Las Vegas Sun

June 4, 2012

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Letter to the editor:

Shining example of energy independence

Charles F. Carpenter, Henderson

Friday, May 23, 2008 | 2:02 a.m.

More than 45 years ago, while stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, I wondered where our JP-4 (jet fuel) came from. Daily I saw a fuel tanker loading jet fuel into the underground tanks next to the airstrip.

The jet fuel came from a small independent refinery outside Rapid City, S.D. After much curiosity I drove over to the refinery. There it was — a small set of oil wells and a small refinery that got the job done. Its operator even sold gasoline at a small gas station in Rapid City!

With my East Coast curiosity in top gear, I learned that South Dakota was loaded with crude oil! Probably from the million-year-old glacier.

Just think. We had an operational B-52 SAC Base, independent of Saudi Arabia! I even remember a World War II song, “We Did It Before and We Can Do It Again” (1943). Guess that was just a song.

Charles F. Carpent

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