Warbird Information Exchange

After visiting the airshow at Eden Prairie this weekend, it just makes me sad to see the veterans there.

Sad, because the stories, the history and the members of the elite group of brave souls are fading into history itself.

Meeting people that survived on the Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. Meeting Dick Cole, one of only a few members of Doolittles raiders. Members of the Black Sheep squadron and of course the now famous Tuskegee Airman.

The frail bodies, hold so much history, and as long as younger folks like myself keep things alive, they will live forever and we owe it to them to do so.

Two things happened when I was there that really touched my heart.

1. I was wearing my WIX shirt and my Desert Storm Veteran hat while touring the hangar. One of the re-enactment people there, spotted me walking through, moved through a few people straight toward myself and my son. To my surprise, he stuck out his hand and we shook, then he said, "Thank you, Veteran and god bless you." I was stunned, but very happy that man put a smile on my face, as I said, "thank you back".

2. My son, Blake, who will be 4 in December and loves planes just as much as dad does, stopped by a table of wooden model airplanes.

Just prior to that we stopped by the BT-15 which of course was just a basic frame with a few wires etc. etc. on it, as it is being rebuilt. My son was facinated by it.

Back to the table, my son, spotted the Wright Flyer. He says "daddy, look, that plane is being built too!" I said "No, that is the Wright Flyer". Then just as I was about to explain the plane to him, this nice lady, who bent down face to face with him and placed him on her knee and said, "Oh honey, that is the very first plane!, that is what started it all for us" Then she explained more and more, as my sons eyes got bigger and asked more questions on why the man was on the wing, and what the stick in his hand was for. She sat and took the time for about 15 minutes to talk to my son. She was a WASP in WWII. She loved the idea of my son, only 3 1/2 asking all these questions about the airplane he thought was broken.

My point is, that my heart aches to see those whom I have grown up to admire and idiolize slowly slip into the darkness.

But I feel that if we can pass this knowledge to those asking questions, like my son Blake, the memoeries will never fade and they will never be forgotten in our hearts or our minds.

Roger that, while I was on the road with the Yellow Rose, we always had veterans stopping by to say hello and I would always ask what the flew or did in the war. I will always remember the smile on there face as they walked up to the A/C and you could see time rolling back in there eyes.

Thank you all for what you did,

Lynn

Always amazing at what the little things can do for someone.

The lousy weather on Sunday gave me a great opportunity to talk to as many as the veterans as I could. I never fail to learn something new each time I talk to them.

In 5-10 years, I imagine most will be gone...or too old to travel to airshows. Take the opportunity to hear these guys talk if you ever get the chance. They are living history. You can always read about it in a book, but it's never as good as hearing about it in person from someone who lived it.

One of the reasons I volunteer at air shows is to meet veterans and their families, connect them with "their" a/c and hear their stories. Sometimes, when they share their stories with me it is the first time their families have heard some of these stories. It is always very insightful and often emotionally charged for both the veteran and everyone listening.

Warbirds are a touchstone to history and a flying Warbird is a "living" touchstone to their history in many cases.

Heartfelt thanks to those who flew them then and to those who keep 'em flying now.

Blue Skies all...

Paul,

I agree with you 100%...as you mentioned, nearly all of these vets will have passed on in the next 5-10 years. All the more reason to encourage them to participate in veteran interviews or to at least document their service and experiences for others, once they're gone.

I went through this with my 85 year old grandmother recently. She was in the Navy W.A.V.E.S. during the war and has quite a collection of photos and momentos. We sat down for about 5 hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon and discussed her service. All the while I was taking notes and identifying pictures. I also made a special request that she leave me her Navy photo album and shadowbox medals display which I had put together for her about 10 years ago. She happily agreed and knows they will be in good hands when she passes on. My fear is that if any of this stuff ended up with any other family member it would end up on Ebay or even worse...in the trash

John

The VMF-214 Blacksheep and alot of other Corsair Pilots and Crew have been preserved. Go to The Corsair Experience .com and you will be able to purchase one of the DVD sets. This is a 4 DVD set and last for 8 hours, with alot of interviews, and Historical footage that has never been used before , not to mention the Color Corsair Flying and Ground shots from 2002, 2003.

www.thecorsairexperience.com

_________________
FLY SAFE--FLY FAST
F4U Corsair Historian
Mint Moore III

YES I highly recommend the DVD collection. I think I have seen it over and over again about 8 times.

Great set for anyone!

Paul,

I was once told "Don't bad sad that "X" is over, be glad that it happened". In this case I would also add that be glad that you were here to partake of the Veterans in person. Seems to me even though they will all pass someday (Just as we will), they will not be gone if we don't forget what they did for all of us. Listen to them, remember his/her life experiences (They are not stories!) and pass them on to the next generation. You're doing that...be glad! I suspect the gal your son spoke to was Liz Strofus...she's a real card and loves talking to kids.

John

Wings of the North, like EAA Oshkosh is one of the aviation events you can enjoy even if the weather is not flyable, because of the vets, and how enthusiastic and how accessable they are with the public. It's not a huge event, but there are enough planes to see and enough to do inside if the weather is IMC. Perhaps the best flying show ever was at Breckenridge Texas. Virtually all Warbirds, no FAA tower, lot's of top pilots, but if it rained all there was to do was tell lies, drink beer, and eat Bar-B-Q. Down in CAF country they do have some experts in all three events. Myself, I don't drink beer when I might go flying, and all my tall tales are true, but as any real Texan I do like Bar-B-Q. I first got to meet Tex Hill there, and wish we still had the show.

_________________
Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

John,

Yes, I think that was her name. I thought ( I assumed she was a WASP ) I could be and know to have been wrong though in some instances. With the boy acting up, I was ready to get out of the hangar, he was hungry and crabby and like I said, wanted everything in the store.

My son will grow up learning these life events, so that he can pass it down too, like I am doing. My daughter Britney, she REALLY enjoyed the Red Baron planes. With the noise and the smoke. I think she maybe my Patty Wagstaff of the family. She loves to be upside down and thrown in the air and everytime we watch the Military Channel or other channels with aerobatics, she is totally glued to the T.V.

My son, likes them fast. If he was able to ride in an F-18, it wouldn't be fast enough for him!

Loved being there, loved meeting the special folks. I think that with the Vets there, even though the show is small, the value you get from the Vets there is 100 times bigger than most airshows I go to with 100 planes and no vets.

Paul,

Liz is a WASP. I think she lives in Luverne MN. I've known her since the early 90's back in the old Planes of Fame East days.

John

Great news! I loved the fact she was so in tune with my son and his interest in the plane. Wonderful person to speak with, hope to see her next year too!