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: ronaldpbarrett@yahoo.com. Thanks.
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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
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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:
RNNN@mcn.org) 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;
jfaulkner39@suddenlink.net; 580-242-0526
DR AHEAD STAFF:
Owner
Editor, Richard W. Ahrens
Copy Editor, Jack Mudie
Circulation, Jim Faulkner
Distribution
AFNOA
RNNN@mcn.org
jackmudie@sbcglobal.net
jfaulkner39@suddenlink.net
afnoa.distributor@yahoo.com
*********
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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!
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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
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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: reservations@pensacolagrandhotel.com
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
ronaldpbarrett@yahoo.com
or
The Reunion BRAT
360-663-2521
thereunionbrat@hotmail.com
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
ronaldpbarrett@yahoo.com
1st Vice-President, Membership, and Director
James Connally Affairs James R. Faulkner
4109 Timberlane
Enid, OK 73703-2825
580-242-0526
jfaulkner39@suddenlink.net
2nd Vice-President and NMUSAF
Museum Commmittee Sostenes Suazo
541 Riverwood Drive
Beaverbrook, OH 45430
937-431-8542
ssuazo61@aol.com
Secretary
Lloyd Ward
8121 34th Avenue, Unit 206
Bloomington, MN 55425-1646
952-854-4110
mellowa@comcast.net
E. Dennis Ehrenberger
Treasurer
2783 Glenview Drive
Sierra Vista, AZ 85650-5734
520-378-1313
edefiji@aol.com
Immediate Past President, Scholarship Committee and
Reunion Committee Jim Bannerman
761 Marina Point Drive
Daytona Beach, FL 32114-5050
386-257-3853
jimmybannerman@cfl.rr.com
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
phk2lv@cox.net
afnoa.distributor@yahoo.com
Editor, DR AHEAD Richard W. Ahrens
79 Forest Drive, The Woods
43300 Little River Airport Road
Little River, CA 95456-9612
707-937-4242
RNNN@MCN.ORG
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
rhmans2542@icdus.com
afnoacg@aol.com
Russell K. Woinowsk
Web Master for www.afnoa.org
Tim Duerson
colruss15@att.net
afnoaweb@cox.net