Warbird Information Exchange

Does anyone know if Howie Keefe is still around? I would be neat to find out if that signature is really his or not, I am pretty sure it is but you never know!!!

Cool thread!

Here are the ones I have:

F/L William Reid, VC of 61 Squadron
Capt. Don Strait, 361st FS/356th FG
Shorty Rankin (this pic is on my desk at work), 61st FS/56th FG
Boleslaw "Mike" Gladych, PAF and 61st FS/56th FG
Maj. Gabby Gabreski, 56th FG
Capt. Frank Klibbe, 56th FG
1st Lt. Don McGee, 80th FS/8th FG
Billy Drake, 1 Sqn, AASF (RAF)
Lt.(jg) Alex Vraciu, VF-16
Lt.(jg) George Gay, Torpedo Eight
1Lt. John Kirla, 357th FG
Günther Rall, 9./JG 52, JG 300
Oskar Bösch, Sturmstaffel 1 and 11. and 14./JG 3
Horst Petzschler, 2./JG 3 and Stab/JG 51
Hans-Ekkehard Bob, 9./JG 54
Hans Weik, Stab, 9., and 10./JG 3
Franz Stigler, 4. and 6./JG 27, JV 44

And I brought a Mustang book to the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends in April 99, and got the following autographs in it...

Bud Anderson (357th FG)
Lee Archer (332nd FG)
Alex Jefferson (332nd FG)
Ken Dahlberg (354th FG)
Chuck Yeager (357th FG)
Bob Goebel (31st FG)
Frederick "Boots" Blesse (4th FIW)

It's such a treat to meet these guys and talk with them...

Lynn

I have an aviation themed gameroom with a good bit of models on the one side, and the other side is covered in aviation photos, and aircraft parts. The signed 8X10's I have are--Chuck yeager with X-1, as well as one of me and him together, Bud Anderson, Richard Peterson, Tex hill, Robert Scott, Jimmy Doolittle, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, David thatcher(he was the top turret gunner on the Ruptured Duck on Doolittle raid), Ellen Lawson, Pappy Boyington, Dick Cole, Travis Hoover, George H. Bush, scott Crossfield, Bob Hoover, Patty Wagstaff, John mcCain, some of the tuskegee airmen, some of the Blacksheep squadron, Julie Clark, Robert Morgan, Paul Tibbets, and many more. I have a very understanding wife!

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

Eddie Rickenbacker signed in 1937!

That is cool!!

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

One of my favorite autographed books is my American Fighter Aces book with over 70 autographs in it! Joe Foss, Gabreski, Hill, etc. Ill never give it up!

Taylor

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Taylor Stevenson

I have an autographed copy of Bob McClurg's book. Signed in 05.

I have a 1/48 AVG P-40 I built that was autographed by Peter Wright and Charlie Mott of the AVG. (Unfortunetly their signatures have faded heavily)

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Share your story: Rutgers Oral History Archive http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

American Fighter Aces album with over 200 autographs, p51 print with 20 plus double ace signatures, rarest signatures are Barkhorn and Battle of Britain heroes Dowding and Park
Gary

Gary,

I'm glad to see you are alive! I was begining to think you had gone the way of the Dodo bird!

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Brad

here i go......
dick rutan.... legend
dick becker..... air racer
cook cleland..... air racer
eddie rickenbacker's personal check..... legend
ralph watson .... ace ww 2
robin olds....... legend
* paul tibbets....... legend
* theo vankirk....legend
* tom ferebee all enola gay
leo loudenslager.... stunt pilot
johnny kazian...... wing walker
joe kittenger.... all time world's free fall parachute record
cliff robertson....... actor / warbird owner
scott crossfield.... legend, test pilot
norman vaughan..... w/ admiral byrd in his arctic expedition, & rescued the greenland flight which involved glacier girl crew early ww 2
admiral r.e. byrd..... legend
jack ilfrey.... ace
steve ritchie... only usaf nam ace
john glenn... legend
julie clark..... stunt pilot
flying tigers.........
*
* ed rector
*charlie mott
*tex hill
*charlie bond
*rich richardson
*ken jerstedt
*erik shilling
*chuck older
*bob layher
*joe rosbert
*bob keeton
*pd dupouy
*dick rossi
robert morgan.... memphis belle
bruce porter... night fighter ace
george andre....... stunt pilot
a collection since 1987 & enjoy looking at it daily!!!

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

I have several test pilots in my collection:

Chuck Yeager
Scott Crossfield (RIP 2006)
Joe Kittinger
Joe Cotton
Al White (RIP 2006)
Joe Engle
Pete Everest
Tex Johnston
Pete Knight
Slick Goodlin
Bruce Peterson (RIP 2006)
Milt Thompson
Robert Rushworth
Robert White
Tony LeVier
Max Stanley
Bob Cardenas
Bill Dana
Gerry Gentry
John Manke
Neil Armstrong (who? )
Don Mallick
Fitz Fulton
Stan Butchart
Russell Rogers
Bob Hoover

Plus a nearly complete collection of astronauts from the Mercury-Gemini-Apollo years (who were mostly test pilots before becoming astronauts). And a good handful of the common WWII pilots...Many Flying Tigers, some Black Sheep, Tibbets, etc.

I only started getting aviation autographs a few years ago but have been both lucky and attended a few reunions:

Around 25-30 Flying Tigers
About 15-20 Black Sheep VMF 214
About 10 Doolittle Raiders
5 Memphis Belle crew
9 of the 16 pilots of the Yamamoto mission
Paul Tibbets, Dutch Vankirk, Tom Ferebee Enola Gay crew
Charles Sweeney, Fred Olivi Bock's Car crew
3 Berlin Airlift pilots including Candy Bomber Gail Halvorsen
5 pilots of the 57th FG
Archie Donahue
Dean Caswell
Joe Foss - MOH
Don Blakeslee
JH Bennett
Johnnie Johnson - RAF
Bud Maharin
Marion Carl
Jerry Johnson
Bud Anderson
Walter Goehausen
Bud Peterson
Roy Evans
Gabby Gabreski
Fred Christiansen
Sandy McCorkle
Jack Ilfrey - A gentlemen beyond words, called me just to talk about planes. I later found out he did this a lot but it still meant the world to me.
Robert L Scott - Ditto, sent me a photo of the Great Wall from his personal collection.
Butch Voris
Hamilton McWhorter
Arthur Fiedler
Steve Pisanos
Lee Archer, Roscoe Browne - Tuskegee Airmen
Bill Hardy
George Carpenter
Swede Vejtasa
Jim Swett - MOH
Bruce Porter
Bob Goebel
Robin Olds
Herky Green
Jim Goodson
Alex Vraciu
Jim Benz
Billy Edens
Ken Walsh
George Gay - VT-8 Battle of Midway
Dan Carmichael
Lowell Brueland
Paul Conger
Jim Brooks
Ken Dahlberg
Don Strait
Bob Barkey
Gerald Brown
Nathan Green - MOH PBY pilot
Thomas Hudner - MOH, everyone should know how he earned it.
Jay Zeamer - MOH B-17 pilot
Jefferson Deblanc - MOH
Robert Galer - MOH
Gunther Rall - Luftwaffe
Bob Winks
Jack Walker
Donald Gordon
Diz Laird
Jerome Jacobs - local pilot of the 357th
Neville Duke - RAF/Test Pilot
Dale Karger
Walter Lundin
Ted Crosby
Barrie Davis
Rosie Rosenthal legend of the Bloody 100th
Cook Cleland (I met him, his crew chief and the plane he flew in Korea)
Guy Bordelon - last prop ace Korea
Boots Blesse
William Wescott
Ralph Parr
Clyde Curtin
Robbie Risner
Randy Cunningham/Willy Driscoll - Only USN Vietnam aces
Leo Thorsness - MOH, Thud pilot
John Miller - Autogiro pilot
Some WWII non-aces and ground crew, no glory but just as important.

Test Pilots (overlap on planes flown)
X-1 - Chuck Yeager, Slick Goodlin, Fred Ascani, Scott Crossfield, Pete Everest, Bob Champine, Gus Lundquist, John Griffith
YB-49 - Bob Cardenas, Chuck Tucker (X-4)
XB-70 - Joe Cotton, Fitz Fulton, Don Mallick, Al White
B1 - Charles Bock
Joe Kittinger - Mach 1 without a plane.
Bruce Peterson - 6 Million Dollar Man crash
X-15 - Robert White, Scott Crossfield, Pete Knight, Bill Dana, Joe Engle
X-1B - Horace "Dude" Hanes
F-22 - Paul Metz
Buddy Brown local SR71 pilot
Bob Hoover - legend
Gordon Fullerton
Spaceship One - Mike Melvill, Brian Binnie
Several Mercury, Gemini, Apollo era astronauts and a few Shuttle astronauts.

and a Avenger pilot named George Bush.
BK

I have a couple of dozen of aviation autographs, but my prize one is Orivile Wright.

It is a First Day Cover dated Dec. 17, 1934. It is also signed by the Postmaster of Kitty Hawk. This was the date that they dedicated the Wright Memorial.

I live on 35 miles from Kitty Hawk...

Here's my favorite... Along with my signed copy of DeShazer.



Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

I never did get into the autograph stuff when I was little. I did get a few from time to time.......dad on the other hand has a hell of a collection! One of these days I will get his signed Robert Taylor print!!!


I got the book about torpedo 8 signed by you know who.
I also have a pic signed by James Empy (of his mustang Little Ambassador)
A bunch of names in my book Flak Dodger from when I attended a 457th BG reunion in the late 80's

Met a bunch of people over the years and never got there autograph.
Joe Kittenger ( met more than once, friend of my employer)
Like 6 Tuskeege pilots at a airshow in fla.
Dick Hurd. one of the wing commanders on the ploesti raid.
cant remember his name but he flew in the B-58 Hustler on one of there Bendix runs..........Polhemus I think.

Other than my growing Nascar autograph collection.

I have about 60 autographs on 2 Transportation flags that I have collected at reunions that I have attended of guys that drove trucks in Vietnam for the 8th Transportation Group. For Museum junkies. 4 of them are the 1970 crew of the gun truck "Eve of Destruction" that sits in the trans museum at Ft.Eustes VA. My collection grows every year. These guys are my Heroes.

Also got a few Huey pilots too

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Long Live the N3N-3 "The Last US Military Bi-Plane" 1940-1959
Badmouthing Stearmans on WIX since 2005