Family History
“His whole world collapsed”
The story of how Col. Tom Bell and crew members transported a Panamanian dictator and drug lord back to the United States.
My dad, Colonel Tom Bell was a member of the United States Air Force for 26 years. He was a navigator on an MC-130, a special operations plane used by the Air Force. The navigator is one of the most important positions on an aircraft. My dad would study the flight plans very in-depth and told the pilots where to go and the altitude they needed to fly at. He has many stories about his role as a Navigator in the Air Force. These stories can be funny, serious, or quite sad.
Operation Just Cause
Manuel Antonio Noriega Morena was a military leader, Panamanian dictator, and a drug trafficker. Noriega was rich at the height of his success. In his early career, Noriega was one of the CIA’s most valued intelligence sources. As the Chief of Military Intelligence, he helped the US stop illicit weapon trades, military equipment trade, and controlled cash coming into the US from Panama. Through all this, the US knew he was drug lord but were hesitant to take action as they needed him for his much important role in Operation Just Cause. By 1988, the US had enough, and through federal courts, Noriega charged with drug trafficking crimes.
The Invasion of Panama started on December 20, 1989. This was the largest military action since the Vietnam War. Noriega knew this attempt to capture him was coming, and he went to seek sanctuary in embassies specifically in Cuba or Nicaragua, but the US predicted this move and surrounded these embassies so he went to the Vatican embassy.
My father, Tom Bell, a Navigator in the Air Force, was told he would be on the crew that would transport Noriega back to the United States. As he waited for Noriega to leave the embassy, the US played rock music for ten days straight and used other negotiation tactics to force him out of the embassy. When Noriega finally surrendered, DEA agents transported him to Howard Air Force base where he was given to Tom Bell and the other members of the aircrew.
Noriega was very quiet on this plane ride back to the US. In our interview, my father said, “He was on top of the world one day, and the next he was locked in shackles on the back of an airplane, his whole world collapsed.”
In stone-cold silence, Noriega sat in stone-cold silence on the back of the aircraft. My dad and his crew wanted something to remember from this Operation, they asked Noriega for an autograph, and he agreed and signed their crew plans. The commander of there crew got some backlash for this, but in the end, they all were happy.
Operation Desert Storm
Another important Operation my dad participated in was Operation Desert Storm. In 1991, Operation Desert Storm was an immediate military response to Iraq capturing Kuwait. The military wanted to stop them from pushing into more neighboring countries, and Kuwait’s oil was valuable to the US. In Operation Desert Storm, the US Air Force used a system to cause physical paralysis in Iraq to stop them from doing any more damage to other countries.
My dad's role in Operation Desert Storm was in strategic operations, both physiological attacks and dropping Blu-82 bombs destroying everything in its path. The point of the physiological attacks was to tell the citizens to obey US orders. They dropped leaflets wanting to scare the people telling them to surrender to the US or much harm would cause. On MC-130s, they could carry bombs up to 15,000 pounds, which is exactly what the Blu-82 weighed. The Blu-82’s job was to wipe out vegetation. They would destroy farmland instantly and take away food from the people.
My dad’s MC-130 was the first to land in a newly cleared airfield, and when exiting the plane a Kuwait citizen wanted to trade for an American flag patch on my dad’s uniform. So my dad also wanted something he could remember from this day. He acquired a Kuwait flag for the American flag patch on his uniform. The flag is oil-stained and torn from the attacks from the U.S.
Post-Flying Years
My dad stayed a Navigator for 14 years, then went into the role of test and evaluation, where he was the commander of his squadron. His squadron would test new missiles to make sure they were accurate and would actually work. They also tested the new security systems that were used on bases to keep everyone safe.
My dad’s military service affects my life every day, his work in the military has made my life much better. As a kid, I moved around a lot base to base with my family and I was too young to understand why we moved so much. It took me a long time to recognize how much my dad has done for me. Even after he retired, he became a JROTC teacher to share his wisdom with the youth.
Tom Bell’s Childhood
My dad grew up in Irvington, New York, in a lower-income household. He was the oldest of his three siblings and earned everything. Originally, he used the military as a way to pay for college through ROTC. While he was at college he realized he liked the military more. His original plan was to serve his time in the military and retire right away. When he started his career in the military he said, “I couldn’t even believe I was getting paid, I felt like I was scamming the people paying me.”
My dad’s whole life he was very active, he played many different sports as a kid and as an adult. The activity that has stuck with him the longest is running during his time in the military he ran many races. Today, he and I will go out and run races against each other.
A Family Close but Scattered
One thing about my family is we can find friends we know from many different states and a few countries. I have lived in Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, and North Carolina.
My dad is the only one of his siblings to leave New York. My family and I are so used to moving that when it came to actually buying a house in Asheville, North Carolina, it never feels quite right.
My dad took a new job after he retired but it still had huge military involvement. JROTC is a program in high schools to teach teenagers about the military and citizenship. This job allowed us to finally settle down in one place, and we visit New York often to see family.
“Lousy conditions, Good times, and the Bad Times”
A conversation with Tom Bell
When thinking about what to ask for this interview, I just broke it down into steps of things I wanted to learn: Tom’s childhood, Operation Just Cause, and Operation Desert Storm. So I broke them up into three parts and slowly gathered information. I wanted to know the most about Noriega as this is what my project is mostly based around. While I have heard a lot of stories from these missions he went on I didn’t know that much detail so this was very beneficial to learn more about this. Furthermore, I learned about how through tough times and good times, you can make some of your closest friends who can affect your life every day.
I believe the conversation brought me closer to my Dad, not often do I get to sit down with him and just talk about his stories from the military as he would like to keep them to himself. Just sitting there after dinner one night hearing about what he’s done and how it's changed my life really makes me appreciate my family even more than before. It sparked more conversations outside of the interview as he began to read my project wanting to read what I had to say.
Interview
Could you please state your full name and date of birth?
Thomas Edward Bell, April 24th, 1962.
What was your life like growing up?
I lived in a small town in New York just about 20 miles outside of New York City, went to school close by to the house and did a lot of outdoor activities had lots of friends and graduated with them was a very close-knit small community.
What was it like growing up in Irvington, New York?
I played a lot of sports; it was a small town with a lot of woods and things to do. We played a lot of sports on the fields around and walked to some schools.
What was a school like?
It was a small school with about 400 students, 100 per class, everyone knew each other.
What motivated you to go to college?
My parents had gone to college and they persuaded me to follow so it was kind of expected that I needed to do this to be successful.
Why go did you go into ROTC for college?
Mainly a way to pay for college, I went on a scholarship and was planning to fulfill my agreement then get out and do something different but I stayed in.
How did this change your life?
It gave me a job right out of college in the military, right away I traveled overseas and my whole life had changed. I signed an oath to be in the military and fulfilled this obligation.
What persuaded you to stick with the military?
I just liked it, the people, mission, and places I had been it was overall a great opportunity and lots of fun.
Can you talk about how you worked your way through the ranks?
The first few ranks are almost automatic, you start as a Second Lieutenant, then two years later you become a First Lieutenant, then two years later you're a captain. To go beyond that you are expected to get an advanced degree, which I did through night school. After this, you become major and get more jobs and responsibilities, then as I went further up I was expected to do more things. Like jobs that made you supervise people or more Profesional Military education.
How did you become a Navigator?
It was on the scholarship I applied for, and that was the slot when I went to training for this ranking.
What are your most memorable moments as a Navigator?
Combat missions during the Gulf War. Even some fun missions like going to Notre Dame to take the Air Force Band then staying for the game. Also, doing a lot of the open houses at the airshows and getting to meet the public at big events.
What were some missions you were involved with?
During the Gulf War, we did a lot of psychological operations dropping leaflets, helicopter refueling missions and dropped a Blu-82(15000-pound bomb size of Volkswagon). Even some of the practice missions during training, where you practiced picking people off the ground, where the line would drop and the person would grab the line (like in Batman), though we never had to do this in a real mission.
What friends did you gain from your time in these Operations?
The friends I gained I still keep in contact with, some who I knew when I was a Lieutenant all the way till I retired and still continue to communicate with them. You just have strong bonds of sharing times together with lousy conditions, good times, and the bad times but you knew you were all there for each other.
What was your life like when you were a Navigator?
My life was a reverse schedule, I worked at night so I would go to work in the afternoon and wouldn’t get home till the middle of the night. Then you would fall asleep through the day and work through the night.
What did you eat?
We didn’t eat well, I ate a lot of fast food because it was easy to prepare and bring on airplanes. I drank way to many Mountain Dews to keep my energy up, my diet wasn’t good till after I retired. It had to be easy to prepare so we could take it on the plane.
What hours did you do most of your work? Why?
At night, we’d take off at 7–9 pm then land at 1–3 am… My airplane that was designed to get in and out of places without being noticed and flying at night helped reduce signature.
Who was Manuel Noreiga?
He was a Dictator of Panama.
Why did the government feel a need to remove him from power?
He (Noriega) had been a threat to the United States. In Panama, he ordered school buses filled with children and military personal to be detained. He was also involved with major drug trafficking.
What was your role in capturing Noriega?
He was on my airplane and we flew him back to the US.
Why was Noriega such an important capture for the US?
He was a major threat to the US and caused us harm. He threatened Americans so the President felt a need to have him removed.
What was Noriega like?
He was very short, very quiet, but overall just looked like he was crashing down. He was on top of the world one day and the next he was locked in shackles on the back of an airplane, his whole world collapsed.
Can you talk about how he camped in the Vatican Embassy?
Noreiga took refuge in this embassy so they used physiological terror to drag him out of there. They played heavy metal rock music for days and it drove him crazy. Eventually, he gave himself to authorities and then was taken to the airplane to be flown back to the US for his trial.
What was Operation Desert Storm?
It was the US mission during the Gulf War to remove Saddam Hussein and restore Kuwait to independence. Initially, it was to stop Saddam Hussein from threatening Saudia Arabia and Kuwait.
What was your role in Operation Desert Storm?
I was a crew member on one of the MC-130s special operations airplane.
Did you do anything special while you were there?
Physiological operations, dropping leaflets, heliport refueling missions, and dropping the 15000 lbs bomb.
What were the leaflets trying to convey?
To surrender and not support their government. It gave them instructions to surrender to the US or they would be faced bad harm.
How did you acquire the flag (Kuwait)?
When the airfield was free, we were the first airplane to land. We traded our American patches for the Kuwait Flag. It is oil-stained from the burning of the oil fields.
What position did you get after you stopped being a Navigator?
I went in to test and evaluation, I was a commander of a squadron to test the new weapon systems that would eventually come out to see if they would work.
What did you do as this position?
We tested new missile systems to make sure they were accurate and security systems to be used on bases for everyone's safety.
How has the military affected your life?
It has been the majority of my life. I grew up in the military and was with my family. We moved a lot and it gave us the opportunity to live in different places of the country and world. Everything I have done I owe to the military.
Why did you continue in a military career even after retiring?
JROTC employs retired military members to teach in high schools. I like teaching and working with people.
How has the military affected our family?
We’ve had to move a lot and seen a lot of places, meet different people, and see different parts of the country. You live a different life you're always on the move every few years.
How have the places you lived in shaped our family?
We’ve lived in areas that had weather, climates, and different houses. We’ve met many different people, created many new experiences, and you and TJ have gone to new schools around the country.
Other than JROTC, how does the military help us today?
As a retiree, we get health benefits and receive retirement pay. I still have connections to the military.
Favorite military memory?
I think it's the people and friends I met. You get to see things be done over the days and you have a sense of accomplishment.
Oral History Reflection
How did your perception of community history change, from before the interview to now?
Prior to this interview, I didn’t know that much about my Dad’s childhood or some of the things he did in the military. I had heard some of these stories but never to this extent.
How did this project inspire you to learn more about your family and community?
It pushed me to research about stories like the Invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm. It also made me want to learn more about his childhood as I am learning a lot of information about him.
What were some of the challenges you faced during this project? What could you do differently in your next oral history interview?
Prior to the interview, I thought I knew much more about his childhood and his time in the military so I struggled coming up with questions to think of. I think if I were to do another oral history interview I would spend even more time focusing on questions so I could get even deeper answers.
If the roles were reversed and you became the tradition-bearer, what stories would you like to tell?
I think I would want to tell stories about how my Dad’s life has affected mine. I also would want to talk about how living in multiple states as a kid has changed my life. I also would want to talk about how I finally settled into Asheville, North Carolina.
Bibliography
1- Active Diplomacy to Achieve Us Objectives 1960–1991, in Central America, Washington, Panama, and Argentina, John A Bushnell, Xlibris, September 2018
2- The US Military Intervention in Panama, Lawrence A. Yates. St. John’s Press, 2016.
3- HISTORY Vault: Operation Desert Storm, Brynn Holland,History.Com, March 2017
4- Operation Desert Sheild/Desert Storm, Airforce Historical Support Division, December 2011
