After arriving at Kwajalein, I was in a helicopter where I was flown to a very remote island (Carlos) and my telemetry work site (1/4 mile wide by 3/4 mile long) for 2 years repairing, maintaining and operating high-tech equipment.  I made frequent trips to another atoll island called Gagan telemetry work site (45 minute helicopter trip each way).  Flying and/or water transportion to work was a way of life for the most part of the 23 years worked at Kwajalein maintaining equipment at worksites on the atoll islands named Meck, Gagan, Legan, Omelek, Enewetok, Gellinam and Illeginni.  I provided maintenance, repair and operation support for the Range Instrumentation departments (map),  Optic Sensors, RADOT, Super RADOT, Mission Control, etc. throughout Kwajalein, each allowing me to learn more equipment and repairing it to component level. 

My technical expertise excelled along with receiving more than 40 technical training schools under my belt.  Among all that, I'm a licensed piano tuner/technician and was contracted to tune all the government pianos along with tuning about 80 privately owned pianos at Kwajalein.  I also rebuilt a few pianos that were completely out of commission.   I loved entertaining for dances and parties along with working my many bands I had over the years.  I have even sit for USO shows because the band members left the show.  I provided many years of service for the community fixing TVs, stereos, video cameras, VCRs, music equipment, the church organs, microwave ovens, projectors, walkmans, etc., including being a Sony Hawaii and Matsushita as a representative them for the Marshall Islands..  I also repaired medical equipment and X-ray equipment that was used for treating the Marshallese people.  There was never a dull minute and it seems I'm just as busy in the states.

During one of my trips of entertainment, my band, Shermie & Friends, performed in Pohnpei, Eastern Caroline Islands, 1977.  There I met my island girl Matea, who married a year later.  She had three children (Andreas, Catherine & Sontrigo) that I adopted and raised.  About a year after our marriage, I moved back to Kansas City in 1978 where the 4th child Raymond was born at Bethany Hospital, where I was born.  I worked for Storage Technology as a Field Engineer servicing all their data equipment city wide.  I loved that job but after two years, a view moonlighting jobs with my old company taking to other locations in the US and then I decided to go back overseas.  There I stayed for the next time around, 12 years.  I gave piano lessons to my kids, was little league baseball coach for years, attended all my kids games and loved to dance.  I was a busy family man but seem to get a lot of work done through the years.  I also played on many softball teams through the years.  I return to Kansas City in 1992 with my family for 5 months and the company hired me back to take a position at the ALTAIR Radar site, Roi-Namur, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, not even getting to unpack my shipment that returned from the islands, over 6 thousand miles away.  The 6,000 lbs of shipment was turned around and returned to Kwajalein without my household goods leaving the crates.  I worked at ALTAIR radar for 6 years performing maintenance and repair on the network servers, the system mainframes, workstations, PCs, and many interfaces at the Radar site (America's #1 and most powerful radar in the world).  In 1997, I left Kwajalein after divorce proceedings, unfortunately but moved on working for Raytheon plants in the Boston, MA area.  There I work supporting IT tasks and training.  After 2 years working in IT, I moved to Technical Writing where I spent some times back with my Kwaj friends at MIT/Lincoln Labs at Kwajalein.  In year 2000, I left Raytheon and worked for 2nd Century Communications as a Sales Engineer with responsibilities of installing and maintaining networks, hubs, switches, etc.  Seven months later, the IT market plunged and the company shutdown.
 

I now work for Intel at the Fab 23 plant in Colorado Springs, CO and work in the Robotics field (operations and maintenance).  I spent 7 months in working at the D2 plant in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, CA in year 2000 learning new skills in the robotics field, then I worked 4 years in Hudson, MA at Fab 17.  February 10th, 2004, I flew to my new home in Colorado Springs, CO, Mountain Shadows area, where Intel moved me, my household and truck to continue my work there at the Fab 23.  I now only live 3 miles door-to-door from work in Colorado Springs, excellent commute, 35 mph top speed, with an excellent view of the mountains as seen at right, Pikes Peak in view.  My plant is only a half miles from the Garden of the Gods.   I look forward to spending many years in this area possibly until I reach retirement.  Who knows, Intel might have another assignment that could take me elsewhere.  I'm also enjoying playing piano and singing at the Golden Bee of the Broadmoor Hotel along performing for many other musical opportunities here in the Colorado Springs area.

Intel Fab 23

I've been divorced since 1997.  The last six years, I have really enjoyed playing music weekly at the Old Timer in Clinton, MA and living in my home there from 1997 to 2005.  I had a great band in MA called "End of the Line".  After 23 years of working overseas, I now enjoy stateside living, music, making friends, relaxing, gardening, and cooking.  I also enjoy keeping making up websites for my friends and now venturing into helping our 1970 WHS class with making an informative website link, Washington High School - Class 1970.

I have special friends in my life that I would like to mention in closing: my family, Matea, Catherine, Andreas, Sontrigo, and Raymond; my father, Sherman Wiehe; my mother, Eileen Oakley and her husband Jim (Kwaj friend 23 years); my sister, Sandra Wiehe (Kansas City); my niece, Mandy; Jerry Brewer (deceased), my interviewer that hired me and friend since 1972; Paul Ackerman, my best friend in life (Kwaj buddy & successful business owner); William Patton (Kentron Hawaii/DynCorp supervisor/manager, retired); Tom White (Raytheon supervisor & manager); Glen Eicher (Storage Tech Manager); the Carlos Island gang; Ed Hamblin, best musician friend (Nashville Grammy Winner); Elika, my Hawaiian buddy, friend and musician; my Marshallese and Hawaiian band members and friends from 1972-97; my MIT/LL friends and Kwaj associates from 23 Kwaj years of service and to many many others.

I was able to attend the 10, 20 and 30 year Washington High School Reunions.  I hope to acquire more contacts in the future with WHS class members, email me: shermie@comcast.net.  Shermie Wiehe, 2147 Denton Grove, Colorado Springs, CO  80919, 719-264-1124.