DR AHEAD
DR AHEAD THE AIR FORCE NAVIGATORS OBSERVERS ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER VOL 30, NUMBER 4 LITTLE RIVER, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER 2014 The B-52H bombers of the 2nd BW Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, provide flexible, responsive, global combat capability, autonomously or in concert with other forces. The 2nd Bomb Wing is the oldest BW in the USAF and trains all Air Force Global Strike Command and Air Force Reserve Command B-52H crews. Photograph provided by Ron Barrett through USAF/PA. PRESIDENT’S REPORT by Ron Barrett, James Connally 63-06 When you receive this we will be six months from our April 14-17, 2015 Reunion. Come to the Reunion, refresh your flight memories, and enjoy the beautiful white sand beach at Pensacola, Florida. See the registration forms on pages 8 and 9 of this issue. We are all former Air Force officers and flyers, and we have much to offer to our nation via our leadership and technical skills. The direction and tasking of AFNOA is determined by you members in the important business meeting at the Reunion. One recent task that we have assumed is that of offering scholarships to the offspring of Air Force navigators and bombardiers. In this way we directly help the very best citizens of our nation take on higher responsi- bilities. This is a truly worthy matter. The only downside is that it takes dollars. We will address these expenditures at the meeting. ` Another task we must address is that AFNOA needs a presidential candidate. At this moment in time we do not have anyone offering to run. This is not good. I have been President for the past three terms. It is a great honor, and I love it. However, it is not good to have the same person for too long a period. I need to hear from one of you who might want to lead us into the future. Call me at 305-797-0745. I live in rural mid-Missouri (that’s a third world nation in mid-USA), and phone reception here is nominal. So I apologize ahead of time for the terrible reception. Best to e-mail me at: [email protected]. Thanks. ********* DR AHEAD PAGE 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS President's Report, by Ron Barrett . . . . . . . . 1 Membership Application Form ...........2 Historian's Report, by Ron Barrett ........3 AFNOA Awards Five $1000 Scholarships ...4 My Very First B-52 Flight, by Ted Loubris ...6 Reunion Registration Form .............8 Reunion Schedule ...................9 NKP - Roy, by Henri L. Bailey III . . . . . . . . . 11 Dutch Van Kirk, by Dick Mansfield . . . . . . . . 12 Not Rome, Nome! by Louis Malucci . . . . . . 13 A Letter to the Membership, by Errol Hoberman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Last Flights, by Richard Mansfield . . . . . . . 15 AFNOA Board & Operating Committees . . . 16 DR AHEAD MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION THE AIR FORCE NAVIGATORS OBSERVERS ASSOCIATION (AFNOA) Name _________________________________ Spouse's Name __________________________ Address ________________________________ ________________________________________ City ___________________________________ State/ZIP ______________________________ Home Phone ___________________________ Work Phone ___________________________ Cell Phone ___________________________ Internet Address ________________________ Base Name/Class Number ________________ Send a Tax Deductible $15.00 Annual Contribution check payable to AFNOA to: Dennis Ehrenberger, AFNOA Treasurer 2783 Glenview Drive Sierra Vista, AZ 85650-5734 Telephone: 520-378-1313 Tax Deductible Life Membership Contribution payable to AFNOA Under 55 55-60 61-65 $190.00 $165.00 $140.00 66-70 Over 70 Over 80 $90.00 $65.00 $35.00 Advise Jim Faulkner (address on page 16) of changes in address. Please include your e-mail address with your renewals and applications. DR AHEAD is the official publication of the Air Force Navigators Observers Association; a non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to maintaining the peace and security of the United States of America and a spirit of comradeship among the navigators, observers and bombardiers of the USAAC, USAAF, or the USAF. TENOA, the forerunner of AFNOA, was organized by Clarke Lampard, Ellington Class 50-D, in 1985. DR AHEAD is published by AFNOA, Inc., 6441 Avenida De Galvez, Navarre, Florida 32566-8911. Presorted 3rd class postage is paid at Fort Walton Beach, Florida. MANUSCRIPTS are welcomed, especially by E-mail (address: [email protected]) or by submittal to the editor on data CDs, IBM-compatible formats only please. All submissions must be signed and must include the address of the contributor; no anonymous material will be printed; however, names will be withheld on request. The editor reserves the right to edit submitted articles for reasons of taste, clarity, legal liability, or length. Originals will be returned only if a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage is included. The comments and views herein represent the views of the editor and are not necessarily those of AFNOA, Inc. Deadline for the next issue is 15 November 2014. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS are strongly preferred. If you cannot send information through electronic mail or on CD, copy should be typed. Photographs and drawings are also very welcome. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please report changes of address to: AFNOA, Inc., 4109 Timberlane, Enid, OK 73703-2825; [email protected]; 580-242-0526 DR AHEAD STAFF: Owner Editor, Richard W. Ahrens Copy Editor, Jack Mudie Circulation, Jim Faulkner Distribution AFNOA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] ********* DR AHEAD PAGE 3 Capt. Theodore Van Kirk, navigator; Col. Paul W. Tibbets, command pilot; and Major Thomas Ferebee, bombardier; standing by the Enola Gay on Okinawa, August 1945. Photograph provided by Ron Barrett through USAF/PA. HISTORIAN'S REPORT by Ron Barrett, James Connally 63-06 With sadness and a dose of reality we pay our respects to two of our honorable comrades who passed away recently and will be noted in the history books of World War II—one a bombardier, the other a navigator. Louis A. Zamperini, a 1936 Olympic Long Distance Running Champion; a World War II B-24 bombardier who survived 47 days at sea in a shot-up raft in the Pacific; and a prisoner of war for two and a half years in a horrible Japanese POW camp, passed away on July 2, 2014 with honor, pride, and dignity. Born on January 26, 1917, Lt. Zamperini was 97 years old. Side Note: AFNOA life member B-24 navigator Lt. Richard Mansfield was one of the receiving officers on Okinawa when Zamperini was being repatriated. He wrote two memoirs about his experiences, both of the same title: Devil at My Heels. The first, written with Helen Itria, subtitled The Story of Louis Zamperini, was published by Dutton in 1956. The second, subtitled A World War II Hero’s Epic Saga of Torment, Survival, and Forgiveness, written with David Rensin, contained much additional information and was published in 2003 by William Morrow. Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit: An American Legend, published in 2001, has also written a best-selling biography of Zamperini. The book, entitled Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, was published by Random House in 2010. It was named the top non-fiction book of 2010 by Time Magazine. Additionally, Angelina Jolie has directed a film adaptation of Unbroken, which is to be released in late 2014. ` Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk was the navigator of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 at 9:06 a.m. local time following a 10-hour night flight from Tinian. Three days later a second A-bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and DR AHEAD PAGE 4 Capt. Louis A. Zamperini (right) together with pilot Capt. Russell A. Phillips, just released from Japanese POW camp, arriving at Okinawa. Photograph provided by Ron Barrett through USAF/PA. World War II was over. Every US military person's goal had been achieved! The relief that there would be no invasion of Japan was unimaginable. Van Kirk was constantly asked that if he had to fly this mission again, and his response would always be, "Yes!" Dutch was born on February 27, 1921 and passed away on July 28, 2014 at 93 years of age. His insights to this momentous event we have always appreciated. The personal story of Theodore Van Kirk is his book: My True Course: Dutch Van Kirk, Northumberland to Hiroshima, which was published by Red Gremlin Press. A personal note: In October of 1962 I was a Mather graduate headed as a nav/bomb into SAC B-47s at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Nothing was more sobering than the top secret classes where we learned and worked on the innards of the thermo-fusion nuclear bombs. I ended up in the 3079th Aviation Support Depot, delivering every type of nuclear warhead, test gadgets and object known. If called upon, I was determined that we obliterate the enemy! As a bombardier I sympathize with Van Kirk's sense of mission. ********* AFNOA AWARDS FIVE $1,000 SCHOLARSHIPS by Jim Bannerman, Ellington 55-06 The 2014 AFNOA Scholarship Committee has awarded five $1,000 scholarships to direct descendents of Air Force navigators. All sixteen applicants were well qualified and worthy of a scholarship, but due to financial limitations only five awards could be made. The application packages from each of the sixteen applicants were independently reviewed by each of the committee members, who applied their own personal subjective evaluation and gave each applicant a numerical rank. The ranks were then combined, and the top five were awarded the scholarships. Copies of the sixteen application packages will be available for inspection at the AFNOA reunion in Pensacola next April. Application procedures for the 2015 AFNOA academic scholarships will be published in the January 2015 issue of DR AHEAD. Here are the five very impressive winners of the $1000 scholarships: Garret Becker is the descendant of two generations Air Force navigators: his father, Lt Col. Michael Becker, and his grandfather, Raymond Becker, were both Air Force navigators. Garret is a sophomore at the University of Central Florida, majoring in Electrical Engineering. He plans to continue his education to earn a masters degree in engineering before entering industry. Colin Cherry is the son of Air Force navigator Lt Col. Marc Cherry, Mather 91-01. Colin is a recent high school graduate and has been accepted at Florida State University to study computer science. Jillian Hoxie is the daughter of Air Force navigator Diane Hoxie, Mather 82-03. Jillian's father is a B-52 pilot; her mother is a KC-135 navigator; and her brother is a C130 pilot. Jillian is entering her senior year at the University of Florida majoring in applied physiology. Upon graduation she will be commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Brent Hollrah DR AHEAD PAGE 5 Navy. She hopes to be selected to attend flight school. Her first choice of aircraft would be helicopters, followed by the P-8 Poseidon. Spencer Mann is the grandson of Lt Col Lew Egglefield, Ellington 51-06. He is a recent high school graduate and has been accepted at the University of Vermont in the College of Engineering where he plans to major in aeronautical engineering. Brent Hollrah is the descendent of two generations of Air Force navigators. His father, Col Patrick Hollrah, and his grandfather, Col Gene Hollrah, James Connally 61-02, were both C-130 navigators. Brent is a recent high school graduate and has been accepted at Oklahoma State University to study chemical engineering. ********* Garret Becker Spencer Mann Colin Cherry Jillian Hoxie DR AHEAD PAGE 6 Photograph provided by Ted Loubris. MY VERY FIRST B-52 FLIGHT by Paul (Ted) Loubris, James Connally 64-07 USAF training in the 1960s was positively brilliant. I graduated from college thinking I had an excellent education. Boy, was I wrong! The ground school programs the Air Force taught were good and very, very thorough. I learned an incredible amount in a year and a half at James Connally AFB and then at Mather MAFB. Then it was off to Castle AFB for actual B-52 flight training. Oops, six of us were selected for a new experiment, training in the field! The first time I saw a BUFF up close and personal was at my base at Wurtsmith AFB, Oscoda, Michigan. Man, it was COLD in January 1965! Oscoda is located half way to the North Pole, and it felt like it! After Texas and California, I didn’t even have a warm coat. But the government issued me one, along with a helmet and oxygen mask. I was set. Except the squadron had no idea what to do with an untrained green lieutenant navigator. To make matters worse, I wasn’t sure that it was a very good idea either. It turned out to be an awful idea. It hurt the USAF, and it took me a long time to understand the job at hand. So for a couple of days I sat around until the phone rang and the standardization/evaluation chief navigator told me I was off on my very first B-52 flight. It was in one of the relatively new H models. I was pretty excited. I showed up wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, listening to every word of the briefing. It was like Twelve O’Clock High! I was really pumped up. I followed the crew onto the now- familiar USAF Blue Bird bus and onto the ramp! The ship was magnificent, rippled skin and all. We DR AHEAD blasted off into the midnight sky. I hung between the seats of the radar nav and nav for the usual ten hours of high altitude navigation. There was nothing new there, but all the rest was totally foreign as we electronically bombed Detroit and then dropped down into a low level route that terminated with a bomb run at Ironwood, Michigan --- with me bouncing around like a ping-pong ball the entire route. We repeatedly simulated nuking the low-level bomb plot, before we at last climbed out and returned to WAFB. There was a storm to the south which the nav picked up on his scope at a relatively safe distance, but I thought it would be nice to land and get home before it hit. Alas, I was to learn that every nearing return of the storm was the pilot’s shot at approach-and-landing practice. There were two more hours to go. The radar navigator, a lieutenant colonel, was destined for a staff assignment, and the navigator was slated for upgrade to radar navigator (bombardier). So everyone swapped seats --- the RN to the jump seat and the original navigator to the RN seat at the left. I popped into the nav's right ejection seat trying to make sense of all the amazing dials, gauges and instruments arrayed before me. We went around and around for two instrument landings, two non-precisions, two ground controlled approahes, etc., etc. The old navigator now in the RN's ejection seat kept telling the Aircraft Commander about the ice storm waltzing its way in from Detroit. As we circled back and forth making the practice landings, with the storm clearly painting on both our radarscopes and getting mighty close. The aircraft commander was a gruff old one-time enlisted man (a mustang), and he kept telling the co-pilot to call the command post and request an early termination. The answer was always the same: Fly out your briefed time!" That’s when I learned about the iron rule of 100% of everything for the mailed fist of the Strategic Air Command! I thought this was really getting interesting. Then I noticed the navigator was perspiring and acting a little jumpy as his calls about the storm increased in urgency. Finally, the command post must have talked to the red telephone honchos at Omaha itself, as they finally told us we could make the next landing a full stop. The command post didn’t have a window to see the incoming weather, but someone must have come in from outside. Moreover, the rainstorm was now coming down all around us. The air temperature was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Boy, was I tired! My mouth was dry, and my eyes burned with fatigue. I wasn’t used to these SAC all-nighters. I was in sort of a daze. I was glad to be at "Home plate." Upon touchdown with a satisfactory thump, I heard the A/ C say to the co-pilot, "Deploy the chute." Silence… then I heard an exasperated, "I said, dammit, deploy the chute!" And a shrill voice responded. "I did, sir, as soon as we touched down!" This was followed by, "We’re out of control!" I glanced at the soon-to-be upgraded navigator, who PAGE 7 was staring right back at me with eyes the size of a Buick’s hubcaps, and his mouth forming a perfect zero! I thought, "Hmmm, this is not too good." Then the lights dimmed and went out. The engines spooled down, and there we were, bumping very much like riding an old pickup truck on a country road! We banged across something pretty rough. I turned on my flashlight to see the air full of dust and old candy wrappers floating by. Fortunately, I was in pretty good shape, full of youthful adrenaline and primed to react. Dust was everywhere. I was out of my seat headed for the goalpost, the entry/exit hatch. The original RN was slumped on the deck sound asleep or knocked out.. In this case, rank didn't have its time-honored privileges. I pushed his head back, opened the hatch and leapt into space—landing on my feet with my helmet askew and my oxygen hose flying around like a snake. I took one step and promptly went right on my butt. We were on glare ice. It was furiously raining and rapidly accumulating, creating a winter wonderland. The plane was 100 feet to the left of the runway on solid, deeply frozen ground and appeared totally undamaged. I looked off into the distance on the base side and I saw flashing red lights in the distance, but they appeared not to be moving very fast. Then I realized they had very little traction as well. They were just creeping along like a silent film. Then I heard their distant sirens penetrating the gloom. I couldn’t help myself as I watched each crew member in turn fall to the ground, take another step and tumble. Maybe it was the tension but I thought it looked pretty funny, like clowns in the circus. I started laughing at the whole thing! But I was silent after we'd huddled together, awaiting rescue. Eventually, the crash trucks arrived, we retrieved our gear and were debriefed. I thought that this was some sort of sign from heaven that I was not the chosen one. The review board hung the poor A/C and commended the copilot for using his head in quickly killing all power. This was my inauguration as a SAC crewmember. Of course, my wife thought I was exaggerating, but I wasn’t even shaken. Heck, if that was the worst they could throw at me I was bulletproof. It was only after two later failed Operational Readiness Inspections and years later that I realized our efforts had to constantly improve. It was a short career full of a lot of tension and hard work. Five years was enough to serve, and I left SAC and he Air Force. But it never left me. A year after separation I was asleep in an armchair when the phone rang. I was out of that chair and in full stride with my whole family staring at me as I galloped across our small living room. Some things you never forget! ********* 2015 AIR FORCE NAVIGATORS OBSERVERS REUNION APRIL 14-17, 2015 PENSACOLA, FLORIDA Name___________________________________________ Preferred name on badge ______________________ Current address _______________________________________________________________________________ Telephone ____________________________ E-mail _______________________________________________ School _______________________________ Class __________ Home town ____________________________ Name of guest _________________________________ Preferred name on badge ________________________ In case of emergency, please notify _______________________________________________________________ REGISTRATION FEES Number of persons attending _____ x $150.00 = $ ______ Banquet meals selection: Beef ______ Salmon ______ Vegetarian ______ OPTIONAL TOURS Tours 1 & 2 are on the same day. Please select which tour you wish to go on. TOUR 1: April 15 National Naval Aviation Museum & Lunch. Number ______ x $34.00 = $ ______ Lunch sandwich choice = Roast Beef _____ Ham ______ Chicken Salad ______ TOUR 2: April 15 Dolphin Cruise Boat Tour. Number ______ x $50.00 = $______ TOUR 3: April 16 Historic Pensacola Village. Number ______ x $18.00 = $______ Total enclosed $______ Payment is due no later than March 14, 2015 Please send payments to the following address, made payable to: The Reunion Brat 16817 Mountainside Drive East Greenwater, WA 98022 360-663-2521 Questions? Call the Reunion Brat at 360-663-2521, or call Ron Barrett at 305-797-0745. Confirmation of registration and tours will be sent out by March 14, 2015. A $20.00 per person cancellation fee will apply to all cancellations received within 30 days of the event. Cancellations received within 10 days of the event will be non-refundable. Call the Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand Hotel at 850-433-3336 no later than March 14, 2015 to make your hotel reservations; be sure to mention that you are with the AFNOA Reunion to receive your group rate of $102.00 plus tax per night. These hotel prices are available 3 days prior to and 3 days after the event should you choose to extend your stay. We’ll see you in Pensacola, Florida! 2015 AIR FORCE NAVIGATORS OBSERVERS REUNION APRIL 14-17, 2015 PENSACOLA, FLORIDA To be held at the Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand Hotel, located at 200 East Gregory Street, Pensacola, Florida. Room rates are $102.00 plus tax per night, for single or double occupancy. The hotel provides complimentary airport shuttle and parking. Call the Crowne Plaza at 850-433-3336 no later than March 14,2015 to make your hotel reservations. Be sure to mention the group code AFN to receive the group room rate. Online reservations can be made by going to the hotel's website: http://pensacolagrandhotel.com Be sure to enter the group code AFN. You can make your hotel room reservations by e-mail to the hotel if you wish. Reservations e-mail is: [email protected] Tuesday, April 14, 2015 10:00am - 10:00pm ~ Hospitality Room Open for Registration, Mini-Reunions and Snacks 6:00pm - 10:00pm ~ Welcome Party with Hors d'oeuvres and Cash Bar Wednesday, April 15, 2015 9:00am - 9:00pm ~ Hospitality Room Open for Registration, Mini-Reunions and Snacks 8:30am - 5:00pm ~ Optional Tour, US Naval Aviation Museum, Lunch, and USAF CSO School 8:30am - 3:30pm ~ Optional Tour: Dolphin Cruise, with Time for Lunch on Your Own and Shopping 6:00pm - 9:00pm ~ Hospitality Room ~ Cash Bar & Light Snacks Thursday, April 16, 2015 8:00am - 12:00pm ~ General Membership Meeting with Board Elections 9:00am - 12:00pm ~ Hospitality Room Open for Mini-Reunions Noontime ~ Open Lunch Time on Your Own 1:00pm - 4:00pm ~ Optional Tour of Historic Pensacola Village 5:00pm ~ Pre Banquet Cash Bar 6:00pm - 9:00pm ~ Pledge Of Allegiance, Invocation and Banquet Friday, April 17, 2015 9:00am - 11:00am ~ Hospitality Room Open for Good-Byes. Have a Safe Trip Home. Optional Tours There are two tours scheduled for Wednesday ~ Choose which one you want to go on. Wednesday, April 15th 8:30am - 5:00pm ~ Naval Aviation Museum & Lunch/AF Combat Systems Officer's School ~ Price $34.00 The National Naval Aviation Museum is the world's largest Naval Aviation Museum. Share the excitement of Naval Aviation's rich history and see more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aviation. Lunch will be provided on the tour at the Cubi Bar. After lunch we will tour the Air Force Combat Systems Officer's School. Wednesday, April 15th 8:30am - 3:30pm ~ Dolphin Cruise/Shopping and Lunch on your own on the Boardwalk ~ Price $50.00 Pensacola's Dolphin Cruise offers the best cruising experience on Northwest Florida's Gulf Coast. You will step aboard the Portofino I, a 63' open-air, covered catamaran for a two-hour cruise, guided by the experienced and entertaining captain, and spy dolphins, birds and the other marine life playing in their natural habitat along the protected GulfIslands National Seashore. Be sure to bring a camera, suntan lotion and sun glasses. Continued on the next page. Thursday, April 16th 1:00pm - 4:00pm ~ Historic Pensacola Village ~ Price $18.00 Historic Pensacola Village is a museum and house museum complex that displays Colonial Pensacola t through the Roaring Twenties. This tour will take you through the Charles Lavalle House: This French Creole House was built in 1805 while Pensacola was still a Spanish colony. The interior of the house reflects the Creole influence and tradition of the Gulf Coast region. Next we will tour The Clara Barkley Dorr House. Built in 1871, this home represents an affluent Victorian family of post-Civil War Pensacola. The final stop will be a tour of the Old Christ Church: This symbol of historic preservation and Pensacola heritage is one of the oldest church buildings in Florida, built in 1832. Gothic wood beams and inspiring stained-glass windows take visitors back to the 1879 appearance of the church. Not all of the buildings on the tour are wheelchair accessible. For more information contact: Ronald Barrett 305-797-0745 [email protected] or The Reunion BRAT 360-663-2521 [email protected] Come join us as we share old memories and make new ones! Reprinted with permission of the Pensacola News Journal. The Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand Hotel pool DR AHEAD NKP – ROY by Henri L. Bailey III, James Connally 64-05 When I was in Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT) at James Connally AFB in Waco, Texas, I met a couple from California who were to become lifelong friends; 2nd Lieutenant Leroy Zarucchi and his wife, Micheline, whom close friends called Holly. Roy graduated and went to SAC in Sacramento, California, with its alerts and its takeoff-and-land-at-the-same-place flights. He was several classes ahead of me in UNT but we continued to write and keep track of each other. When I graduated, I was fortunate to receive the assignment of my dreams in tactical aviation. I was assigned to the 39th Troop Carrier Squadron (TAC) at Lockbourne AFB, Ohio. Lockbourne had regular rotations to EvreuxFauville AB, France, and to Howard AFB in the Panama Canal Zone. From Evreux we flew throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. I became "corridor qualified" and flew into and out of Berlin. From Howard we flew embassy support missions all over Central and South America. For a kid who had always wanted to see the world, my dream had come true. There were some glitches but every dream has those. After a year and one-half at Lockbourne, while in the middle of a rotation at Howard, I was informed that I had orders to Okinawa to support the war effort in South Vietnam. I wrote to Roy and Holly to tell them and to let them know that I would be coming through their area on the way to the Pacific. Roy let me know that he had volunteered for the Air Commandos and was awaiting notification of his acceptance. I preceded him to PACAF by about 10 months. That time was spent getting acclimated to my duties primarily in Southeast Asia. I flew two rotations at Danang, then flew out of Tan Son Nhut for approximately six months. We flew two rotations out of Bien Hoa before C-130 Operations were moved to Cam Rahn Bay along with the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing. We stayed in VNAF quarters at Danang, Saigon hotels at Tan Son Nhut, VOQs and VEQs at Bien Hoa. At Cam Rahn Bay, we started out in old, nonair-conditioned French Quonset huts and later moved into air-conditioned crew huts. In-country we worked twelve hour crew days and had twelve hours off. Crew day was often violated due to operational contingencies. My first Ubon rotation began in September of 1967. Roy was at Nakhon Phanom by that time. At Ubon we flew 9½ to 11½ hour missions. We flew early one night, late the next night, and then had a night off. That cycle was repeated for two weeks and then we had a week off. Our orders were cut so that we could go anywhere in the world we wanted to go during the week off. The only proviso was to be back on time to resume the combat rotation. During my first week off, I went to Chang Mai, Thailand. During my second week off, I went to Panang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During my third PAGE 11 week off, I went to Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, to visit with my friend Roy. It turned into a postman’s holiday. When I arrived at NKP, Roy was asleep. I knew how important it was to not interrupt crew rest. I left him a note and went to register at the VOQ. I freshened up and went to the Officers Club to get something to eat. After eating, I went into the bar and ordered a drink and began to meet people at NKP. When they found out I was visiting and came to see Roy, they became interested in finding out who I was and made sure that Roy knew where I was. One very tall and wrangly man with a shaved head and a handlebar mustache introduced himself as Beauregard J. Hirtline, III. Not to be outdone, I introduced myself as Henri Louis Bailey, III. That was the beginning of an odd, considering the times, friendship that I will describe in another section. Roy came in and I offered to buy him a drink but he had to fly that night, so we sat down and planned what we would do together that week. While we were sitting there the Wing Commander of the Air Commandos, Colonel Harry C. "Heinie" Aderholt came in and said, "Roy, who is that you have with you? He doesn’t look like one of ours?" I got the chance to meet one of the legendary tactical wing commanders of the Vietnam war. The other, in my estimation, was Colonel Robin Olds of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon, Royal Thai Air Force Base. Either one of them could have announced that the next mission was to attack the gates of Hell and every aircrew would have followed them in combat formation. When Colonel Aderholt heard that I was from Ubon and flew Blindbat/Lamplighter missions, he said, "I’m glad you are here. We have a small problem that I hope you can help us with. We’ll talk later!" Then he turned and left. I went with Roy as he got ready to fly his mission, watched him take off, and then went to the VOQ to get some sleep. He would be gone for approximately six hours. The next afternoon, we got together and Roy gave me a tour of the base, of his squadron and of squadron operations. We were in squadron operations when Roy was called to the Wing Commander’s office. I waited for him in squadron operations. When he returned, he looked at me and said, "You are a privileged individual! Colonel Aderholt has authorized you to fly a mission tonight in the A-26 with our most experienced pilot and his navigator. We have a problem with the lighting that we get from the flares that you guys drop. Colonel Aderholt expects that you will be able to solve it." I looked at Roy and said, "You are kidding?" He just shook his head no and showed me the signed order. I looked at Roy and said, "Well I didn’t come here to fly a combat mission. But I would like to fly in the A-26 and if we can solve a problem in the meantime, so much the better. I didn’t bring my flight gear, so your guys will have to outfit me." I flew in my fatigues, was issued a helmet, O2 mask, DR AHEAD PAGE 12 parachute and a pair of flying gloves, and met the crew I was flying with. Unfortunately, after the passage of time, I do not remember either one’s name. They briefed me on the mission, emergency procedures and how to get into and out of the jump seat. Anyone who has ever flown in the A-26 and has experienced the jump seat knows just how agonizing an experience that can be. That seems to be the only drawback to the airplane. It was a sweet flying machine! After taking off and going feet wet, we contacted Alleycat and asked to work with Lamplighter. Alleycat informed us that Lamplighter had mechanical difficulties and had returned to base (RTB) early. We asked when Blindbat was due to replace him? Alleycat said that Blindbat was trying to get off early but would probably not arrive before another hour and one-half. The aircraft commander asked Alleycat to inform us when Blindbat arrived on scene and asked permission to cross into Rolling Thunder to seek targets of opportunity. We were cleared into Route Package 4. That proved to be fruitless. There were fires all over the landscape and we did not locate any movers that night in Route Package 4. We received a call that Blindbat was on location and had movers. We left Rolling Thunder and returned to Barrel Roll, informed Alleycat when we were back in Barrel Roll and contacted Blindbat. The aircraft commander reported our location and available ordnance. Then he told them that he had a Blindbat/Lamplighter navigator on board, Buddha Bailey, and we needed to experiment with flare delay settings because the A-26s were having a problem with the light. The Blindbat A/C at first said that he wasn’t sure that they could do that. I got on the radio and told him I was Buddha Bailey and they recognized my voice. I reminded him that our loadmasters had to master flare settings during FAC School and they had a tool in their kit for changing the settings. We wanted to experiment with the settings while carrying out attacks. I reported to him that the Nimrods thought the flares were going off too high and burning out just when they were most needed. On the first pass I asked Blindbat to extend the ignition delay 5 seconds on the flare. The flare ignited low and hit the ground and burned on the ground. The Nimrod A/C loved it but I told him we couldn’t waste parachute flares that way and would have to use exclusively log flares if he wanted it to burn on the ground. I then asked the Blindbat A/C to reduce the delay by two seconds. In other words, add three seconds to the normal ignition delay. That worked much better and the Nimrod A/C liked the results but the flare still burned on the ground too long, I asked the Blindbat A/C to reduce the delay by one more second; the normal delay plus two seconds. That produced results that were satis- factory for all concerned. Nimrod liked the results. Blindbat could easily comply and not waste parachute flares. While we were working together, we destroyed six trucks that we in the Nimrod had bombed and strafed with the cannon. I had had a great ride! Everybody was satisfied. Blindbat A/C asked who was going to report the results to the Blindbat/Lamplighter Mission Commander. I told him to go ahead and report the results so that crews could be informed by tomorrow. I wouldn’t return to Ubon until the next week. I asked him to also tell the Mission Commander that I was flying this mission at the request of the Air Commando Wing Commander. We returned to NKP. Next day, Roy and I got together and he showed me NKP and Ho Chi Minh’s gift clock to the city where he was born. We experienced the cuisine in local restaurants. We spent the rest of the week reinforcing our friendship when Roy wasn’t scheduled to fly. Later in the week, Colonel Aderholt saw me and thanked me for resolving their problem. I told him that we at Blindbat wanted to do the best we could. It was a privilege flying with and working with his crews. I took good memories back to Ubon. ********* DUTCH VAN KIRK by Dick Mansfield Selman 44-10 It is with a very sad and heavy heart that I report to you that one of our very famed navigators "Dutch" Van Kirk, an AFNOA member, has left us. I knew him first as an instructor in Selman Field Navigational School in early 1944. He had completed a tour with the 12th AF (B-17) in Europe and was assigned to Selman Field as an instructor of an adjoining class to mine. Later in the 1980s and 1990s, he attended a few Selman reunions and was a featured speaker at one that I can remember. The dropping of the bomb (Little Boy) on Hiroshima was most significant. He and most others feel that that event and the one three days later shortened the war on Japan considerably. I was stationed on Okinawa with my crew at the time and bombing various cities and airfields in Japan on an alternate day basis. Crews that were shot down and caught were mostly all beheaded. I was scared to death accordingly. To say that we were relieved when the war ended is a huge under statement! Dutch attended Kelly Field School in class 42-05, one of the early navigational schools, and later instructed some 1944 classes at Selman Field in Monroe, Louisiana. There he was requested directly by Colonel Tibbets to join a crew with other B-29 members in the 509th Bomb Group. First they trained in Tonopah, Utah, and later on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Colonel Tibbetts had two crews but both DR AHEAD were called the "Red Gremlins" crew. They all met annually after the war, but have long since disbanded. In 1987 at a duplicate bridge event in Florida, I met the original co-pilot of the crew, (now Dr.) Richard King and we played as partners for some ten years. He passed away shortly after I moved to Ocala, Florida. Another bit of my related information is that Dutch passed away on my birthday, July 28th. I remember them well and miss them. They contributed so much to our country. ********* NOT ROME, NOME! by Louis J. Malucci, Ellington, 57-12C One of the numerous support missions for our reserve unit, then using C-119G aircraft, was a deployment to Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska. There were aircraft from several reserve units, including mine, the 328th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 914 Tactical Airlift Group, Niagara Falls AFB, NY. Our two Niagara birds planned to take off on July 3, 1969. After taking the active for takeoff, ATC notified us that our mission was canceled temporarily due to severe thunderstorms over Lake Superior. Our unpressurized Dollar Nineteens were restricted to below 10,000 feet, so the crew got a room in the BOQ and headed to downtown Niagara Falls for dinner. After dinner, we walked across the Falls. Literally! The water had been diverted to the Canadian side so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could investigate a possible large collapse of the Falls wall. We walked across the rocks in the river. The next day we did take off for Elmendorf and arrived there after an en route RON in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The drive from the base was different than on my previous flight there. Then, it was a level drive to town. Now, you drove down a small ravine between the base and town. The reason: the great 9.2 Alaskan earthquake of March 27, 1964 had caused the ravine! On a previous mission, we had the group commander on board as we traversed the mountains from White Horse and Fort John to Anchorage. I had no training in range radio, so the commander, an exWWII pilot, was showing me the ropes of the dots and dashes. A steady tone meant you were on course, dashes you were left, dots you were right, or vice versa, I forget. We were in clouds with mountains going to 16,000 or 17,000 feet on either side. I will admit that I was a little nervous about that. In my previous aircraft, the B-47, we would have been well above them. Shortly thereafter, we were deployed to Nome with our C-119G full of Army troops. As we flew over the Bering Sea, I was surprised to see ice on it, until I discovered that it was PAGE 13 in fact fog. After we landed and disembarked the troops, we began to refuel the plane using garden-sized hoses and a hand crank, but that fog rolled in and obscured just about everything. I have in a previous article referred to another unit which took liberties with some of the regulations, such as taxiing at lean settings to save fuel. Well, these crews were at it again --- taking off without refueling to avoid the thickening fog, which was, in my opinion, not too intelligent in view of the barren, mountainous terrain. I should mention here that when we first arrived at Elmendorf all the units’ aircraft became part of a pool. That is, the planes you would subsequently fly on a mission might not be from your own unit. The second Niagara bird arrived after we did and made several ILS approaches through the murky fog before giving up and headed for a gravel strip on Unalakleet, a radar station near a town of 787 that was known for its crab and salmon fishing. During one recent presidential election, Unalakleet was cited as the first area to close the polls. The previously-mentioned nefarious unit had detected a compass error but had neglected to enter it in the 781 form to avoid the stigma of having one of their planes grounded. So with their compass off by several degrees, we could hear them in their futile attempts to find the field in the reduced visibility. They gave up and were diverted to Unalakleet. We were to find out later this crew was treated royally by the troops on Unalakleet, always welcoming fresh faces. Wilbur, a rural type well known for his voracious appetite, was reportedly seen eating a dozen eggs for breakfast and a dozen slices of toast, plus sausage. (His physique becomes significant later in this article.) The troops there took the crew out fishing, and Wilbur reportedly snagged a fish with the head on one side of the boat and the tail on the other --- a mackerel, I guess. He hauled a bountiful load of fish, which the local troops cooked for them. Meanwhile, our crew was escorted to the national guard armory gymnasium, where they set up cots for us to spend the night on. We played a little basketball in our flight suits and stocking feet. When we asked where could we eat, they described two places, one of which was Lenny Seranto's, where we elected to eat. En route, we caught glimpse of a ship in the distance. There were no roads to Nome. You got there by boat, airlines, or dog sled. We walked along the fog- shrouded coast with signs that said the Coast Guard had built the rocky barrier. We also passed salmon hanging on lines to dry --- and huskies barking at us intruders. We then arrived at Seranto's and sat down in this shack with polyethylene walls. It turns out that the ship we saw stranded had the materials to finish this restaurant. All the condiments, mustard, ketchup, etc., had outrageously high prices. Our cute little waitress offered us hand-written menus: reindeer ribs, bear steak, salmon, DR AHEAD PAGE 14 or chicken legs. We ordered one of each and shared each order. Owner Lenny saw us in our flight suits and asked what we were doing there. We told him about out mission, adding that it was the birthday of one of our loadmasters. So Lenny promptly produced a bottle of champagne for us. We then asked what he was doing there. He had quite a story! He said that he had been trained at the world famous Maxim’s in Paris, had become presidential chef for Juan Batiste, and when Batiste was overthrown he was fired. He then became the chef for the president of the Dominican Republic but was fired by him. He moved to Venezuela, where he knocked off a couple of Commies, was arrested and placed in exile. Then the b.s. became a bit more obvious! "While there, I was informed of a big meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin and asked if I could cater it. When I asked where, I was told, ‘Nome.’ " I said, 'No sweat. I've been in London, Oslo, Madrid, Budapest and would gladly go to Rome." "They then said, 'Not Rome, Nome.' "And I have been stuck here ever since!" After dinner we walked again—it was still daylight despite the late hour—this time to the Fire Island Indian show. They had been on the Ed Sullivan show at one time, and this was a regular venue for vacationers getting there via Alaska Airlines. We sat through the show, watching the incantations to the beating of seal skin drums, as they pleaded with the gods for bountiful harvests. There were many carved ivory articles for sale, and it was quite educational. Then they asked for volunteers to take dance lessons. Tom, our copilot, shoved me up onto the stage, where I then showed my expertise in dancing to the drums in my flight suit and combat boots. Nome is a quaint village with the odor of kerosene permeating the atmosphere. It has elevated, wooden sidewalks like old frontier towns. In the streets were poles with wooden signs giving the distances to Chicago, Tokyo, Rome, etc. We had a couple of beers in the gravel-floored bars. Nome was purportedly 1,000 Indian, 1,000 Eskimo and 1,000 white. It was claimed that they all hated each other, and the principle shows on Saturday nights were the fights among the three. We finally left Elmendorf and returned to Clinton County AFB, Ohio, where the rest of the Niagara Falls crews were spending the then so-called "Summer Camp," i.e, the mandated 15 days of active duty per year for a Class A flying unit. Not long after that, aircrews were exempt and flew week-long missions dropping paratroops in support of the Army, flying the Air Force band to ceremonies, or even carrying IG inspectors on no-notice inspections. Years later, when we got C-130s, we spent those active duty days flying to Europe and Central and South America. On our route home, by this time rejoined by our fellow Unalakleet tourists, we were over North Dakota when the other aircraft in our loose formation had its controls lock in flight. They declared an emergency, and the Air Force deployed F-102s from Grand Forks, AFB to look over the plane for external damage. So the crew set up a 10- or 20mile final approach to Minot AFB, ND. Wilbur, the previously mentioned burly copilot --- the dozen-egg-eater --successfully horsed the controls into a landing. That crew joined our crew for the rest of the trip, leaving the plane at Minot. At Clinton County, the President had announced that there was a three-day holiday in anticipation of Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon. My best man had invited me to dinner in Columbus, only to be preempted by the Ops officer telling me I was going to be on the crew to retrieve the damaged plane at Minot after it was repaired. I was not happy about that. It turned out that a piece of phenolic sound- proofing had broken loose and jammed the control cables. So eschewing dinner with my friends, I made the journey back to Minot. By request from the pilots, I, a navigator, was asked to fly the plane, which I did for about three hours. I maintained altitude and course absolutely perfectly, even in some pretty rough weather, while the pilots tended the radios. After our arrival, we had dinner, and then retreated to the BOQ, watching TV as Neil Armtrong uttered "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," on July 20, 1969. ********* A LETTER TO THE MEMBERSHIP by Errol Hoberman, Harlingen 60-09N Change—some people love it, some people hate it. Resist it if you will, but it will overtake you. And if you’ve spent a career in the Air Force, you know that the one constant in the Air Force is change! No other organization, I think, is quite as good at reorganizing and reinventing itself. The reunion organizations and associations that flow naturally from the comradeship intrinsic to serving, however, are not quick to change. They are often cherished and guarded by those who are preserving their memories. Let’s look at the AF Navigator/Observer Association. Navigator was recognized by the United States Army Air Forces as an aeronautical rating and authorized its own badge in 1942, one of a number of new wartime ratings. All of the new wartime ratings except navigator were discontinued by the USAF in 1949. (Although observer ratings were discontinued by USAF in 1949, the observer title was revived in 1981 when a rating and badge was created for otherwise non-aeronautically rated USAF officers who completed NASA mission specialist astronaut training and subsequently flew in space. However, the AF no longer lists DR AHEAD the observer as either a separate aeronautical rating or badge.) The term navigator has traditionally included navigators, observers, electronic warfare and weapons systems career fields. Today the Air Force has renamed the navigator career field to combat system officer (CSO). Beginning around 2011, the rating of navigator was retitled, and replaced by the aeronautical rating of combat systems officer (CSO), with the same badge insignia as navigator. CSO training merges three previous USAF navigator training tracks formerly known as the navigator track, the weapon systems officer (WSO) track and the electronic warfare officer (EWO) track into one coherent training cycle in order to produce an aeronautically rated officer who is more versatile. Rather than specializing as navigators, weapon systems officers, or electronic warfare officers, CSOs will be trained in a common set of core skills and will be responsible for a high degree of airmanship to include advanced air operations, electromagnetic spectrum exploitation and aircraft weapon systems employment. Upon completion of training, USAF CSOs receive basic CSO (formerly navigator) wings. Bottom line: there are still navigators, who navigate the skies for a living, but they are now a subset of CSOs rather than a rated entity. And their numbers are fast dwindling, as the newer aircraft rely on GPS rather than the human element, and the navigator crew position has been eliminated on many aircraft systems. So, what does this name and culture change mean for AFNOA? Perhaps something, perhaps nothing. The underlying question is, what are the goals of the organization with regard to recruiting further (and younger) membership? Granted, there is still a large window of retired crew members calling themselves "navs" who are potential members. The newest generation of aviators who will identify as CSOs are a long way from retirement, but when they are ready and inclined to join an organization, will they look to one that does not include them? Perhaps it’s time to consider the Air Force Navigator/Combat Systems Officer Association? On the other hand, if the intent is to serve solely as an organization for the founders and current members, without regard to perpetuating the association, a name change need not be considered. And there is nothing wrong with that. In any case, the organization should evaluate its purposes periodically and consider how best to pursue them. ********* LAST FLIGHTS by Dick Mansfield, Selman 44-10 Notices of deceased comrades continue to be received. Currently, we have received 45 more notices of our passed brethren. They are in school and class order. PAGE 15 BOMBARDIERS GOODWYN, JAMES C. MIDLOTHIAN MUSZYNSKI, DAN ERIE ZAMPERINI, LOUIS HOLLYWOOD ARBORIO, JOSEPH C. GRAND ISLAND CASPER, LAURENCE NEW YORK McALLISTER, GERALD N. SAN ANTONIO VA MI CA FL NY TX Unk CB 44-02 MI 42-02 Unk Unk Unk CORAL GABLES BADGER, LESLIE C, BOCA RATON FL 44-02 ELLINGTON NACEY, EDWARD ROTH, MANUAL ARSENEAU, LOUIS A. WARDLOW, ELWOOD M. HUMME, CAREL TRIPP, MARVELL J CA IN NY FL VA MN 44-01 44-45 44-53 45-08 50-E 55-02 CO NV AZ MO DE TX SC 56-09 60-07 60-07 60-10 61-04 61-09 62-19 MIDDLE ISLAND NY 44-04 ATWATER NEW CASTLE JOHNSON CITY SARASOTA WILLIAMSBURG WORTHINGTON HARLINGEN BALISH, DONALD G. LITTLETON OTTAVIANO, ALFRED F. RENO SUPENCHECK, DENNIS DATELAND FRAME, JOHN W. SUNRISE BEACH DEAN, DONALD E. DOVER PIRTLE, MURRAY A. ABILENE KLEINROCK, BERNARD J. COLUMBIA HONDO GREENE, DAVID A. JAMES CONNALLY WHITTEN, ARNOLD F. BOYNTON BEACH FL McEWEN, JOE D. FORT WALTON BEACH FL BOSTWICK, JAMES M. POCASSET MA HOSTETLER, CONNIE M. COLORADO SPRGS CO DAHLBERG, IRWIN W. BOSSIER CITY LA NELSON, ROBERT G. BILOXI MS GERHART, RONALD H. FAIRFAX VA DIMAGGIO, PETER S. FREEPORT FL 52-08 55-CN 56-09 59-13 60-07 61-09 64-09 65-14 KELLY VAN KIRK, THEODORE J. LAWRENCEVILLE GA 42-05 MATHER COYNE, KEVIN N. Unk FORT WALTON BCH FL SELMAN MALINOWSKI, JOHN A. WHITESTONE NY TAYLOR, WILLIAM R. Unk NY HOFFMAN, MILTON A. ST LOUIS MO PENNIMAN JR., NEWELL W. WENHAM MA WROBEL, JOSEPH A. MANCHESTER MA EBERLE, FRANCIS E. MCKEES ROCKS PA PUMROY, DONALD K. HYATTSVILLE MD SIDDONS, HEYWARD L. CHARLESTON SC 42-13 43-11 44-05 44-08 44-08 44-10 44-14 44-15 SAN MARCOS VAN PELT, WARREN W. ROUSE, DR ROSCOE 44-06 44-10 ARLINGTON VA OKLAHOMA CITY OK UNKNOWN SCHOOL BAUSTERT, BURTON B. SARASOTA HUSZTEK, WILLIAM S. ANNANDALE JARRELL, VERNON H. Unk LINGO, BUD Unk ********* FL VA Unk Unk Unk 54-17 THE AIR FORCE NAVIGATORS OBSERVERS ASSOCIATION 4109 Timberlane Enid, OK 73703-2825 PRSRT STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 182 Change service requested FROM ZIP CODE 32548 THE AFNOA BOARD President, Historian, and Museum Committee Ronald P. Barrett 1406 South Lexington Holden, MO 64040-1636 305-797-0745 [email protected] 1st Vice-President, Membership, and Director James Connally Affairs James R. Faulkner 4109 Timberlane Enid, OK 73703-2825 580-242-0526 [email protected] 2nd Vice-President and NMUSAF Museum Commmittee Sostenes Suazo 541 Riverwood Drive Beaverbrook, OH 45430 937-431-8542 [email protected] Secretary Lloyd Ward 8121 34th Avenue, Unit 206 Bloomington, MN 55425-1646 952-854-4110 [email protected] E. Dennis Ehrenberger Treasurer 2783 Glenview Drive Sierra Vista, AZ 85650-5734 520-378-1313 [email protected] Immediate Past President, Scholarship Committee and Reunion Committee Jim Bannerman 761 Marina Point Drive Daytona Beach, FL 32114-5050 386-257-3853 [email protected] Past President Peter Karnoski 1588 Sandinista Drive Las Vegas, NV 89123 702-361-4983 Distributor, DR AHEAD Errol Hoberman 6441 Avendia De Galvez Navarrre, FL 32566-8911 850-939-5231 [email protected] [email protected] Editor, DR AHEAD Richard W. Ahrens 79 Forest Drive, The Woods 43300 Little River Airport Road Little River, CA 95456-9612 707-937-4242 [email protected] Last Flights Coordinator Richard Mansfield 7313 Oak Leaf Way Sarasota, FL 34241-6204 941-388-7548 Chaplain John T. Massey 6810 Rosewood Court Tampa, FL 33615-3318 813-886-1938 Bombardier Committee 2025 Welch Court Ann Arbor, MI 48103 734-761-7251 [email protected] [email protected] Russell K. Woinowsk Web Master for www.afnoa.org Tim Duerson [email protected] [email protected]
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