchestra and six dancers performed ancient traditional music and ritualistic dances on adjacent temple steps during their dinner hour at a popular cafe. One amazing coincidence, while the Walburns were walking down Ubud's Monkey Forest Street they-met old-friends-Barbara had known decades ago in Hong Kong and Myles had known in New York. Sightseeing continued at Tanah Lot, known for its group of sea temples. One is dramatically surrounded by seawater and accessible only at low tide. On the way to the beach at Nusa Dua they visited the places where two terrorist bombs exploded in 2002 and 2005. A monument bearing the names and countries of those killed marks the spot.

   From Bali the Walburns flew to Lombok and then on to Yogyakarta in central Java where Tan joined them. He had also located and brought an old friend of Myles' for a reunion visit. The group visited the Prambanan temple area. This UNESCO world historic site contains extensive 8th to 10th century Hindu temples, which continue under restoration. They also visited Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist stupa erected in the 8th and 9th century;'and the Kraton, the palace for the only functioning Sultan remaining in Indonesia and where they also watched the batik making process. The palace dates from 1757.

   Bidding a fond goodbye to friends, the Walburns and Tan flew to Jakarta, then drove to Bandung, West Java. Another highlight of the trip was the wedding of Peter Sasabone and the reception of some 800 guests featuring an amazing variety of food, massive floral displays and a multi-tiered wedding cake that stood over ten feet high.

   The Indonesian odyssey ended in Jakarta with an abbreviated city tour, which included the presidential palace, a look at legislative buildings, the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Horses Monument, symbol of the city. A final dinner was hosted by Tan at a historic Chinatown restaurant. The menu included specialties such as shark's fin soup, fried eel, pork with greens and fish soup with ginger.

   After an emotional farewell and gratitude to Tan for an incredible experience they flew to Singapore for the night and then back home to Chapel Hill.

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