To the Editor:

If it wasn’t for Truax field, I might not exist. On June 9, 1945, an Army Air Corps serviceman named George from Jersey City, NJ, stationed at Truax Field, was invited on a group blind date by a girl named Natalie. Lucky for me, he liked another local girl there named Lorna better and slipped her a note, asking her to write to him. They were engaged that September. Fast forward 74 years and I sit writing this in my living room, only a few miles west of where they met. The history of that airfield holds me close.

I moved to this house on the Northside of Madison knowing I was close to the airport. I mean…duh. I’m even the sort of person that will rush to the windows now when I hear the jets fly overhead. Let’s forget for a moment any moral arguments about the US role in foreign conflicts; we hairless ground-monkeys have somehow figured out how to fly. And fast. That’s objectively cool, and no one will change my mind on that. Sure, if I am on the phone and they go over, it means a pause in conversation, but I moved here understanding where I was and what to expect. After all, I’ve lived in this city all my life.

When the F-35 beddown was announced, I also knew what to expect. There would be resistance from the community about continuing to be involved in the military industrial complex and furthering wars abroad. I understand these concerns, but when the announcement was coupled with the threat that the field might close if we did not get the F-35s, my heart sank. Could we really risk losing those jobs? What would that do to the surrounding economy? Sure, jets are loud, but they’re already loud now, right? The threat of Truax closing felt like the roots of my family tree being cut away.

I attended the open houses and talked with the specialists provided by the Department of Defense. I am grateful for the time and consideration that these men and women have put into being open to our community. I felt that the change could benefit us; the F-35s they said would bring more living-wage jobs to my part of the city that has been all but forgotten by the City of Madison and would give us a fighting chance to raise ourselves up. Damn the haters, we need this.

Then the military’s environmental impact statement came out. Hundreds of houses would become unlivable. Thousands of my neighbors would lose their homes. My own home is not identified in the immediate impact zone, but it is impossible to think we will suddenly not be able to hear that which makes a house ten blocks away unlivable. Then there is the impact to my rental properties—the impact zone is almost entirely to Madison’s most affordable and most diverse neighborhoods, where I own two buildings. F-35s in Madison would mean I have to tell eight families whose babies I’ve seen born and whose hands I’ve held during crises that not only is our relationship over, but they are now homeless because their apartments are unlivable. I’ll be fine; the military or city will have to buy out my property. I have no idea what will happen to them.

I have since learned that Representative Chris Taylor has Department of Defense officials on record stating with no uncertainty that Truax Field will not close if we are not chosen as the beddown site. I have also since learned that the possible hundreds of jobs originally estimated are now down to only 64, and likely not to be hired from amongst my neighbors.

My grandmother’s 93rd birthday would have been September 13, and she and my serviceman grandfather believed that the greatest love is demonstrated in service to others. It is why Grandpa served his country, and it is why Grandma and now I, too, serve my community.

For me, this has nothing to do with being pro- or anti-military. I will always be the proud child of veterans. It has to do with living what they believed they were fighting for: opportunity, and a better life for all of us. For these reasons, I ask that my neighbors and elected representatives stand with me against the F-35 beddown in Madison.

Sincerely,

Renee Walk
NPC Co-Chair, Sherman
Neighborhood Association Co-Chair, and Fifth-Generation Madisonian