Forum: Air Force Life

Oh yeah, TC.......

Harduvell got disoriented and flew into a mountain. That's what happened. Some faulty wire bundles got blamed, and his wife had a good lawyer. Sorry to be brutal, but 95% of F-16 fatalities were/still are pilot error.

I had Horner in early 1980. Was Wing King at Nellis. Then was Air Division CO at George before going to Tyndall and Colorado Springs. He was accident board honcho that had me make a video of my leading-edge flap incident.

I never knew Sijan at the Zoo, but I likely ran his chin in a time or two. My classmate, BoB Lodge might have been an ace like Ritchie, but he got too fixated on a Mig and another one blew his plane up. His GIB, Locher, escaped and evaded for a few weeks before we picked him up. Rumor was that Bob was shot while resisting his capture. Another classmate was in Robin Old's backseat for the infamous Operation Bolo - Steve Croker. Later CC of 8th AF at Barksdale.

I forgot about the two MoH troops we have here - Bud Day and Mike Novosel. I ate dinner with both about three years ago. A cool night, and another troop there was a stud of mine that had just made B/G in the reserves. He wound up running the 9th AF Command Post last year when my other stud - Moseley went over to run air ops. Man, I feel more and more like Forrest everytime you guys get me going, heh heh.

Then there was a period when all three Chiefs were friends of mine who I had flown with at Bien Hoa, 1968: Fogleman, Shepperd and McIntosh. Saw Shepperd in July at USAFA for our leadership conference (he was best talking head on CNN during Afghan coverage). Wrote a neat book about the Misty FAC's. I love his closing paragraph:

"One day an old, gray, bent and stooped former Misty will hold his great grandson in his lap. The young child will be fondling a dusty set of military medals. He will look into the eyes of his great grandfather and ask . . "Were you a war hero ?"

The old man's eyes will mist. His mind will flood with memories. He will see tracers passing close to his canopy and feel the shock waves of AAA rounds beating against the fuselage. He will see black flak exploding in the air and hear the depressing sounds of parachute beepers. His heart rate will increase as he gets low on fuel and warning lights flash on his instrument panel. He will feel the sharp thump of rounds impacting his aircraft and smell acrid smoke in the cockpit. He will look in the rear view mirror and see flames. He will hear the voices of men on fire and in danger. He will once again encounter the depressed feeling of landing .. after losing a comrade .. or failing in a rescue attempt. He will wipe his eyes, clear the lump in his throat and whisper quietly and truthfully, "No, Son . . But I flew with men who were."

Somehow, I can identify with that quote.

Speaking of the Ravens....... attended a 'ceremony of life' for Raven 01 a few months ago. Had a chance to meet a few that I hadn't personally known, and I know quite a few from my days over the Trail and later as a Sandy and Hobo. In fact, flew my last mission over Laos with a Raven last day of USAF combat ops there. Escorted him back to Savannakhet and he signed off while handing keys to some Laotian troop - "See ya next war!", heh heh. Then my wingie and I scooted across the border just in time.

out,

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Lodge and Locher, a/c callsign "Oyster 1." I read a good book (TC is your resident bookworm) about several aircrews in Nam and I can't remember the name of it. Anyway, one of the pilots the author interviewed was Steve Ritchie. He speaks of the Oyster 1 rescue in great detail. I didn't know until I read the book that Ritchie was basically the man who constructed Locher's RESCAP mission. When I dig up that book, I'll have to post the title on the site. It's an excellent book. While not everything that came out of Nam was good news, I always find it very gratifying when our guys go out of their way to get our troops on the ground out. Someone up there mentioned Col. Hambleton "Bat 21." Another excellent story, on par with the Oyster 1 rescue. Gums, weren't the Misty FACs F-100s? I know some FACs flew O-1 Bird dogs, some flew O-2 Skymasters, and then the Fast FACs (another Steve Ritchie creation) flew F-4s. I think the Misty FACs flew Huns though. That's what Bud Day was shot down in.

I got Steve Ritchie to sign a really cool F-4 poster for me. Everyone else had him sign goofy things like napkins but I came prepared:) I didnt get to really talk to him though. He left as soon as he could. His speach was great though.

At PhanCon 04 I got to meet Gen Robin Olds and he was really cool. He was more than happy to talk, and drink scotch. Oldy enough I talked to him about P-38's. At the O'club I watched him sing fighter pilot songs with the other pilots and the next morning on the flight line (unknown to me ) I was video taped standing with him and a Det 1 pilot watching the Det 1 commander crank his bird. (I really should have had ear plugs for that, we were CLOSE).

That reminds me of something that happened. My friend Ben who owns a F-4C cockpit http://www.geocities.com/cap17.geo/BenGimbert.html

and I were at the PhanCon conference room looking at a photo of Olds sitting in a F-4 cockpit in vietnam. Ben mentions that he could see the tips of airplanes that were painted on the rear of the flight helmit. I looked closely and saw he was correct.

Ben said something about them probably being Phantoms but I said they looked like MiGs to me. We said a few more comments then I turned to look at Ben because he was behind me. My eyes rested on the name tag of an older man who was looking over Ben's sholdier and listening to our conversation. It said "Robbin Olds". I pointed at him and said "I bet he knows what they are".

It took Ben a bit before he realized who was eaves droping on us:) Gen Olds said they were his MiG kills! I was right!

I asked to get my picture with him and soon the crowed picked up on who he was and had him surrounded.

I also met an old movie stunt pilot in Texas this year named Burchinal. He also flew in Black Sheep. In one movie he fly a plane through a bill board and had to meake an emergency landing.

Gums...

I just stumbled across this trend....sorry I missed out on it (been years from what I see since the postings) but man, reading your response (and the paragraphs you quoted from Shepperd's book) not only brings a lump back into my throat and a tear to me eye but for a moment....I was back, I smelled it all, felt it all.

God, it was so real again......damn, your words and his...moved me. I still cant believe it was so long ago yet within an instant, I was there again...strange, wonderful and scary times all at once, memories are amazing.

Thanks and God Bless.

Tom Wharton - (A1C) Danang, Vietnam 1971

Lets see...
Robinson "Robbie" Risner. I had about 6 months in when I met the man who according to my DO was "...the bravest sonovabitch that ever lived" As I recal he was a POW in Korea and Viet Nam
Bud Day--Class act
Bud Anderson. A complete gentleman. He was the keynote speaker at our Dining In when I was in the 90th. As he recalled the story of meeting his MX crew one morning and noticing they had bloody hands he welled up with tears and had to compose himself. They had spent the whole night scrubbing the camo paint off his bird after he mentioned to his crew chief the day before that the dark paint made him easy to see during the winter.
Steve Ritchie--what an a$$
Chad Hennings--I got to modify all of 2Lt Hennings' gear and refit him. He was HUGE
Gen McPeak--uh yeah....
Jeannie Flynn--1st ADAF female fighter pilot
I had a wing commanders who was a VN POW Col Arthur Hoffson and at the same time our Hospital CC was Col Tom McNish another Bien Hoa alumnus.
LtCol Harold Morris--a Tuskegee Airman with 1 kill

I have met so many (luckily) I can not list them all, nor do I remember all of their names now either but I will name a few top attention getters....

President Regan (had Dinner with him too, he gave me an award), Vise President Bush, President Bush (Sr), will be meeting President Bush (Jr) this Sept 2006, met Colin Powell, Vise President Chaney (last June) , Generals McPeak, Horner, Jumper, Wetekam, Mc Coy, Russ, a few more who's name I have forgotten, OH...Yeager too. Medal of Honor Winners, John Levitoe (partied with John many times back in 87 and 8 Cool

and Pappy Boington (WWII Black Sheep Commander). POW's - Col Thompson (my old Commander at Luke AFB, POW for seven (7) years at the Hilton, what a guy he was.

Then, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Bennicker (late 80's).

I am stopping...the list goes on, I don't want to brag but I was one lucky dude!

Actors....well my favorite was Don Wrinkles (brought me up on stage in Vegas, cracked some jokes, then bought me and the wife dinner)...fellow New Yorker too.

Sold Patrick Swazey an aircraft back in 1996, same for Sly Stalone and Kurt Russell (when I worked for TexStar Aviation as a broker and pilot)...fun times but crazy...they paid for my dinner too at Planet Hollywood in London, England (got some pictures somewhere in my garage).

Interesting, but not necessarily well known....too many to mention, having done extensive research on the 357th FG, and attended 3 of their reunions, the "interesting" ones are everywhere, but here are my favorites.

Jack Ilfrey: Had the pleasure of being pretty well acquainted with Jack over the past 15 years before his death....fantastic story teller, especially the one which resulted in his leading the entire 20th FG on missions....as a 2nd Lt!
Also, the one about his brief interrment in Portugal is one of my favorites.....the version in his book is much less interesting.

O'Bee O'Brien: Same thing....O'Bee passed away last year, but was a tiger for sure, and a great personality. Told GREAT stories about the 357th FG.

Ed Hayden: A late replacement to the 357th FG, he is generally accepted to be the guy who spun in Walter Nowotny in a screaming 500 mph dive at Achmer airfield....didn't have time to even shoot! A month later he was shot down by flak at low level.....survived the bail out, but was reported as killed because he was in a hospital and not a POW camp, severly injured. His wife recieved the telegram, and a letter from the group CO stating there was no way he'd survived....and a certificate from the Governor of Texas acknowleging his sacrifice for his country. 6 months later, after the war, he showed up alive.....they still have that certificate hanging in their living room.

Bud Anderson: Well, he's just Bud....amazing guy.

Edgar McElroy: #13 pilot on Doolittle's raid....grew up with my grandfather and my great-uncle....went on to fly B-25H's in the Phillipines....told GREAT stories about how firing that 75mm cannon scared him every single time he did it.

One of the great thrills in my life was meeting George Gay at the IPMS national convention in Atlanta. I don't generally stand in line to pay money to meet an aviation "personality" but I made an exception for him. Of all the truly heroic deeds in the annals of American millitary piloting, I consider VT-8s charge at the Kido Butai at Midway to be the greatest.

And then of course, there's Rexxxx!

Salute!

Yeah, Meathook, we all get a lump in our throats every now and then...

Revisiting the thread when looking for a reference.

I'll add current Shuttle Commander - Steve Lindsey. He was lead test pilot for a recce sensor program I worked on about 12-13 years ago. He would call me by name at any bar. I prolly won't know too many astronaut folks from now on, unless I live long enuf for my grand daughter to get there. Anyway, my hopes and prayers are for Steve and his crew this Monday morning. As I may have indicated, the IAF dude on Columbia was one of my Viper studs back in 1980.

I agree with Arct's assessment of Ritchie. OTOH, the sucker could really fly a jet and did more stuff than most of you guys know about setting up the last year of the air-to-air war over North Vietnam in 1972. Go guess. Do some research.

loggin'

Gums

Well, two of the more memorable people I have encountered were Tom Sopwith, aircraft designer and Willy Coppens the top Belgian ace of WW1.

Gen. Looney (current AETC CC) when I was in tech school. I was walking down stairs on break when I looked up and saw more brass than I ever want to see again in one place! Scared the crap out of me since I didn't have any stripes yet and had never seen a four star in person. I snapped to attention and rendered him the proper "Good morning sir" he shook my hand and thanked me for serving. Asked me where I was from and how I liked the Air Force. One of the nicest guys I've ever met.

When I was little (1998) I met Danny 'Ket' Meersman, 31sqn demo pilot 1998 till 2001.

In 2004 I met the whole 31 Tiger sqn during a personal sqn visit.

At the Nato Tigermeet of 2004 in Schleswig I talked to the 512 Tiger Squadron CO because I had to pick up a large amount of patches and stuff a friend had ordered.

In 2005 I met the 31sqn again (now with new CO). John Vandebosch who flew the 2003-2004-2005 BAF Viper demo invited me. There I also met CO Dedecker who was detachement CO of the Belgian-Dutch detachment operational at Kabul, Afghanistan (ISAF).

My friends father is now serving his last year as Line & Armament Commander at KeeBee airbase, so met him a few times.

Some pilots from 349.

A bunch of crewmembers from KB, very nice were the 2 flights in KeeBees F-16 MLU simulator I could do.

Mickey, BAF demo pilot 2006 (1sqn) I also met during 31 sqn demo-tranfser (party).

Also Peter Verheyen who, together with Johan Wolfs, painted numerous fabulous Tiger art on the 31sqn vipers.

That's about it for now Smile

I've been lucky enough to meet quite a few:

'Gabby' Gabreski - 28 kills WWII, 6.5 in Korea
Bob Morgan - Memphis Belle Pilot
Charles Sweeney - Bock's Car Pilot, dropped Nagasaki bomb
Bob Hoover - Test and Spitfire pilot and probably the best airshow pilot who will ever live.
Chuck Yeager - X-1 Pilot
Steve Ritiche - 5 kills SEA
Chuck DeBellevue - 6 kills SEA
Bud Anderson - 16.25 kills (WWII) / Thunderchief Pilot SEA
Dave Waldrop - 1 (2) gun kills SEA
Tom Delashaw - 100 F-104 Missions NVN
George Gay - Only member of Torpedo Sqdn 8 to survive the Battle of Midway
Chuck Horner - Gulf War CENTAF Commander
Dale Snodgrass - High-time Tomcat Pilot
Brison "Moose" Phillips - F-16 Demo Pilot we lost in 1990
Alfred Johnson - VMF-214 "Black Sheep" WWII

...and countless 'nameless' people I've met over the years:

Was manning a model aircraft display at the CFB Trenton airshow quite a few years ago when an 'old timer' asked if one of the kits on display was a Mk.XIX Spitfire. I wasn't sure, so I asked the builder who said that it was - "I thought so, I had one just like that." "Oh, do you build models?" said the builder, to which the old man replied, with a twinkle in his eye, "No son, I flew Spitfires." He sat down and told us about being a recce pilot back in those days, being chased by Fw-190's and Bf-109's "They were good. We were better!" until his son came over and scolded him "You're not bothering these guys with your old stories, are you, Dad?" Sad.

...etc...

I know that just as soon as I hit send I'll think of a couple more...

Mike

Forum: Air Force Life

Interesting mil. aviation people you have met