From Past to Present: Former Missile Airmen Recount Days at Grand Forks Published July 3, 2013 By A1C Zachiah Roberson 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Reminiscing about the past is fun, but doing that with a group of old friends you haven't seen in decades can prove to be a joyous occasion. One group of former Airmen recently gathered after not having seen each other for 40 years. Seven members of the 321st Missile Maintenance Squadron, formerly based at Grand Forks AFB, toured the installation during a June visit. "I cannot believe how much this place has changed," said Scott Vinton. "When I was here we didn't have all of these amazing facilities. We either went to the NCO club or got together at the barracks recreation room." The group shared memories of their experiences while working with the missiles at the time. "We worked on missiles the whole time we were stationed here, day or night, we were the Airmen doing what we could to support the mission at the time, and we were darn good at it," said Jerry Kirkpatrick. The Sage building they worked out of in the late 1960s was razed years ago, something they noticed immediately. "It's not just the Sage building that's missing," said Kirkpatrick. "We used to have the F-101 Voodoos here and when they hit those afterburners, you knew which plane was taking off from anywhere on base, and it cracked so loud." The visitors also met with Col. Paul Bauman, 319th Air Base Wing commander. "We had fun when we were in the force, and this place has definitely changed in a good way since our time here," said Vinton. "But no matter how good something is when you remember it, everything changes sooner or later; we just left for 40 years too long and missed it."