BOALSBURG, Pa (WJAC) — One man's military career involved him spending a lot of time by himself

At the Pennsylvania military museum in Boalsburg, among the exhibit is the story of a veteran from State College an, Air Force veteran, who had one of the loneliest jobs in the military.

The B-52 bomber is an iconic aircraft.

Its first flights were in the 1950s, and it’s still seeing military service.

The early B-52 models had a tail gunner position with cramped working conditions and those in the big plane's far back seat, first underwent psychological testing.

Robert Edward Sr. is a retired Air Force master sergeant. He was a B-52 tail gunner for nearly a decade, stationed in New England, many times on lengthy flight assignments

The chrome dome flights took the B-52s to the Baltic sea, where they usually had Russian fighter jets flying alongside them.

Edwards began his military service in the Navy, before deciding he wanted to fly and joining the Air Force.

With the missiles becoming more of a threat than fighter jets, the Air Force eventually eliminated the tail gunner position on the B-52 bombers.

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