Symposium Preview Edition

Dedicated to the history and preservation of artifacts and memorabilia commemorating
CHARLES A. LINDBERGH and The Spirit of St. Louis
First solo, non-stop flight from New York to Paris - May 20 - 21, 1927
VOLUME MMIII
JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH 2003
ISSUE No. 1
Symposium Preview Edition
PUBLISHED IN THE MEMORY OF MAX HEALEY, FOUNDER (1915 - 1990)
C.A.L./N-X-211
Collectors Society
Executive Committee
President
Doug Studer (859) 448-0711
RR3 Box 327A Aulick Road
Butler, KY 41006
Vice President
Juan A. Jose
San Francisco 333-601
Col Del Valle, 03100 Mexico
Secretary
Joena Meier (217) 243-7032
2 Millwood Manor
Jacksonville, IL 62650
Treasurer
Gary Fisk (310) 539-2599
24506 Cadiz Drive
Lomita, CA 90717
Immediate Past President
Bob Arehart
4839 Pershing Avenue
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Board of Directors
Barry Friedman
Bill Grant
Duane Jacobson
Ken Taylor
Gene Weisenberg
Marketing & Communication
Juan A. Jose – Director & Chairman
(note address above)
Newsletter Editors
Doug Studer & Joena Meier
(note addresses above)
Preservation Committee
Duane Jacobson , Curator
9119 16th Avenue South
Bloomington, MN 55420
(952) 854-8260
Membership Committee
Gene Weisenberg, Chairman
1562 Bradbury Road
San Marino, CA 91108-2727
(626) 286-9596
S poifrtihte
Society
Hello to all,
Well, time has flown. This is not only the last issue before the
Symposium but it is also my last Spirit column as President of
our Society. At the Oshkosh Symposium Juan will become
our next fearless leader. I am sure you, as I, wish him well.
He will be a great president.
I am planning to continue as Editor-at-large for our
Newsletter and will endeavour to continue to improve the
quality. I will also continue to rely on the loyals who have
been so valuable with contributions for publication and filling our content with such informative and interesting items. I
owe a huge “Thank you” to those members--you know who
you are. If you are reading this, you are a member. If you
have not contributed but have always wanted to, do it now!
Check this issue for the latest Symposium news and a few
new items. I am rolling out the “Fisk Files” in this issue. Our
treasurer Gary Fisk has faithfully sent me items of interest by
the envelopes full for years and I thought it would fun to
share some of what I have enjoyed with everyone in the
Society. Also, member Pat Ranfranz is the owner and developer of the CharlesLindbergh.com Web site. He is seeking
member assistance with a project, as well as sending collectible inquiries my way from his site. Some I can handle,
others require expertise outside of my own areas, so I am
publishing these requests in the Collectibles area of this issue
to seek help from the membership.
I hope you enjoy this latest effort and if not, let me know how
you think it could be better. I will publish comments pro and
con, so let me hear from you. Here’s hoping to see you ALL
in Oshkosh in May!
Until then, happy flying, good collecting and keep the
“Spirit”
Doug
dstuder@deskey.com
Nominating Committee
Cris Sauer, Chairman
1528 East Telegraph Hill
Madison, IN 47250
(812) 273-3414
Past Presidents Committee
Bob Arehart, Cris Sauer,
Lyn Sheldon, Rosie Zuern,
& Gene Weisenberg
Society Web Site: http://fly.to/cal-n-x-211/
Mailbag
Notes and News from Members
“I am glad it was decided to hold the line on the
international members’ dues. I, for one, appreciate it...It will be good to be back on board!”
Dwight Skeates, Ontario, Canada
“The Newsletter is excellent!”
Paul Erickson, El Cajon, CA
“The newsletter arrived today, and it looks great.
Love the tree.”
Rosemary Zuern, Oshkosh, WI
“It was great to receive a copy of the CAL
Collectors Society bulletin. You’ve done it again
-- a fine job with interesting articles. I was especially drawn by Ken Taylor’s “1962 Interview
with the Lindberghs (Neighbors)” story because,
at that time, I had been secretary to the
Lindberghs for five years.”
Jean O. Saunders, Anchorage, AK
See the article in the “Features” section of this
Issue
Doug
Doug, I’m interested in building a new
Lindbergh collectible area on my Web site. The
best source of information is likely from CAL/NX-211 members. What I’m considering building
is an A-Z listing of Lindbergh memorabilia. Is it
possible to work with the organization to collect
information from the members regarding as
many collectibles as possible? For example, for
each item I would like (1) Title, (2) Description,
(3) Approximate value, and (4) Electronic picture. A few members with large collections
could help populate the content in a short period of time. Any member supplying information
would receive credit on the site. Additionally, I
often receive e-mail questions regarding
Lindbergh memorabilia. I would love to find a
way to direct the memorabilia questions to the
CAL N-X-211 Society.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
Second, I would welcome the opportunity to add
electronic versions of the CAL/N-X-211
Newsletter to the CharlesLindbergh.com Web
site. If I could receive the content in an electronic format it would not be difficult to build the
newsletters into Web pages or downloadable
PDF files. This could save the organization a lot
of mailing costs and perhaps help build membership.
Pat Ranfranz, Shoreview, MN
How about it Members? I have the first series of
inquiries below in “Collectibles.” It’s a great
way for people to find out about us and build
membership. Please respond directly to me with
any interest in building the collectible area of
Pat’s fantastic site. If you have not yet visited it,
you are missing a treat. It is a top flight site.
Doug
Collectibles
Collectors Seeking Help
Here are six inquiries directed to me by Pat from
his site. Please contact me with any information
and interest.
French Newspaper
Hi Doug,
Your name was given to me by the webmaster@charleslindbergh.com.
About 30 years ago, I got a copy of a French
news paper called LA PRESSE dated May 22,
1927. The woman I got it from, who was French,
said she lived in Paris when Lindbergh landed
after his trip from the US. The newspaper is
framed and under glass.
The paper tells all about Lindbergh’s flight from
New York to Paris. The front page shows a picture of Lindbergh, his plane and a picture of his
route. I have attached a picture of the news
paper to this e-mail for you to see what I have.
The reason I am e-mailing you is I am trying to
find the value of this item. I am an X Naval Flyer
and I have collected aviation items for many
PAGE 3
years and now that I
have moved into an
apartment I now no
longer have the room
or wall space for many
of my items. I would
be grateful for any
help you can give me.
Bob
Aviation Pinbacks
I have some Lindbergh pins from my fathers
estate that I would like to get more info on. Pat
at the Lindbergh home page gave me your e-mail
address.
I hope you can give me some info on the value
of any of these buttons. Thank You.
Penny
Lindbergh Speech 78s
Dear Doug:
I have two Lindbergh Victor recordings made in
1927, in Washington, DC, on Lindbergh’s
arrival home from Paris. I would like to know
what the value of these recordings would be to a
collector. I spoke to Patrick Ranfranz from
Wisconsin last night and he suggested I contact
you, as you were more likely to know their value
than he does. Any help you can send me will be
appreciated.
Sincerely,
Stan
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
West Prints
I have three prints by Levon West that were purchased by my father in 1929. What can you tell
me about them, and are they in demand by collectors?
Thank you,
Peter
Lindbergh Air Mail
I have a letter from my paternal grandfather written to my father (includes a check for $1.00 and
a sentence that states that “this letter will be carried out of Peoria by Col. Lindbergh tomorrow
morning,” The letter is postmarked: Peoria, ILL,
Feb 20, 5:30 PM, 1928. There is a stamp on the
envelope: United States Postage, Lindbergh Air
Mail, 10 cent, and it is stamped/cancelled by the
“South Adams Street Station.”
I am investigating the possible historic and financial value of this letter. Is there some way that
you could help me in this search?
With my thanks in advance,
Juanita
Airmail Flight Number?
Hello.
For some years, I have kept a framed letter and
envelope that was on Lindbergh’s flight of 2-201928 from St. Louis to Indianapolis. It is stamped
in a horseshoe saying: “Again Lindbergh flies the
airmail.” It was from my great
aunt to her good friend. I have
kept it since I was 15 (now 48).
Can you tell me what number
airmail flight this was in relation
to his first in 1926??
Thank you,
Gene
Spirit Ornaments Still Available
Rosemary Zuern
I don’t know if you folks get the magazine
Historic Aviation or not, but I did order some
wooden ornaments from them which I thought
were nice. Their 800# is 800/225-5575 and the
ornament # is #6996C Spirit of St. Louis.
PAGE 4
They are $9.95 each. The catalog has a lot of
things so you may want to get it. The ornaments,
however, were in the Holiday 2002 catalog. I got
the Winnie Mae and an Eindecker also because
I decorate with different aviation ornaments at
Christmas.
They are still available on the website also, just
use the order number.
The Lindbergh Medals
Sixteenth in a Series
Bill Grant
I have been prompted to write this article
because of an inquiry I received by Past
President and current Society Membership
Chairman, Gene Weisenberg. It seems Gene was
surfing e-Bay when he found a medal he felt he
should have in his collection. Gene started the
process of bidding, when, all of a sudden his
computer when down and he was unable to
make a bid. It was at this time Gene e-mailed me
asking if I could be on the lookout for this medal
as he had a desire to own this particular medal.
As it turned out, I had an extra copy of the medal
and was able to provide him with the medal he
wanted.
However, this very nicely designed medal had
one major error and that was that Lindbergh had
been misspelled “Linbergh.”
Gene wanted to know if this medal had been
restruck with the correct spelling of Lindbergh.
Since I did not know the answer, I contacted several San Diego Numismatic friends and asked for
information about the medal and if a second
medal had been issued correcting Lindbergh’s
name.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
That afternoon, I received two replies giving me
the information I had requested. A second issue
of the medal had not been done because of the
cost.
The medal was designed by the late Bill Fell of
the San Diego area. The misspelling took place
with the intitial design. Mr. Fell submitted his
design to the San Diego County Inter-Club
Numismatic Council, (hereafter known as SDCICNC) for their consideration.
After reviewing all submitted designs, the winning design is selected by council members at
the general meeting. The next step was for the
medal chairman to forward the selected design
to the medal maker for striking of the medal. By
this time a number of people had reviewed this
design and no one had seen the misspelling of
Lindbergh or they didn’t want to make waves.
Anyway, after a few weeks the medal was completed. A Lead Proof copy of the medal was furnished to SDCICNC for a final review. If anything
is wrong with the medal it must be corrected at
this time, because no corrections can be make
after the die is hardened. Still, no one had caught
the misspelling. The medal was once again
approved and the medal was struck. It was not
until the shipment of medals had arrived in San
Diego a short time later that the Lindbergh error
was discovered. At this point, it was too late.
SDCICNC was stuck with the medal.
The 39mm diameter medal was sold at the 20th
annual Coinarama. Quantity struck was 100 silver (.999 fine silver); 1050 bronze and less than
10 other medals struck of different metals. These
extra medals were usually part of special sets
presented to the designer, chairman or used as
fund raisers.
The medal commemorated Lindbergh’s 50th
anniversary of his epic flight.
PAGE 5
The obverse of the medal shows the “Spirit of St.
Louis” flying over the Atlantic Ocean with a map
of CAL’s route above. The outer rim at the top
says “LINBERGH 50TH ANNIVERSARY,” at the
bottom “1927 - 20TH COINARAMA - 1977”.
The reverse side of the medal has (for the first
time) the SDCICNC logo. Around the edge “SAN
DIEGO COUNTY INTER-CLUB NUMISMATIC
COUNCIL,” in the center is the outline of San
Diego county, FOUNDED JULY 19, 1959. Seven
stars representing the seven coin clubs that make
up the Council are around the county outline.
From AIR & SPACE Smithsonian, 9/02:
Fisk Files
Lindbergh’s Secret Identity
Reeve Lindbergh’s first flight took place while I
was a flight instructor at the Danbury School of
Aeronautics in Danbury, Connecticut.
Whenever Charles Lindbergh reserved a plane,
the owner of the flight school, Stan Konecko, put
him on the rental schedule as “Mr. Ginsberg”
and instructed the airport employees not to disturb him.
I have always been in awe of Mr. Lindbergh.
Whenever I saw him, I wanted to shake his
hand, but never had the guts to disobey orders.
But guess what? I now own N82677, the very
same Aeronca Reeve Lindbergh was in when she
and “Mr. Ginsberg” were forced to land in a cow
pasture.
Frank Giumarra
Danbury, CT
From THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE, 6/80:
“SURVIVAL”
An article by our own Ev Cassagneres documented the contents and post flight history of the
contents of CAL’s “survival kit” carried with him
on his epic flight. The items had been in the possession of Ken Lane, who was chief engineer for
Wright Aeronautical, when the Spirit was prepared for it’s Goodwill Tour following the NYP
flight. The items were presented on Lane’s behalf
to the NASM.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
From FLYING, 8/02:
1927 Lindbergh Launches an Industry and
Flying magazine
In August of 1927, the first issue of Popular
Aviation, which later became Flying, was published. The editorial letter alluded to Lindbergh,
noting that “the miracle of today is the commonplace of tomorrow,” and defined the magazine’s mission as: “to instruct young men in the
ways in which to undertake the new adventure
of flight.”
From General Aviation News, 6/7/02,
and AOPA Pilot, 9/02:
Another CAL/Spirit first... Not!
Cecil Jones, 97 years old at the time of the noted
publications, was a woodworker who was lucky
enough to be one of the builders of the “Spirit.”
While he may be an expert in wood, he is not in
metal, erroneously stating that the “Spirit” was
the first airplane ever built with a fuselage of
welded tubing. Gary informs me that all the
Fokkers used in WWI years earlier, used the
same process for their fuselages. Don’t believe
everything ya read!
From VINTAGE AIRPLANE, 12/86
EAA RETIRES SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS
The Foundation’s replica was officially retired on
October 24, 1986, having logged more than
1119 hours, compared to the original’s 489 plus.
From VINTAGE AIRPLANE, 6/87
EAA “SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS” TO PARIS
The same EAA “Spirit” was crated and flown to
Paris for the 60th anniversary celebration there.
It was reassembled and flown by none other
than Verne Jobst, the pilot of the latest replica we
saw fly in Little Falls. Joena was the lucky winner of the Spirit ride raffle at our Symposium.
Be sure to check the
Symposium news to
find out about your
own chance to fly on
the EAA’s latest
replica!
PAGE 6
Features
C.A.L./N-X-211 Collectors Society
2003 Symposium
Dates: May 15-18, 2003
Location: Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn,
1355 West 20th Avenue, Oshkosh, WI 54902
(adjacent to EAA & Wittman Field Airport)
Rates: $89.00 - 2 Queens or 1 King bedded
room
Reservation Cut-off Date: April 14, 2003.
Register early to avoid rate change after cut-off
date. Call 920/966-1300 and identify that you
are with the C.A.L. N-X-211 Collectors Society.
Food Service: Breakfast is served from:
6:30AM - 10:00AM Thursday - Friday, and
7:00AM - 11:00AM on Saturday and Sunday.
The Lounge opens at 4:30PM daily.
Transportation: Oshkosh is approximately 3
hours driving from Chicago, 1 hour driving from
Milwaukee and 45 minutes from Green Bay.
Appleton is only 20 minutes north of Oshkosh
and is served by United Airlines and Midwest
Express Airlines. Oshkosh has very limited service. It is advisable to rent a car during your stay.
However, the hotel will have limited transportation with its van. Pilots: If you plan to fly your
plane the hotel has 7 stalls available on a firstcome basis. Just let the Wittman Field tower
know you will use one of the hotel stalls.
Weather: Mid May can be warm and balmy; but,
it also has been known to be frigid so you will
have to plan for both situations.
Start your planning early. Please bring CAL collectibles for show and tell, or swap and sell. The
public and museum attendees will be invited, so
we want to have plenty of things to show them.
We do look forward to having you visit us here
in Oshkosh - home of the famous EAA Fly In and
Museum.
Schedule of Events
Wednesday, 5/14
Thursday, 5/15
8 am
Friday, 5/16
8 am
Early Arrivals
Board meeting
Arrivals
Display Room Setup
Business Meeting
Arrivals
Saturday, 5/17
8 am - 4 pm
4 pm
7 pm
8 pm
Display open to public
Display Room Teardown
Banquet - Cocktails*
Banquet - Dinner*
Sunday, 5/18
Departures
* Cash Bar available
Society Registration: The registration fee will be
$50.00 per person and will include:
- Entrance to the EAA Museum and Pioneer
Airport.
- Friday evening cocktails & tour of Dave &
Rosie Zuern's restored 1868 firehouse.
- Friday & Saturday luncheons.
- Speaker on Friday.
- Saturday evening banquet.
Dress code is casual. On Saturday evening, men
usually wear jackets, ladies, your choice.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
See Registration Form in this mailing. Please
register as soon as possible. Don’t miss out!
PAGE 7
Doctor Charles Lindbergh!
sent by Dave Zuern
reprinted from The Wisconsin Magazine,
August, 1928
back and to his gentlemanly conduct and the
splendid example he has been to the young
manhood of his country.
These pictures show the impressive graduation
exercises at the University of Wisconsin in
which Lindbergh participated. Lindbergh with
President and Mrs. Glenn Frank, and
Lindbergh with his plane.
Lindbergh’s Presence at
UW Graduation Produced
Crowds, Traffic Jams, Tumult
A whole day before he was expected in
Madison, Lindbergh dropped out of the sky on
Pennco field, withdrew quietly to Hotel Loraine,
and in every way tried to conduct himself as just
one of the hundreds of old “grads” returning for
a reunion celebration. At the Alumni banquet,
where his arrival cut short the grandiloquent oratory of one of the recent graduates, he was greeted with loud and jubilant acclaim. Urged to
speak, Lindy refused, smiling all the while and
seeming to enjoy the situation immensely. One
morning during his three-day visit, he attended a
flap-jack breakfast at the home of one of his
classmates, eating flapjacks with great gusto
while seated on the floor. After the breakfast he
took off his coat and helped with the dishes, and
then allowed himself to be kidnapped by one of
the young ladies in the group and by her driven
in a little coupe to the home of Dr. Frank.
This young lady insists that Lindy is anything but
girl-shy, in fact that he throws a “wicked line,”
besides being “a perfectly adorable” young man.
And then they made him a Doctor of Laws, a
tribute not only to his courageous feat of being
the first to fly across the Atlantic, but to his wonderful demonstration of flying since he came
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
sent by Dave Zuern
reprinted from Wisconsin Then and Now,
May, 1975
Solemn, dignified, inspiring, a time of pride these are words often used to describe university graduations. Pandemonium, tumults, near
riot are hardly images that come to mind on
such occasions.
Yet, the University of Wisconsin graduation
exercises in June of 1928 combined all these
elements--all because an honorary degree was
being awarded to the most adored folk hero of
the day--Charles A. Lindbergh.
From the moment “The Spirit of St. Louis” set
down in Paris May 21, 1927, after the first successful solo transatlantic flight, Lindbergh was
accorded the same sort of adulation--today
reserved for film stars and rock groups.
Consequently, the appearance in Madison of
the University’s most famous non-graduate
generated eager crowds, traffic jams, and
minute coverage in the press.
An entering member of the class of 1924,
Lindbergh dropped out of the College of
Engineering after two years to indulge his fascination with aviation and become a pilot.
Though only in his mid-twenties, Lindbergh,
after his flight, was the object of frenzied attention bordering upon hysteria.
And it was so in Madison on his first post-flight
visit. That was in August in 1927 while he was
on a tour of the country promoting commercial
aviation. Thousands rushed to greet him,
cheering and waving, when he arrived in his
famous plane.
PAGE 8
The announcement that he was returning to
Madison aroused considerable excitement, and
thousands planned to be at Pennco Field beyond
the south-eastern edge of Madison when he was
to arrive on Sunday, June 17, after spending the
night in Detroit en route from New York.
But by then, “Lindy” was shy of crowds and to
avoid the now familiar tumult, he arrived a day
early. He made it over Madison about 6:40 p.m.
on Saturday, circled the city for a quick look at
the campus, and returned to Pennco just before
nightfall.
Only about a half dozen of the fifty people at the
airport knew that Lindbergh had landed, and before any others found out, he had his new Ryan
four-seater plane parked in a hangar and had
hitched a ride to the Loraine Hotel.
The place was full of traveling men, university
alumni, and parents in town to see their children
graduate. The orchestra was playing “Ramona,”
and nobody paid much attention to the tanned
youth as he registered.
He managed to get to the owner’s suite without
being recognized by anyone except the night
clerk and several bellboys. But the word soon
spread, and the newspapermen arrived within
minutes.
Still dressed in a wrinkled gray suit, slightly
soiled with engine oil and grease and dust,
Lindbergh received the press graciously but not
loquaciously.
He said he had “had a dandy trip,” he had no
plans except that he was going to be the guest of
UW president Glenn Frank, and he refused to
tell when he would leave Madison or where he
was planning to go.
“The prime reason for my unannounced departures is because I fear accidents, with a large
crowd hanging around the ship,” he was quoted
as explaining. “I’ve had several close shaves that
way, especially with kids.”
He declined to comment on whether he would
have a date while in Madison, go to church on
Sunday, his plans in the coming year, or any
technical phases of aviation.
Asked whether he was bothered much by newspapermen, he replied; “No, I don’t mind answering their questions, providing they are not too
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
personal. I suppose they don’t always get all they
want, though, but I can’t always help that.”
That night, dressed in evening clothes, he
accompanied President Frank to the armory
where the senior alumni banquet was being
held. Lindbergh’s appearance on the platform
was the signal for prolonged applause. But a
generous smile was all that was forthcoming,
because he uttered not a word.
Sunday morning turned out to be, as Lindbergh
later put it, “the most fun I’ve had in a year.” At
Mrs. Frank's suggestion, Walter Frautschi, a
prominent Madison businessman and presently
a member of the Society’s Board of Curators, had
arranged a breakfast at his home, inviting other
members of the class of 1924.
Lindy sat on the floor munching waffles, it was
later reported, without having to discuss one single thing, not even aviation. After the meal, he
insisted on going out into the kitchen and helping with the dishes, Frautschi later recalled.
Professing to be “delighted,” he accepted the
invitation of Josephine Hirsig, now Mrs. Guy
Martin of Madison, to let her and another classmate, Kathryn Winter Pinkerton, drive him to his
luncheon engagement with President Frank.
The weekend’s heavy rains made it impossible to
use Camp Randall for the Monday graduation
ceremonies, which were moved into the Stock
Pavilion.
By early morning, cars choked the streets. At the
pavilion, thousands clamored to get in. A crowd
that grew to 3,000 milled around the front
entrances from 8:30 until 10 a.m. unsuccessfully trying to get in.
After a picture-taking session on the presidential
front porch, Frank and Lindbergh arrived for the
ceremonies in Frank’s Packard with a police
escort clearing the way through the crowds.
When Lindbergh walked onto the stage before
the nearly 6,000 graduates and spectators, there
was a tremendous “skyrocket” for him.
For nearly two hours, Lindbergh sat in the hot,
sticky atmosphere of the Stock Pavilion, apparently oblivious to all that went on. He was the
last of the six receiving honorary degrees. The
others were: University of Minnesota English
Professor Frederick Klaeber; University of
PAGE 9
California Professor Gilbert N. Lewis, a mathematical chemist; U.W. alumni and attorneys
George Haight and Israel Shrimsk; and John C.
White, state power plant engineer of Madison.
When finally the moment the crowd was waiting
for arrived, President Frank eulogized the hero as
a “modern Mercury” who had converted his
”personal popularity into a social asset to the
future of American civilization.” He then presented the Colonel with the honorary doctor-oflaws degree.
As the tall, stoop-shouldered man bowed a bit
while the purple hood was put about his neck,
pandemonium broke loose. He held his composure and smiled while spectators shouted.
Several women fainted during the crush as he
was being honored. Decked out in his academic
costume, Lindbergh stood patiently while 25
cameramen took his picture.
When he left the pavilion, a cordon of officers
and university officials protected him from the
excited crowd. A way was cleared for the Frank
automobile, but as it drove away, there was a
general surge of the crowd and cars, leaving several dented fenders behind. A number of persons
narrowly escaped being run down.
That afternoon, he was scheduled to give airplane rides to some prominent citizens. By 2
p.m., more than 500 persons had gathered at the
field for another glimpse of Lindbergh. They had
quite a wait.
It was shortly before 4 o’clock that he arrived in
the wake of sirens and police cars. Stepping out
of the Frank car, he walked swiftly through the
crowd, vaulted a fence, and began to aid the
attendants removing his craft from the hangar.
After spending the next few hours flying such
men as Governor Fred R. Zimmerman and UW
President Emeritus E.A. Birge over the city, he
returned to the Frank home.
On Tuesday, he left Madison unannounced. In a
driving rain, Col. Lindbergh, practically alone, as
one paper put it, “shook the mud of Madison
from his feet” shortly before noon, heading
south. Destination unknown.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh and
Major Thomas Lanphier Landing
at Choconut, PA
November 4th to 6th, 1927
Leonard Kohn
On November 4, 1927, Col. Lindbergh and Maj.
Lanphier made a precautionary landing on a
farm just over the New York/Pennsylvania line,
south of Endicott, New York. The pilots were on
their way to Detroit, Mich., from Mitchell Field,
Long Island, by way of Buffalo, N.Y. They were
flying Curtis Hawks Model P1-C’s powered by
Curtiss Conqueror V-12 liquid cooled engines of
1550 cubic inch displacement. According to
local people, the weather was very poor, with
clouds hanging over the hills and snow in the air.
They stayed overnight with the temperature
dropping to well below freezing. The next day,
Nov 5th after much difficulty starting the
engines, Lindbergh took off only to immediately
return due to engine problems. The engine problem required the pilots to remain overnight
again. The next day, Sunday, Nov. 6th and with
Lindbergh’s engine problem fixed, the pilots took
off around 3 PM and continued their flight to
Buffalo, landing around 5 PM, probably after
dark.
Why is this event of interest to me and hopefully to members of the C.A. Lindbergh Collectors
Society? In over 45 years of being interested in
many facets of aviation history, collecting hundreds of aviation magazines going back to 1925,
a couple hundred books, and articles, I do not
recall ever reading anything about this event.
Especially considering that this happened within
six months of Lindbergh flying to Paris when
anything he did was of immediate media interest.
Sometime in the early 1960s, I visited a small
museum in Binghamton where I noticed a section devoted to local aviation events, especially
about Edwin Link, the inventor of the Link
Simulator. One of the displays consisted of photos of Link and others in front of a plane and
copies of the local newspaper articles describing
Lindbergh and Lanphier landing at a farm in the
hamlet of Choconut, PA. At the time, and later
PAGE 10
visits to the museum, I just accepted the fact and
put it in the back of my mind. I think I figured
that the location of the event, the farm, must
have changed ownership and the land either
grown up to woods or being built up with houses. At that time, this area was growing very fast
with IBM expanding at a rapid rate. Also, having
recently moved into the area to work at IBM,
restoring an 1839 farmhouse, and three young
children, my historical interests were on the
back burner.
Fast forward to 2001 at a semi-monthly dinner
meeting of a local pilots group. The feature
speaker was a WWII B-25 pilot. After describing
his experiences in the Pacific, he ended his talk
with the fact that he visited the farm where
Lindbergh landed in 1927 and spoke with the
owners who were the grandsons of the original
owner and they had quite a bit of information
about the event. WELL!!!!! That really got my
attention. He gave me the exact location of the
farm. Within weeks, a friend and I were on our
way, over a road I must have traveled at least
fifty times. Across the road from the house were
barns and a large meadow with someone operating farm equipment. Within minutes, a gentleman came up from the field where he had been
spreading fertilizer. Introducing ourselves, I said
I was looking for the farm where Lindbergh landed. He immediately said “This is the place and
you should talk to my brother who is very interested in the event.” He gave me their phone
number and his brother’s name, Jim
Mordovancey. I called Jim one day and when I
explained my interest, was most enthusiastic
about telling me all he knew. He offered to visit
me and bring all his material. Shortly thereafter,
Jim was at my house. At this time, I wish to give
Jim credit for the majority for the material I am
using in this article. He had researched all the
newspaper articles in the newspapers, made
copies from the microfilm and referred me to a
number of persons who I contacted. Jim also had
a video copy of the local TV station’s special
presentation in 1977, celebrating Lindbergh’s
stay at Choconut. The video ran a copy of
movies taken by a local photographer showing
Lindbergh working around the planes. The qualCAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
ity was quite poor, nevertheless I copied it. There
were interviews with people who were there in
1927. Based on this visit with Jim, I offer the following discussion:
Lindbergh and Lanphier, after landing, CAL on
the meadow below the house and Lanphier on
field a half-mile south, went up to the house and
supposedly asked Matt O'Connell, “Where the
hell am I.” I doubt this as I do not believe CAL
would talk like that. Anyway, they were invited
into the house and sat at the dining room table
discussing the situation. Jim’s mother was seven
years old then and in later years told Jim and his
brother Mike what she observed, mainly how
CAL tried not to offer too much information. It
was decided that the pilots should stay overnight
at the Rectory of the St. Joseph Catholic Church,
a few miles down the road, where Father John
Walsh was their host. Until that evening, no one
knew who the pilots were. The next morning,
the 5th, they tried to start the engines. Overnight,
the temperature dropped well below freezing
and snow had fallen. The pilots asked for many
gallons of hot water to warm the engines. (The
water must have been drained the night before,
normal procedure). Water was heated over an
outside wood fire in an iron kettle, then into tengallon milk cans and carried down to the planes
in the meadow. After the radiators were filled,
they tried to start the engines. Due to the cold,
and unknown reasons, they refused to start.
There was much turning of the inertia starters
and pulling the props through. Finally, with a
roar, the engines started. To quote a local observer in one of the clippings, “Those 24 cylinder
engines made such a terrific roar.” Not so, they
were 12-cylinder engines. Another person was
quoted that he saw the planes land, and they
were Army “Jennies!!!” With the engines started,
Lindbergh climbed into his plane and took off,
immediately returning to land. He said there was
trouble with his engine.
By this time, word got around and a crowd had
already arrived, and sometime, it was learned
that one of the pilots was Lindbergh. Eventually
that word traveled like wildfire. CAL phoned
either Mitchell Field or a military field at Buffalo,
requesting mechanical help and parts. Again, the
PAGE 11
mystery, what parts? Lt. E.M. Ronne and two
mechanics, with parts, were dispatched from
Buffalo for Choconut. Why from Buffalo not
Mitchell Field??? Good question. Maybe due to
poorer weather southeast and a headwind, as Lt.
Ronne, in a Fairchild Model 71 made it from
Buffalo to Choconut in one hour and forty minutes!!!! Must have had a tailwind, those model
71 Fairchilds were 100 mph planes. They immediately went to work on CAL’s engine. Again,
what did they work at??? Some of the observations mentioned in the papers: They had to take
off the cylinder head!!! Very doubtful, as that
was one heavy piece of machinery. They
removed a cylinder to repair it!!! The cylinders
in that engine were cast in the block... They
removed a piston to repair it!!! That would be
even worse, having to remove the lower
crankcase AND the head. One quote, which
seems plausible, was that the water jacket was
cracked from the hot water on the cold soaked
engine. If so, I bet it was made out of aluminum,
and we can be sure there were no places or even
a procedure to weld aluminum back then,
although I may be wrong on that.
They stopped working due to darkness and they
all stayed over another night, Lindbergh and
Lanphier at the Rectory and no mention where
the three other Army people stayed. Interestingly,
at that weekend, famous pilot, William Brock, of
Brock and Schlee around the world attempt
fame, was in Binghamton that weekend and
when he found out Lindbergh was somewhere
nearby, made every attempt to locate him, eventually meeting CAL at the Rectory for a great
visit. They both flew the mail at the same time,
although different routes, so they were friends.
The next day, they worked at getting CAL’s plane
repaired and by 3 PM took off for Buffalo, CAL
going first, then doing an impromptu air show
before heading west to Buffalo.
Now, some interesting facts about my “Safari.”
The picture of Ed Link and others, Dick Bennett
operator of the airport outside Binghamton, of
which Link was a student--was taken in front of
the Fairchild, included Father Walsh, Major
Lanphier and CAL. Bennett and Link flew down
in Bennett’s Waco to see if they could help.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
Another Waco landed there by some fliers passing through, so at one time there were 5 planes
there. In answer to my many questions, it was
suggested I contact a gentleman in St. Joseph
who was the publisher/editor of a local newsletter and was putting together an issue celebrating
75 years since Lindbergh and Lanphier landed at
Choconut. I called this gentleman, and again,
more gracious help. He visited me with a couple
copies of the newsletter and gave me more local
lore about CAL at Choconut. He suggested I contact a retired optician who was 8-years old at the
time and was at the field when CAL took off. I
contacted the gentleman and was again warmly
invited to his house. During this visit, while
telling me about watching CAL do his air show,
he mentioned that his cousin, now 90 years old,
took some pictures at the time and he would try
and get them for me, A couple days later, he
called me to come over. What he had were 4
small photos about 2 inches by 3 inches, I guess,
from a vest pocket brownie film size #127. Two
photos were of CAL close-up, and two from a
distance with him in his flying suit, hands on
hips, with a somewhat disturbed look, and a
crowd of about 25 onlookers behind him.
PAGE 12
The photos were quite
dark and we did not
think much could be
done with them. WELL,
I took them home and
scanned them on my
very high quality scanner. Each time I magnified them, the details
came alive. Eventually,
I enlarged them to 6
inches by 9 inches and
could make out every
detail, including a
woman taking pictures with a very large, post
card size camera. Boy, what I would give to find
her descendants. I enclosed these with this article to Doug Studer, and hopefully, they are
reproducible.
I am still searching the area, and I’m going to
advertise in the media for additional information. Who knows what will come out of the
woodwork, such as the whereabouts of a statue
or monument erected at the Catholic Church
financed by a gift from Lindbergh in appreciation
of the hospitality he received. I hope this article
may result in additional information from the
Society members and maybe correct some of
what I have mentioned. After all, any search of
history becomes more meaningful with accuracy, that’s the bottom line. Thanks for listening.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
Lindbergh Foundation to Present
Awards to
Jim Fowler, Harrison Ford,
& Dr. Sally Ride
Reeve & Erik Lindbergh to Attend
The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Foundation has selected Jim Fowler, worldrenowned naturalist and former host of Mutual
of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, and well-known
actor and conservationist Harrison Ford to
receive its annual honorary Lindbergh Awards.
Mr. Fowler will be acknowledged for his lifelong
dedication to wildlife preservation and educating the public on the importance of wildlife and
wilderness to the quality of human life. Mr. Ford
will be honored for his work with the
Riverkeepers organization in New York and with
his 10 years of service as an active Board
Member of Conservation International. Dr. Sally
Ride, one of our nation’s most beloved educators, scientists, and the first American woman
astronaut, will receive the first-ever Anne
Morrow Lindbergh Award. She will be recognized for her outstanding achievements and for
her unique and tremendously positive ongoing
contributions to our world.
You are cordially invited to attend the 2003
Lindbergh Award Event to be held on Friday
evening, May 16, 2003, from 4:30 p.m.–10 p.m.
at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, 2001 Pan
American Plaza, Balboa Park, San Diego, Calif.
Optional guided Museum tours will be offered
from 4:30–5:30 p.m., followed by a reception,
dinner and program. A live auction is also
planned.
A block of rooms is being reserved for Lindbergh
Foundation guests at The Westgate Hotel, with a
special rate of $169 per night. To make reservations, please call 800/221-3802 and mention the
Lindbergh Foundation group.
For reservations and information about the 2003
Lindbergh Award Event, please contact the
Foundation office at 763/576-1596; in San
Diego call 858/277-6359, or you may visit
www.lindberghfoundation.org.
PAGE 13
Interview with the Lindberghs
(Neighbors) The Rest of the Story
Jean O. Saunders
I would like to add to Ken Taylor’s “1962
Interview with the Lindberghs (Neighbors)” story
because, at that time, I had been secretary to the
Lindberghs for five years.
As the article recounts, the N. Y. Times reporter,
given the assignment to “get something” on the
Lindberghs for the anniversary of the NY to Paris
flight, thought he might be successful if he interviewed the Woodbridges, Lindbergh’s neighbors.
In Chapter 3 of my personal biography written
last year, I recalled my first day on the job and the
unmarked entrance to Lindbergh’s house as follows:
To reach the Lindbergh’s house farther along
Tokeneke Trail, one used the right-of-way leading
to another house (the Woodbridges) which
allowed the Lindberghs more privacy. Curving to
the left, it joined the Lindbergh’s gravel circular
drive. From here, their large Tudor style stucco
and wood house was partially hidden by trees
and overlooked the water of Scotts Cove.
Lindbergh purposely left large portions of the land
unattended with the shrubbery and new growth
untrimmed in order to afford greater privacy.
I walked along the wide flagstones to the front
door and, once again, knocked on the heavy oak
door. This time, Mrs. Weber (the former secretary)
greeted me and we proceeded at once to work in
the small office just to the left of the spacious front
hall. This room, although not too large, was
cheerful, and the wide windows overlooked the
front walk and trees. It was furnished with a large
desk, file cabinets, and a spacious library table
along the front windows. The walls were entirely
paneled in charming weathered barn siding.
I sat at the desk with Mrs. Weber and started to
learn about the Lindberghs and what they expected me to do as their administrator. I looked down
at the metal letter-opener shaped like a miniature
airplane propeller -- and even though I had yet to
see Charles and Anne Lindbergh on that first day
-- their presence was already in the room.
The above is taken from: Life with the Lindberghs:
A Personal History 1957 to 1975 by
Jean O. Saunders
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
2 from WWII Recollections
Mort Kuff
On a recent sunny Saturday (2/7/03), two of The
Club’s WWII Vets visited a restored B-17 4engine bomber, on display at the Boca Raton
Executive Airport.
MORT KUFF and RALPH GELDBART hobnobbed with some of the old guys who used to
fly the “Flying Fortress” and who helped to
restore No. 231909. That old plane, now wearing a fresh coat of khaki paint, plus some nifty
nose-art and graphics indicating the number of
bombing raids that it flew, brought back a flood
of memories.
RALPH remembers vividly, that hundreds and
hundreds of these planes flew over the beaches
of France to bomb the German coastal defenses,
in preparation for the D-Day landing by the
Allied Forces. RALPH, then a young, 18-yr. old
Infantryman, was in the Second Wave with the
29th Division, as it landed on Omaha Beach,
June 6, 1944. Somehow, miraculously, he survived that first day. But, just 29 days later, he
was wounded. That is when he earned his
Purple Heart, Bronze Star and eventually, a trip
back home.
MORT spent his 19-month stint in the U.S. Navy
(‘44-’46) in training to be a Combat Aircrewman,
as top-turret gunner on a PV-1 Ventura patrolbomber. The top turret that he occupied was
identical to the turret that is mounted atop the
restored B-17. So, there were lots of memories
rekindled, as these two former Servicemen
walked around that 60-year old aircraft and marveled at the survival capability of both men and
machines.
After some time spent reminiscing with several
of the other WWII Vets, plus some high-school
students who were visiting the airplane, RALPH
and MORT decided that the next logical step
would be to have lunch.
After enjoying some Bar-B-Q and a couple of
beers, they called it a day.....a ”fun day”.....they
will long remember.
God bless all of those men and women who
defend and have defended our Freedom!
PAGE 14
Final Flights
Bud Perl, 90; Glider Pilot Flew with
Lindberghs
Sent by Gary Fisk
A.P. “Bud” Perl treasured the Orville Wright signature on his two glider pilot licenses.
Mr. Perl also relished his days as a glider instructor, especially sharing air time with Charles and
Anne Lindbergh.
Yet, as he liked to say, “The most significant
event in my life, by several orders of magnitude,
is my marriage.”
Mr. Perl married Amelia “Gerry” Close in 1937,
not long after taking his last flight in a glider. “He
crashed a glider off Point Loma, and she said,
‘It’s either the gliders or me.’ So he quit and went
to work for Solar.”
That is the way his son, Steven, tells the story.
Mr. Perl, who later saw the dawning of the space
age as an engineer at the Convair Division of
General Dynamics, died Nov. 29 at Scripps
Memorial Hospital-Encinitas. He was 90. The
cause of death was a stroke, Steven Perl said.
In 1929, Mr. Perl began working as its flight
instructor for the pioneering glider and sailplane
school founded in San Diego by Hawley
Bowlus. In January 1930, Charles Lindbergh,
who three years earlier had completed a historical solo flight from New York to Paris, made his
first glider flight. About 400 people watched him
soar nearly a half-mile off Point Loma, reaching
500 feet above his launching point.
Lindbergh’s wife, Anne, joined her husband in
earning a glider pilots license, accomplishing
the feat in the same Bowlus Model A Albatross.
Mr. Perl then joined the Lindberghs in flying
gliders and sailplanes in San Diego, the
Tehachapi Mountains and Monterey, Steven Perl
said.
Joe Foss, WWII Hero, Marine Ace
Jean O. Saunders
On January 4, 2003, the following short editorial paid tribute to the recent passing on New
Year’s Day of Ace Joe Foss:
“One of America’s greatest fighter pilots, noted
outdoorsmen and political characters is dead.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
Joe Foss died Wednesday at 87. In World War II,
he shot down 26 Japanese planes in less than
four months. And those were just confirmed
kills; there were a few others nobody could be
sure about. He once was shot down himself and
was rescued while floating in the Pacific.
“Later, at age 39, Foss became the youngest governor in South Dakota history. But older
Alaskans may remember him best as the host of
ABC's American Sportsman in the early 1960s
and later, on his own syndicated series, ‘The
Outdoorsman, Joe Foss.’ Foss was a renowned
storyteller and entertained his friends and
acquaintances as well as his television audiences.”
He was awarded the Medal of Honor by
Congress, appeared on the cover of Life
Magazine and was featured prominently in Tom
Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation. The
Brokaw book chronicled the lives and times of
the then-young Americans who fought and won
that war.
“Foss was a disciplined officer and pilot, but also
had a wild side. He was executive officer of a
squadron of Marine fliers known as Joe’s Flying
Circus. And he led his boyhood hero, Charles
Lindbergh, into unauthorized combat missions.
Lindbergh was then a civilian airplane design
consultant whose illicit fighter pilot missions
would have made senior commanders apoplectic, if they knew about them.
“Foss was an avid supporter of the Second
Amendment. He served as president of the
National Rifle Association from 1987-1990 and
was still on its governing board at the time of his
death. Joe Foss was a unique character and one
of the greatest of that greatest generation.
From Charles Lindbergh's Autobiography of
Values page 353:
“Eyes of memory still see it clearly, the bombed
city of Kavieng on New Ireland’s northern coast.
My vision shifts from Florida to South Pacific
seas. Kavieng looked like an ant hill when I
approached in my fighter-bomber on May 29,
1944. 1 was flying in a three-plane patrol from
Major Joseph Foss’s Marine Corsair Squadron
VMF115, Major Marion Carl and Lieutenant
Rolfe F. Blanchard flanking me.
PAGE 15
My mind slips back easily through the stream of
time, into that Corsair’s cockpit. I feel the stick’s
vibration in my hand, and the pedals against my
feet. My thumb has the power of TNT and my
finger controls six machine guns . . . “
From The Wartime Journals of Charles A.
Lindbergh pages 825, 826 and 905:
Thursday, May 25, 1944 “We land at Emirau at
0925 on a long coral strip between green walls
of jungle. This is one of the outposts of our
advance against Japan. There are supposed to be
about 100,000 Japanese troops between us and
the main American bases. But we control the air
and the sky. I taxi up to the line, turn my plane
over to a crew chief, and go to the operations
office to check in. VMF-I 15 is stationed on the
island. I inquire about Foss* and Freeman. They
are not in. One of their pilots was killed yesterday on a test flight in a Corsair. Engine cut on
take-off, and he hooked a wing trying to turn a
little more toward shore, too close to the water.
They are attending the funeral.
“I ride over to General Moore’s quarters and am
assigned to a tent nearby. Admiral Halsey is
expected to arrive about noon on a farewell tour
of the area. Preparations are being made for his
welcome. Joe Foss comes in, and the other officers assemble. The admiral’s plane is late. He
has delayed to watch a ‘strike’ on one of the
Japanese positions down the line. Finally, his
plane is reported a quarter hour out. We all drive
to the landing strip to meet him. There is a crowd
-- Marines, Sailors, Seabees. It is raining lightly,
one of the numerous tropical squalls -- small but
soaking and sticky.
“The admiral lands in a B-24. General Mitchell
is with him. We drive back to ‘generals country’
for lunch. The squall has passed, but it is still hot.
The lunch is informal, as everything is in the
combat zone. No one wears ties. Few uniforms
are pressed. But there are white cloths on the
table, and the admiral makes a short farewell
address ...
“I ride over to the strip with Foss to see the admiral off. The troops of the island are assembled in
formation. A loudspeaker has been hoisted up on
a crane. A band is playing. The admiral makes
another address. Planes take off in his honor. He
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
takes off. The formations wilt. The planes start
landing.
“Foss and I drive over to his squadron. Freeman
and other officers are there, whom I met last year
in Santa Barbara. We talk about the Corsairs and
their operating problems. I am much pleased
with their reports on the plane. Most of the troubles encountered a year ago have been worked
out.”
Sunday, August 13, 1944 “Someone comes to
the tent to report a column of smoke from the
strip. We step outside. The column has already
reached 1,000 feet or more --black, oily, smoke.
No doubt about it; a plane is burning. Someone
has crashed. I finish packing and we drive to the
strip... We pass a recently crashed C-47 at one
end. On the other side of the strip is the wreckage of a B-24 which crashed a few days ago and
has not yet been hauled away to the ‘graveyard.’
Midway along the strip, and a little off one side,
we see the twin booms of a P-38, still burning.
The pilot’s nacelle has melted down completely.
An ambulance and the flight surgeon are standing alongside. The pilot has been taken to the
hospital -- ‘rather badly burned; but he’ll come
through all right if he didn’t inhale flames.’ A tire
blew on take-off and threw his ship out of control.
“I fly over to Owi Island as passenger in one of
the L-5’s. Joe Foss and Major Carol have flown
over from Emirau Island in a Marine B-25. I meet
them at the far end of the strip, talking to General
Wurtsmith, Colonel Morrissey, and several other
Air Force officers. Foss tells me his squadron has
been doing considerable dive bombing with the
Corsairs and that they have attained very satisfactory accuracy, but that his losses have been
fairly high -- three planes in three days recently
at Rabaul ... Evening discussing fuel economy
with him and some of his officers. I work a longrange chart for the P-47. . .”
* Major Joseph J. Foss, the leading Marine ace in
World War 11, with 26 victories. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. In 1955
he was elected Governor of South Dakota.
PAGE 16
Society
News
Vote! Vote! Vote!
Enclosed with this issue is the ballot for the
upcoming officer terms. Please take some time to
participate and indicate your choices. Just send
it back in the SASE.
Take the time to let your voice be heard! This is
YOUR Society, tell us what you think, or better
yet, throw your own hat in the ring and help with
the direction and scope of the Society, the
Newsletter, and the Symposiums!
New Members
George Libby
San Luis Obispo, California
Christine Ogren
Iowa City, Iowa
Doug Weisz
Chicago, Illinois
Top 100 Aerospace Stars!
Ken Taylor
Do you know about the poll for selecting the Top
100 Stars in Aerospace History? Aviation Week
Magazine is conducting the poll on its Web site:
www.aviationnow.com/top100
It is kind of fun and you can vote for CAL of
course, and AML too if you want to! The poll is
broken down into 15 categories with literally
100s of nominees and you have to vote for 3 in
each of the 15 categories in order to get your
vote counted at all. No cherry picking, so it takes
a while to complete, but it is interesting. You
might want to check it out!
CAL and F4Us
Gene Weisenberg
Hi Everyone. In the Air Classics Vol. 39, almost
the complete issue was on the F4U Corsair
History. It was a fine article by Michael O’Leary.
Lindbergh was mentioned several times. One of
the mentions (page 57) was that Lindbergh
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
showed the Marines how they could carry a couple of 1000 pound bombs under the Corsair.
One of the statements was “Famed Aviator
Charles Lindbergh did much of the test flying
that determined the capability of the Corsair to
lift huge amounts of weight---”
I thought that some mention should be made
that not only did Lindbergh do most of the testing, he put his life on the line by flying actual
missions with the Marines. I happen to have a
good friend who flew one of those missions with
Lindbergh. His name is Ralph Langley, and he
was a member of VMF-222 The Flying Deuces.
I wrote Michael O’Leary a letter explaining just
that. And lo and behold, my letter showed up in
the Vol. 39 #3 issue on page 62.
One more item of interest. There is a new
Lindbergh book out by Von Hardesty. On page
176, there is an error. The pictures at the top, a
flight report, and a picture of my friend Ralph
Langley, Lindbergh and another pilot after a sortie on June 3, 1944 with VMF-222. Von Hardesty
says it was with a 475th Air Force unit. I guess he
forgot to look at the flight report that shows VMF222. Another point of interest is the
flight report (signed by Lindbergh) and the picture were supplied by member Bill Allen. If you
look under June 3, 1944 in Lindbergh’s War
Time Journals, you can read a report of this mission.
I thought you would like to see the record kept
straight on our hero.
Member’s Father Missing!
Frank H. Robertson Jr.
I am enclosing a copy of the letter that I wrote to
Mr. Von Hardesty, the author of the new book
LINDBERGH - Flight's Enigmatic Hero. I believe
the letter is self-explanatory. How anyone in his
position with his research facilities could make
such a blatant error is beyond me. I hope he
replies and explains it to me. Needless to say, to
put it politely, I’m very ticked off. I’ll let you
know if, when and what Mr. Hardesty replies.
Perhaps we should publish something in the
newsletter.
We sure should, thanks for sending it in Frank!
PAGE 17
Dear Mr. Hardesty
I recently received a copy of your LINDBERGH Flight's Enigmatic Hero as a gift. I was especially impressed with Reeve Lindbergh's comments
about how thoughtfully researched the account
appeared. So you can imagine my shock and
amazement when I turned to page 47 and discovered that you only recognized eight of the
nine financial backers of the flight - you omitted
my father, Frank H. Robertson!
How could such an omission happen? There are
many, many references to the nine financial
backers available. Just a few are contained in the
attachments as described below:
Attachment 1: The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles
A. Lindbergh. On page viii, Lindbergh lists the
members of the “Spirit of St. Louis Organization”
as consisting of himself and his nine financial
backers, including Frank H. Robertson. On page
147, Lindbergh quotes Harold Bixby as saying,
“Frank Robertson is in with Bill, of course.”
Attachment 2: LINDBERGH by A. Scott Berg. On
page 96, Berg indicates that Lindbergh learned
that the Robertson brothers were investing as
well.
Attachment 3: City of Flight - The History of
Aviation in St. Louis by James J. Horgan. In his
extremely well-researched and documented
work, Dr. Horgan, on page 229, quotes Harold
Bixby as remembering that $1000 was received
from Bill and Frank Robertson. (I am enclosing a
copy of the check that Frank H. Robertson issued
for the $ 1000 contribution that he and his brother made.)
Attachment 4: The Missouri Historical Society’s
recently reopened Lindbergh Exhibit in St. Louis
clearly shows the nine financial backers, including Frank H. Robertson. Please note that eight of
these pictures appear to be the same ones that
you used in your book. Why didn’t you use all
nine?
Attachment 5: THEY BELIEVED” plaque presented by the Greater St. Louis Chapter, National
Aeronautic Association, May 23, 1952 lists all
nine financial backers, including Frank H.
Robertson.
Attachment 6: This is a picture of the commemorative silver box that Tiffanys of London was
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
commissioned to produce in 1937 for the 10th
anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight. The map
engraved on the top shows the route of the flight
of the “Spirit of St. Louis” from San Diego to
Paris. A box was made for each of Lindbergh’s
financial backers, including Frank H. Robertson.
In addition to the references in the attachments,
there are many video programs that have been
produced covering Lindbergh and the Spirit of St.
Louis. The Lindbergh Society has an excellent
video program, there have been many programs
on the TV “History Channel”, and ABC’s “The
Century”, with Peter Jennings, which highlighted
the most significant events of the 20th century,
started the series with Lindbergh and his flight. In
all of these programs, Frank H. Robertson was
clearly recognized as one of the nine financial
backers.
If all of the above is not enough to convince you
that Frank H. Robertson was indeed one of the
financial backers, I would suggest that you go
down to the first floor of your Air and Space
Museum and check the plaque that is on the column under the “Spirit of St. Louis”. You will see
the names of the nine financial backers there,
including Frank H. Robertson.
Even after discovering the omission of my father
as one of the financial backers, I went on and
read your book. I have to agree with Reeve
Lindbergh that it appears to be well researched
especially the explanation of Lindbergh’s relationship with the Luftwaffe and the U.S. Embassy,
which has always been troublesome. However,
given the obvious lack of adequate research into
the financial backing of the flight (without which
there would not have been a flight), it certainly
calls into question the accuracy of other
accounts in the book.
I would like very much to have your explanation
as to why you did not recognize Frank H.
Robertson as being among the financial backers
of the flight. He and his brother William were
two of the earliest and most prominent pioneers
of commercial aviation in the U.S. Your omission
of him as one of the financial backers of
Lindbergh’s history-making flight is an affront to
his memory, and to his family. I look forward to
your explanation.
Sincerely, Frank H. Robertson Jr.
PAGE 18
Marketplace
Society “Stuff” for Sale
at “Close-Out” Prices!
Cap Combo Deal: Society Cap with Patch
and one Extra 2-inch X 3-inch Patch
$7.50
2-inch X 3-inch Society Patch
3-inch X 5-inch 10th Symposium Patch
1991 Symposium
Columbus,
Ohio
1992 Symposium
Colorado Springs,
Colorado
1993 Symposium
St. Louis,
Missouri
$1.50
$2.00
Set of Symposium First Day Covers
$25.00
(None issued at first Symposium,
Symposium 6 and 7 have artist signed available.)
First Day covers signed and carried by Bill Signs
on his May 20 -21, 1997 Flight
$4.00
(Cancelled at St. Louis, NY, LeBourget)
Blue Angel Covers signed by all 8 pilots
(Only 2 left)
$5.00
Individual Symposium First Day Covers
As above, signed
$3.00
$4.00
Cachet only envelopes
25 pack - $2.00
(Little Falls, Madison,
Singles - $.10
San Diego, Seattle Symposiums)
Mail Orders including at least 2 first class stamps
for return mailing to:
Dave Zuern
913 Wylde Oak Drive
Oshkosh, WI 54904
1994 Symposium
San Diego,
California
1995 Symposium
Washington,
DC
1996 Symposium
Chicago,
Illinois
1997 Symposium
Little Falls,
Minnesota
1998 Symposium
San Diego,
California
1999 Symposium
St. Louis,
Missouri
2000 Symposium
Madison,
Indiana
2001 Symposium
Seattle,
Washington
2002 Symposium
Little Falls,
Minnesota
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIII No. 1
PAGE 19
For Sale
For Sale
Vintage Lindbergh Collectibles are offered in
each of our five annual auctions. Included are
pinback buttons, jewelry, paper and threedimensional objects. Contact us for a free sample of the catalog or send your e-mail address
and we will send a notice when each auction
offering real-time bidding goes on our website,
www.hakes.com.
I have an original 1928 lithograph of “The
Overland and Overseas Flights of Charles
Lindbergh” I am looking for a buyer. This is an
original and not the 1977 reproduction and is in
excellent condition. If you are interested please
contact me.
Bobmotorcop1340@comcast.net
Contact: Hake’s Americana,
POB 14444 (Offer #596)
York, PA 17405
(717) 848-1333, Mon.-Fri., 10-5
auctionannouncements@hakes.com
Still Wanted!
ARTICLES, ADS or IDEAS for upcoming issues,
and comments on this issue. Please let me know
what you think. Write to the address on page 2,
or e-mail me at dstuder@deskey.com or call me
at (859) 448-0711. Thanks!
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