The Last Americans Leave Libya

But it would take 37 years

The Wheelus PX, from the author’s collection

When my family moved to Tripoli in 1954, Wheelus Air Force Base was busy and thriving. It was a SAC (Strategic Air Command) base. The relationship with the Libyan government under King Idris was a cordial and tolerant one. The Air Force partnered with the Royal Libyan Air Force to train Libyan pilots.

Wheelus’ location and clear weather made it a natural forward operating location for Strategic Air Command, especially in the early days of aerial refueling, when aerial tankers were few. SAC deployed to Wheelus B-50 and B-47 heavy bombers as well as KB-29, KB-50, KC-97, and KC-135 tankers. (Air Force Magazine, Jan. 1, 2008)

My mother worked at the PX (the post exchange), which was the center for all gossip about who was coming, who was leaving, and when there’d be fresh milk from Germany in the commissary. I wrote about living in Tripoli here.

Libya Was a Very Different Place

Qaddafi’s coup

In 1969 the aging king left Libya for medical treatment, giving a twenty-seven-year-old named Muammar Qaddafi a perfect…