A message from the family of Robin Olds

[Enemy Ace]

I think there are several lessons to be learned here:
1. Have your estate and financial affairs in order.
2. See above... If you died today in your Mustang (with a big smile on your face) how would things work out for your family and business affairs?
3. If you have aging parents, it's time to have a serious talk with them to uncover any developing problems. I am going through something similar with my 88 year old grandfather, we thought everything was fine until we got a foreclosure notice on his house...
4. What's your stuff really worth? and what kind of history does it have? I'll bet a lot of Gen. Old's stuff may look mundane, but actually has some pretty cool stories to tell.... now lost forever. An hour or two with a video camera can go a long way towards cataloging your stuff...

[tom d. friedman]

uugh........ big mistake by her using manion's int. auction house, those carpet bagging leechs will surely misrepresent plenty of items. general olds financial baggage is a sad commentary for a man of his stature. bottom line....... the gubmint always gets their slice of the pie.... i hope they choke on it!!

[Kaigun Fan]

Hello,

From a "personal" viewpoint, I can't think of a better auction house than Manions to handle his estate. Several of the people who work there have many decades of experience and are collectors themselves.

I personally have purchased many wonderful pieces from them and always recommend them to my collector friends. I probably bought well over forty Vietnam era patches from them last year and was pleased with every one! Good prices and service as well.

Hopefully, Mr. Old's special items find good homes to people who will preserve and take care of them properly.

Regards,

Ron W.
www.beyondpearlharbor.com

[mjanovec]

I'm happy to see that the two autographed items consigned to R&R Auction fetched over $5000 in bids. Hopefully there are a quite a few similar items tucked away in his collection to help reach the $70K total in no time at all.

It goes without saying that I hope the less-personal items get auctioned first...and the hopefully the family will get to keep the most personal items for themselves.

[Chief]

The state of his affairs upon his death doesn't really surprise me. Robin did not have much respect for authority. He always did things his way.

I found this out during our first meeting in January 1967 when I was assigned to his immediate staff at Ubon. Having reported to Ubon and the 8th TFW, from a "mundane" C-124 "by the book MAC" cargo operation to a fighter outfit was an enlightening experience to say the least.

He conducted a daily "morning Operations briefing with his subordinate commanders and those of us on his staff where we briefed him on the previous days operation results. He had the greatest respect for those who worked and fought for him but he very frequently expressed great disdane (his vocabulary can't be expressed here) for most of those who served above him and the regulations/procedures we were to operate under.

[Owen Miller]

It looks as if there will be a happy ending to this sad tale.
Many thanks to the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Assn.
and others who made this possible. I look forward to being
able to see some of the Olds' memorabilia one day on display.
He was surely one of the greatest combat leaders of the
twentieth century.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/ ... ds_060509/

[tom d. friedman]

my dad died october 2008. his estate is hardly ironed out & will probably go through another year of red tape. he was 92.

[Chicoartist]

From the AF Times article Owen cited above -

The “River Rats” are now on track to raise enough money to pay Olds’ debts and have enough left over to start a Robin Olds Foundation, which will provide scholarships and aid for wounded veterans.

Good on the 'Rats!

I was lucky enough to spend some time around him - in 2003 when he was an old man - and even then he was a very imposing figure. When he was in his 'prime', he must have really cut a swath, which, from all accounts, he most certainly did! Personally, I'm still trying to figure out how he fit into a P-51 decked out in his 'chute, etc.

Wade

[HogDriver44]

From the AF Times article Owen cited above -

The “River Rats” are now on track to raise enough money to pay Olds’ debts and have enough left over to start a Robin Olds Foundation, which will provide scholarships and aid for wounded veterans.

Unfortunately, the Air Force Times article appears to have a few critical errors in it.

Here's a note from River Rat headquarters, received today, 11 June 09:

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Attention all River Rats - Last month, in response to a call for help from Robin Olds' daughter Christina, several Rats suggested that we, as an Association, "get out in front of it." Aside from the groundswell of support which resulted from her emails, the urgency at that time was a bit artificial, and I got caught up in it as did many. Several of you caught a misstatement in my "MAYDAY" call for donations. Thanks to those of you who contacted us. Robin's heirs are NOT liable for anything!

Since that time, there has been much confusion and misinformation afoot, the most recent being an article in last week's AF Times. In that article, for starters, the TITLE is wrong! Also, Christina is misquoted, her words taken out of context, and at least one quote attributed to her, she never said anything of the sort! Christina has sent a letter to the AF Times stating her concerns and citing the erroneous nature of that article. PLEASE disregard and help spread the word that the article is highly erroneous and that Robin's Memorabilia is NOT saved! Far from it! The Probate Court has ordered Christina, as Executrix, to liquidate Robin's belongings to satisfy the indebtedness of the Estate, and that order is still in force.

There is an update on this project in the coming MiG Sweep, written 2 weeks ago to make the deadline, and based on what we knew at the time.

1. We cannot do anything which would risk our charitable organization tax-exempt status, This is a foremost consideration in all our planning.

2. The Robin Olds Fund has been established, under our 501c(3) structure, to accept and hold donations which, hopefully, will be used to purchase Robin's Memorabilia.

3. Our primary focus is raising sufficient money to purchase the memorabilia so that it won't be scattered around piecemeal to the highest bidders, but will be kept together and subsequently donated/distributed to the appropriate locations and organizations. That purchase will hopefully "liquidate" Robin's belongings as directed by the Court and be sufficient to settle the estate's indebtedness, allowing probate to close. This is NOT our goal, but a hoped-for by-product of buying the Memorabilia to "save it from the auction block."

4. This is NOT a "bail-out" for Robin's Estate OR his heirs!

5. The RRVA's Robin Olds Fund is in force, but currently falls far short of our expected requirements, although specific numbers are currently unknown.

We cannot proceed further until after the upcoming formal appraisal is completed. At that time, we will know specific funding targets and be able to finalize our agreement with Christina Olds on behalf of Robin's Estate.

Our thanks to those of you who have thus far contributed. There are many numbers and estimates out there, but we will not know just what the actual figures and requirements are until after the official appraisal of Robin's Memorabilia later this month. If you want to contribute and have not yet done so, you may want to wait until we have firm goals set and again solicit more donations. Once further details become available, we will provide updates via this and other venues.

GBU all and yours GBA
- Swede Seagren, CinCRat

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Here's the letter to the AF Times from Christina Olds:

To the Air Force Times, a correction for immediate publication PLEASE.

Last week's article titled, "Ace's Collection Spared Auction Block", about Brig Gen Robin Olds, although well-intentioned, was unfortunately inaccurate and totally mis-titled. We are a long way from saving my father's memorabilia from the auction block, as the amount due to pay entire probate debt is far above the $70,000 mentioned. I have received many emails saying "We're so glad the memorabilia has been saved!" Thus the power of a title.

Please print a correction immediately.

Additionally, the Red River Valley Association (the River Rats) contacted me with the offer of receiving donations. I did not solicit them. Their generosity and heart-warming concern for Robin's memorabilia is overwhelming and much appreciated. Donations are coming in to the RRVA, but it will be a daunting if not impossible task for RRVA, and me personally, to raise enough money to pay probate debts without selling some of the collection at auction. Important, museum-worthy pieces will be donated to museums in the name of the River Rats.

The statement that there will be "...enough left over to start a Robin Olds foundation..." is completely false! Sometime in the future, after the book comes out, I may be able to start a foundation to honor my father and do good works in his name, but this idea is completely unrelated to the efforts of the River Rats. Running a non-profit takes tremendous energy and organization, as I'm learning. Kudos to the RRVA. Please honor their efforts accurately.

- Christina Olds