One of the Best Gone West.

Vol. 33 No. 1
March 2015
The Devil's Own
Grim Reapers!
The Magazine of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association
OUR HERITAGE - 13th Aero Squadron, 14 June 1917
www.13thbombsquadron.com
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The 13th Bomb Squadron Association
Remembers One of the Best...
Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton, Jr.
June 6, 1925 – February 4, 2015
March 2015
The President’s Corner
the B-57G at McDill and Eglin AFBs; operational deployment of
the B-57G fleet to Ubon, Thailand; and B-57G and F-4D combat
missions over Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. I also served on
the operations staff at the Tactical Air Warfare Center at Eglin
AFB, and my last tour before retirement was as the Director of
Ranges, Special Operations and Electronic Warfare at Tactical Air
Command Headquarters, Langley AFB, Virginia (finally returning
to within a few miles of my birthplace—what a trip!!). During that
time I also squeezed in on-site completion of the Squadron Officer
School and Air War College.
Welcome again from Fort Walton
Beach. As I said before, it’s an
honor and a privilege to serve as
your president and I sincerely hope
that we grow and prosper during
my term. To do that—grow and
prosper—we need every member
to devote just a little bit of effort
to solicit new members. There are
many 13th members from SEA—
Clark, Vietnam and Thailand—who
have not been introduced to the
Association, nor have they been
Charley Brown
invited to join us at a reunion. I was
one of them until 2012 when Bob Butterfield and Bob Parks (an
original McDill AFB and Ubon, Thailand 13th member) attended
the 13th BST reunion here in FWB. That introduction enthused
in me a strong desire to join, and to contribute to the growth
and prosperity of this historical organization that is so worthy
of permanence. That is the primary mission on which I will stay
focused during my time in office.
Although there were many special times and events during those
years that I now still live and can tell about, there are but a few that
stand out. One of these was a never before attempted, but safely
executed, landing of a B-47 aircraft in a 40 knot crosswind without
its rudder-elevator power control being operational. (The highest
crosswind tested under this aircraft condition was 25 knots. In fact,
the recommended action under this condition was to bailout rather
than attempt to land. Since my crew and I did not want to bailout
into a wintry New England night, our Wing Commander approved
a single attempt. If not successful over the threshold, we were to
climb to a safe altitude and bailout.)
Another event was a safely executed landing of a B-57G aircraft
with an inoperable hydraulic system, and with its bomb bay doors
in the open position with 4 incendiary bombs still attached. For
those two feats I received the SAC and the PACAF flying safety
awards. Of course I had many exciting events occur during combat
that created a little “pucker” time and resulted in “gongs” being
added to my chest. The “war” stories connected with those flights
will have to wait for an in-person rendition.
To enhance our recruitment and sustainment efforts I am working
on a plan to reduce the cost of future reunions that I will propose
to the Association’s officers at its next meeting—with hopes of
implementing the plan in time for the 2016 reunion. My goal is
to reduce the attendance cost for a 2-member family by at least
$500.00 per reunion. If we can make reunions affordable for our
many enlisted retiree members, I believe more will come; and the
more that come reduces the overall cost on everyone. (I have done
this before and am confident that we can achieve it here also.)
In addition to those stories, I had another noteworthy happening
at Ubon. As the B-57G Wing Tactics and Evaluation Officer I
could fly in any of the on-station aircraft types. So I arranged for,
and received, an on-site checkout in the F-4D back seat, and flew
16 combat sorties with 2 different fighter squadrons, the Wolf
FAC and Wing Tactics pilots. Those missions gave me an added
perspective of the famous 8th Tactical Fighter Wing’s war fighting
capabilities, which in turn, added to the knowledge I needed to
perform my own tactics duties well. Not only that, but I enjoyed
the hell out of it.
Another goal of mine is to inform you a bit more on who your
leaders are, and what they have done in their lifetimes. In that
regard, I have asked each of the officers to provide a brief
biography which we will publish in the Invader. If not this issue,
then in future issues until all have been presented. I will lead off
this effort with the following personal summary:
I was born on September 11, 1934, in Sandston, Virginia, which
is now a suburb of Richmond. My family left there when I was
two years old, and over the next twenty years, lived in 10 different
cities in 4 different states (no, my family was not military; just
itinerant for many different reasons). During those years, I attended
nine different secondary schools and one university. Following my
University of South Carolina graduation in 1956 with a BS degree
in Geology and as a second lieutenant in the USAF, I proceeded to
Lackland AFB, Texas where I started my Air Force career.
But, the favorite thing that happened to me during my tour at Ubon
was meeting the love of my life, Ann Marie. She was the Wing
Commander’s secretary, who I saw almost daily, and we finally
went to dinner one night in February—may have been Valentine’s
Day, come to think about it—after we had been there since late
September. (On her party suit she had “Pilot Fighter” sewed
where “fighter pilot” usually went.) After an on-site courtship that
lasted until I redeployed in September, we finally arranged for
her transfer to FWB, and subsequent marriage on 2 June 1972 in
Tampa, FL.
During that career, I had 15 different permanent changes of station
and also 9 different temporary duty locations (with several TDY
tours of duty being 3 months or 6 months long). Most of my tours
were primary flying tours during which I logged about 6,500
flight hours in several different aircraft. Highlights of those flying
tours included: “nuclear reflex alert” duty overseas; tactical test
team leader that certified the C-141 for supply and personnel air
delivery; high altitude reconnaissance missions while with the
58th B-57F squadron at Albuquerque, NM; flying participation
in the operational test and weapons delivery systems checks of
With that, I will close and wish all of you a safe and happy Easter
holiday period.
Reaper pride,
Charley
2
March 2015
Letter to the Editor
It’s winter above North Korea. Your
airplane has been hit, and the pilot is
unable to feather the prop.
You are going down. The other
three crewmen are discussing when
to jump. The new untrained 2nd
lieutenant navigator in the right
seat with a borrowed and ill-fitting
parachute knows he will likely fall out
of the chute when it opens.
This isn’t an action movie. It’s what
real people experienced as aviators
during the Korean War, spending
countless missions flying through the
dark, risking life and limb to navigate the mountains and valleys
of enemy terrain.
For veteran navigator Charles W. Hinton, his time in the war
was short, but the memories of what he and his squadron
accomplished will last a lifetime. Pulled from navigation school
straight into a tour of duty, he had no previous training to speak
of and learned to fly combat in a B-26 attack while literally in
the line of fire.
Korea: A Short Time in a Small War is a firsthand account
of Hinton’s six months of experience during this tumultuous
period in history, along with the stories of a diverse collection
of friends and foes he interacted with along the way. Charlie's
book is available on Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/kry6ltu
This is a photo of some of the things that were on
display by E.J. Silva's casket at his funeral.
Thank you so much to the 13th Bomb Squadron
Association. E.J. Attended as many reunions as he was
able to right up to the last.
Thank you again!
Elsie Silva
The INVADER is the official newsletter of the 13th Bomb
Squadron Association, a Non-profit organization. The INVADER
is published three times yearly for the benefit of the Association
members. Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily
those of the Association or of the Department of the Air Force.
*Members of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association must maintain
contact with the Association or “after two years of not
communicating with the association, a member will no longer
receive the INVADER or the Directory”.
Editor: Don Henderson
254 Freeport Road
New Kensington, PA 15068-5421
Tel: (412) 417-6667
e-mail: [email protected]
Henderson Graphic Design & Illustration
www.HendersonGDI.com
The INVADER masthead displays the principal combat aircraft
of the 13th Squadron since its initial activation in 1917.
©13th Bomb Squadron Association 2015
13th Bomb Squadron Assoc. Hats & Patches
please contact John Fortier at
(310) 540-2596 or [email protected] or write
to him at
713 South Broadway Street, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Cover photo: Fitz Fulton by Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Fulton was the project pilot
on all early tests of the Boeing 747 Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) used to air
launch the Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise in the Approach and Landing Tests
(ALT) at Dryden in 1977.
3
March 2015
Officers of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association
Charles J. (Charley) Brown
905 Holbrook Circle
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547-6733
[email protected]
President
1st Vice
President/
Secretary
Member at
Large WWII
Member at
Large Vietnam
2nd Vice
President
Robert R. (Bob) Koehne
23332 SE 225th St.
Maple Valley, WA
98038
[email protected]
Locator Data
Manager
Treasurer
Edward T. (Tighe) Carvey
6980 Olympic View Ct.
Silverdale, WA 98383
[email protected]
Member at
Large Korea
Edward D. (Ed) Connor, Jr.
1217 Earnestine St.
McLean, VA 22101-2646
[email protected]
Member at
Large GWOT
Ron Silvia
20 Green Lane
Assonet, MA 02702-1410
[email protected]
4
James R. (Bob) Parks
3219 Tavern Oaks St.
San Antonio, TX, 78247
[email protected]
Roger A. Bauman
5664 S. Basalt Ave.
Boise, ID 83716-9007
[email protected]
Ron Jarrett
10349 416th Avenue
Britton, SD 57430-5005
[email protected]
Karl J. (Buck) Shawhan
4014 Buccaneer Blvd.
Plattsmouth, NE 68048
[email protected]
March 2015
Remembering Fitz Fulton
By Rapid Robert Mosley
Navigator and I flew a tour of
combat with the 89th Squadron
of the 3rd Attack Group in
World War II , as well as a
tour of combat with the 90th
Squadron of the 3rd Attack
Group in the Korean War.
Additionally, my Commander,
Major Walter S. King of the
89th Squadron in WW II,
became the Commander of
the 13th Squadron during the
Korean War (killed in action
before I arrived), so there
was a lot of cross pollination
between the four of us. And,
again, I think it surprising,
concerning the tendency of
flyers to be modest, that Fitz nor I, ever knew until
later years, that we both had flown tours of combat in
Korea at nearly the same time. And, also that while
Charlie and I were Flying C-135s in the ARIA (droop
snoot) Aircraft, chasing Apollo Spacecraft all over
the world for 3 years, during the Apollo Man To The
Moon Program (even once going out to the mid Pacific
and photographing the “Firey" Night return of Apollo
8 from the moon) together we did not know that we
had both been at K-8 Kunsan by the Sea, “bombing
the dirty communists” at night in North Korea, during
a 3 month overlap of our tours.
With total disregard for proper writing style, I want
to insert a Walter S. King story and cannot think of a
better place to interject it, so, as stated above, Walter
S. King was my CO in the 89th Squadron of the 3rd
Attack Group during WWII and had stayed in the
service after the war was over, while I had gotten out
of the service after the war and had gone to work as
an assistant cartoonist to my brother Zack Mosley,
creator of the comic strip “Smilin’ Jack”.
Zack and I were at an Air Show in Harlingen , Texas
where Zack had been invited as a Special Guest.
Walter had somehow heard that I was there and looked
me up. Walter was a Lt Col at the time and was part of
the Air Show in making a “Both Engines Feathered”
pass in front of the crowd in an A-26. We were talking
about the past, what had happened to old so and so?
And Walter said, “Wouldn’t it be nice to get that Old
Gang together again and have another war?” To which
I said, “Walter are you out of your #$@&%*! mind?”.
Fitz was one of the world's
best test pilots, he was a mild
mannered man, did not drink,
or curse; went to church and
was a perfect gentleman at all
times. With this persona you
would never guess that deep
down inside was a fearless tiger.
Maybe too fearless at times, but
he always came out on top.
I first heard of Fitz Fulton
when I had been assigned as
a Captain in the USAF, to the
Experimental Test Pilot School
at Edwards AFB in 1958, but
never met him until late in 1959
when I graduated from the
school and was assigned as an
Experimental Test Pilot at Flight Test Operations, a
couple of blocks and a few sand piles down the road,
to the East of the school; one of the proudest moments
of my life.
Flight Test Operations was divided functionally
into 3 parts: a Fighter Section, a Bomber/Transport
Section, and a Special Operations Section consisting
of high altitude aircraft, like the U-2, as well as
STOL Aircraft and Helicopters). I was assigned to
the Bomber/Transport Section because of my past
flying experience in Bomber and Transport Aircraft.
Test Operations was commanded by the most modest
Fighter Pilot I have ever known, the famous Lt Col
Clarence ‘Bud’Anderson, a triple Ace in WWII with
16 and two thirds kills and it was unknown to me the
entire time of my tour as a Test Pilot at Edwards.
In light of Fitz’s recent departure to the WEST, my
friend Maj. Charlie Hinton, from ARIA days at Patrick
AFB from 1967 to 1970, knowing of my friendship with
Fitz, asked me to compile a few of my experiences
with Fitz at Edwards and also in the later years when
we worked together again as civilians on the Space
Shuttle Program. This, I have willingly tried to do.
One other thing, before I start spinning yarns, that
I want to address is the common denominator the
3 of us, Fitz, Charlie, and myself, had with the 3rd
Attack Group, i.e., Charlie flew a tour of combat with
the 13th Squadron of the 3rd Attack Group in the
Korean War, Fitz flew a tour of combat with the 13th
Squadron of the 3rd Attack Group in the Korean War
also. Fitz even flew one mission with Charlie, as his
5
March 2015
I was extremely fortunate to have him as my BOSS.
Just a little bragging on my part, but not too long after
I started testing airplanes, he unknowingly paid me a
complement, that I have never forgotten, i.e., one day
at his desk, he was just casually thumbing through
a Flight Test Report I had written about a test I had
done, and without even knowing of my presence, said
“Now That Is Good Data”. Coming from THE FITZ
FULTON, I was EXTREMELY PLEASED.
One of the many good things about being a Test Pilot
at Edwards was that if you were not busy with your
own test that day, you were on call to support any
other Test Pilot needing assistance with his test, thus,
you got to fly all sorts of planes; fighters, bombers,
transports, helicopters and STOL aircraft. At one time
I was current in 10 airplanes at the same time (no
longer allowed).
Most of my flying experience with Fitz was in the
B-52 where at the time Fitz was the primary Drop
Pilot for the X-15, just as he had been on many of
those early Rocket Planes he had dropped from the
specially modified B-29s they had at Edwards (Muroc
Air Base) back then.
In my time at Edwards they had two B-52s (A model
003 and B model 008) and Fitz flew 93 of the 199
drops of the X-15 in the X-15 project. I flew on some
of those launches as a Co-pilot. The plan for me was
to become one of the official X-15 droppers later on,
once I was officially checked out in the B-52. Thus,
Fitz and I flew a lot of local training flights in the B-52.
It was on one of those training flights that Fitz showed
his “Tiger” characteristic one day (as I referred to in
my opening sentence of this opus). On that particular
day, but certainly not uncommon at Edwards, it was
terribly windy and, of course, never down the runway
of 02 20. I remarked while going out to the plane,
“It’s going to be a rough landing out there today,
Fitz”. Fitz’s answer was, “See that T-Bird out there
landing?” (which I could plainly see with a wing
down, battling the crosswind.) “Well, if he can do it
so can we.” And we did, but c’mon Fitz, there is a big
difference in horsing around in a B-52 (even with a
cross wind gear) in a severe cross wind, than in a “Pip
Squeek” T-Bird.
Another time, Fitz and I, on a late summer afternoon
in 1961, were at Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth, Texas
and were getting ready to return to Edwards AFB,
California that night in an old B-47 six engine jet
bomber that we used there at the Flight Test Center. At
that time, that particular plane had had its bomb bay
doors removed which gave it the appearance that there
The Martin RB-57F went to 82,000 feet
was only half of an airplane thru the midsection of the
plane. We were using it, at the Test Center, to drop the
prototypes of the B-70 bomber ejection seats to see
how the parachutes on the seats performed prior to the
seats actually being installed in the B-70. The seats
wouldn't quite fit in the B-47 bomb bay with the doors
closed but they would fit with the doors removed so
that is what they had done, i.e., they had removed
the bomb bay doors. With the doors removed, the
plane rumbled and buffeted when it flew and they had
limited its air speed to 250 knots indicated, but when
you got it up to around 37,000 feet you had a true air
speed of close to 400 knots so it was OK to use for a
cross country flight if you needed it. It just grumbled
about it.
I have no recollection of what Fitz and I were doing
at Ft. Worth, but when we were getting ready to
come back to Edwards, we checked the weather
and it was an awful forecast: terrible thunderstorms,
severe turbulence, and up to one inch hail on the route
of flight. I said, “Fitz, let's just wait and go in the
morning because with the two hour time difference,
we can leave at 7 AM in the morning and be home
by 8 AM Edwards time and no one will ever know
the difference.” He said, “No, we are going and we
can contact ‘Star Gazer’ for radar vectors around the
thunderstorms”. Star Gazer was some kind of military
(I think) rinky dink radar system they had in operation
around the country at that time that was supposed to
help in situations like this, but my experience with
Star Gazer had always been bad.
Now, it was only Fitz and I aboard that six engine
jet bomber. The plane had a good radar set in it, but
it was controlled from the Navigator/Bombardier
position up in the nose, but we had no Navigator/
Bombardier up there to operate it.
So, off we go. The B-47 had a fighter type cockpit and
canopy. He was in command of the plane, but I was
in the front seat and he was in the back seat. I guess
he had flown it out to Texas and I was flying it back.
6
March 2015
We were about 30 minutes out and we got into just
what had been forecast. We called Star Gazer and, just
like the other times I had needed them, there was no
reply. (When you really needed them, the atmospheric
conditions were always so bad that you couldn't make
contact.)
We were all over the sky. Sitting out there in a fighter
type canopy, I wasn't missing a thing; lightning, hail,
and extreme turbulence. I had my seat belt clinched
down as tight as I could get it, and it took both hands
to control the wheel. Even then, I had my right elbow
stuffed up under the side of the canopy ledge to keep
my arms from flopping. It was so rough that I could
not take my hands off of the control column, so Fitz
was in the back working the six throttles. We were
easily anywhere between 4000 feet above our assigned
altitude and 4000 below it. Once that slick B-47
started downhill it would go through altitude like you
wouldn't believe, but just as bad or worse was that
it would get up near the stall point just as fast going
uphill because we were trying to hold 250 knots and
thus you did not have to lose very much airspeed on
those uphill excursions before stall became a concern.
But, like I said, going downhill, 250 knots was just
a number we passed through. I don't remember what
speed we may have hit, but I became concerned as to
what those downhill runs were doing to the fuselage.
They had limited the indicated airspeed on that thing
to 250 knots for some reason. So, besides wondering
if we were even going to maintain control of the old
girl, I was wondering if that thing might not just break
into two parts. It was under these conditions that
Fitz, worrying about a midair collision since we were
not maintaining our assigned altitude, said, “I think
we should let someone know where we are”. Now
Fitz was my boss but my answer was, “Hell, Fitz, I
wouldn't worry about that, there are no other damn
fools up here but you and I!”, and I sincerely meant it.
Obviously we made it. In later years, I read this
account of the adventure to Fitz and he conceded that
he remembered it well, just the way I told it. He did
not go so far, however, as to say it was an error in
judgment. He didn't have to. (Fitz never forgot that
thunderstorm we hit that night in the B-47 out in West
Texas). And the old tiger, who had cheated
death so many times testing airplanes, died peacefully
in his sleep.
Master Sergeant Dempsey D. Bankus
Retired Air Force Master Sergeant
Dempsey D. “Jack” Bankus passed
away at Cornerstone Rehabilitation
Center in Shreveport, Louisiana of
natural causes on November 20,
2014. Sergeant Bankus was born
near Milan, Missouri on March 13,
1923 to John A. and Blanche (Hays)
Bankus.
His first marriage to Margie (Sayre)
Bankus produced two wonderful
sons, Kent Bankus and Bobby
Bankus. He was preceded in death
by his wife, Florence (Allen)
Bankus, with whom he had two beautiful daughters, Jaci (Bankus)
Diebner and Jeri (Bankus) Hollowell. He was also preceded in death
by his wife, Marion (Charest) Bankus; his parents John and Blanche
Bankus; his brothers, Roscoe and Kenneth Bankus; and his grandsons,
John Bankus and Benjamin Slater. He is survived by his sister
Geraldine (Bankus) Ogle; four children, Kent Bankus, Bobby Bankus,
Jaci (Bankus) Diebner, and Jeri (Bankus) Hollowell; and by nine
grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.
Sergeant Bankus joined the Army Air Corps in December, 1943 and
during WWII flew 17 missions as a belly gunner in B-24 Liberators
in the South Pacific. He was shot down in 1945 and, after two days in
the ocean, was rescued by a PBY Catalina. He mustered out of the Air
Corps in November 1945 and farmed for a while near Sorrell, Missouri.
He reenlisted in the Air Force in October 1947, and was an engineergunner in the 13th Bomb Squadron on B-26 Invader aircraft in Japan at
the start of the Korean war. Wounded three days after the war started,
he is believed to be the first US airman wounded in that war. He was
later shot down again. After his B-26 crashed on the top of a hill, Sgt
Bankus turned on the aircraft battery switches was able to operate the
guns in the top turret. He successfully repelled a North Korean force
attacking an Army unit on the hill. He totaled 92 combat missions in
WWII and Korea. Among his many decorations and ribbons, Master
Sergeant Bankus is entitled to wear the Distinguished Flying Cross;
the Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters; and the Purple Heart.
After retiring from the Air Force, Sergeant Bankus was employed
at the Louisiana Army Ordnance Plant, and later by the Gym Dandy
Company in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Master Sergeant Bankus’ two sons were both career military. His oldest
son, retired Air Force Colonel Gerald K. Bankus, was shot down in
1966 in Vietnam while flying an F-100 Super Saber. His younger son,
retired Army Sergeant Major Bobby J. Bankus, served in the Armored
Cavalry throughout his career.
Services for Master Sergeant Bankus were held at the Hill Crest Funeral
Home, with a military graveside ceremony, in Haughton, Louisiana on
November 25, 2014. Pallbearers were members of the Barksdale Air
Force Base Honor Guard. The Honor Guard from VFW Post 5951 also
rendered military honors during the ceremony.
7
March 2015
A Passing Phase, Thoughts on a Gunner’s Moon
By Jim Humphries
We flew in total darkness
with our navigation lights
turned off after crossing
from the airspace of
friendly Thailand into
the dangerous skies over
Laos, a supposedly neutral
land used by the enemy as
a supply route each night.
Nearly all of the lights on
the ground were turned
off or shielded, so we
shared a common defense
with our foe. Without
guns to defend us against
air attack, or electronic
countermeasures to
protect us from surfaceto-air missiles or radardirected anti-aircraft fire, we depended on the darkness
to make us invisible. Friendly fighter pilots took
out the triple-A radars, like shooting rattlesnakes
whenever they appeared. Our offensive ordnance was
M-36 incendiary bombs in the bomb bay and a pair of
500 pound laser-guided bombs beneath the wings.
Initially we wondered if the laser beams that our
systems operators pointed to enemy trucks negotiating
the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail were visible to the
anti-aircraft batteries in the jungles below. It wasn’t
hard to imagine that those thin beams might act like
precision searchlights pointing directly to our planes.
We were relieved to discover that the beams turned
out to be invisible. And so we flew our missions on
nights “as black as the inside of a cow,” as one of
our squadron mates quipped, with some degree of
confidence that even though they could hear us, they
couldn’t see us.
On many nights there would be a moon in the sky,
subtly displaying its familiar phases. It wasn’t long
before I discovered a characteristic that had gone
unnoticed before. When the moon was in its earliest
phase, just a crescent, it would appear right after dark
low in the western sky. Before long, it had dropped
below the horizon, not to be seen again until the
I found my neighbor’s
mailbox lying on the
sidewalk, its supporting
post broken off near the
ground. I can fix that
with a pole through the
hollow post, thought I,
and set to work. A school
bus stopped at the corner,
and dropped off a few
kids. A few minutes
later, I looked up to find
a young man standing
beside the fallen mailbox,
apparently wondering
what I was doing. He was
a pleasant boy, an eighth
grader. I asked what he
Gunner's Moon
was studying in school this
week, and he replied: “We’re learning about phases of
the moon.”
So I encouraged him, “Tell me about that. I’ve long
wondered how that happens.”
He began confidently enough. “Well, you know,
there’s the sun and here’s the moon and the tilt of the
earth’s axis and, and …”
I called his bluff. “You really don’t know how the
moon has phases, do you?”
He made me a promise that he would get it figured
out, and tell me. In the meantime, I learned that Jose
Randel was my new neighbor. This was our first
meeting. No wonder he stopped to enquire what I was
doing to his mail box!
I told him a story of how I became interested in phases
of the moon. I was an Air Force pilot flying night
missions in the early seventies during the Vietnam
War. We were without defensive armament of any
kind in our B-57 bombers. All of God’s critters have
some kind of defense, even though it may be just
camouflage. I can think of a species of moth that has
the silhouette of a cobra’s head branded by nature on
their wings. Predators tend to keep their distance. Of
course, if the camouflage doesn’t fool the predator, the
moth becomes lunch.
8
cont. on page 9
March 2015
cont. From page 8
A PASSING PHASE
following night. A few nights later, a quarter moon
was visible just after last light, but this time much
higher in the western sky. Of course, it had been up
there all day, rather inconspicuous, in the bright sun
that made the days pleasant. But as the sun’s light
faded into twilight, the waxing moon became an
object of beauty in the night sky. Quickly, as the days
passed, the moon shuttled through its phases, getting
larger each night until it was round, full and bright.
That’s when this phenomena caught my attention.
Maybe you’ve picked up where this is going! As the
moon was waxing larger and brighter each night,
it made its appearance higher in the sky each night
until it rose at dusk above the eastern horizon. Then
it slowly moved high above all night long. At its full
phase, the moon turned the darkness into a cool glow
as it beamed down its reflected sunlight on the earth.
We felt exposed on those nights when the moon was
full. If the alignment was just right, we reasoned
that the gunners could see us silhouetted against the
luminosity of the sky. Surely our invisibility was
compromised with a full moon up there above us.
Pilots called it a gunner’s moon. I never learned
whether my imagined vulnerability during nights of
full moon phases was increased or not. But I surely
began paying attention to phases of the moon, whether
or not I understood the astronomical mechanics that
affected our view of its visible lighted area. And
when my combat tour was done, a hundred and one
missions long, I lost my concern for the phases of our
heavenly satellite. Now I’m anxious to learn what Jose
will teach me.
Jose was surprised that an old man, an old military
pilot, would be interested in the phases of the moon.
But my war story and my self-discovered celestial
positions of the moon during its phases each month
fascinated him. It was probably a good lesson for a
youngster. The lesson being that natural phenomena
may be of some concern to a school boy simply
because it might be on the test, but they can become
intensely interesting when one has ‘some skin in the
game,’ as they say. I’m betting that Jose will have an
explanation for me very soon.
Jim Humphries
13th BS, Ubon Thailand 1971-1972
Jim Wise
VIRGINIA BEACH—Marion Arthur (Jim) Wise passed
away Dec. 31, 2014.
He was a resident of Virginia Beach.
He was preceded in death by his mother and father,
Emma Shoemaker Wise and Maynard Marion Wise;
wife, Mildred, of 49 years; brother, Larry; and sister,
Bernadine.
Left to cherish his memory is his wife Linda; a son, Gary;
daughter-in-law, Pamela; and granddaughter, Amanda.
He is also survived by a brother, Jan Franklin; a sisterin-law, Patricia; nephews, Michael, Greg and Brian; and
many great-nieces and great-nephews. His extended
family includes a stepdaughter, Kelly Schuellein, her
husband Paul and their children, James, Brian and Heidi;
a stepson, Neal Insley, his wife Madelyn and sons, Ross
and Grady.
Jim was born in Fostoria, Ohio and served in the U.S. Air
Force 13th Bomb Squadron as a gunner in the Korean
War.
He retired from NASA Langley Research Center,
Hampton, where he was involved in the space program.
In later years he served as a docent at the Military
Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach and worked with
Habitat for Humanity in Smithfield. He was a member of
many organizations, but HAM Radio was his passion.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 10,
11 a.m. at the West Neck Village Hall, 2580 Signature
Drive, Virginia Beach.
A graveside service will be held at Arlington Memorial
Cemetery at a later date.
9
March 2015
Honorary Membership Awarded
left to right is Robert Butterfield, Sarah Adams (Production Manager), Suzie Schulenberg (Designer/Owner), Sandy Acquaviva (Operations Manager), Deann Pulley
(Programmer/Designer) and Chuck Whiting (Marketing/PR)
At the 2014 Association Reunion in Providence, RI,
the Executive Board unanimously recommended that
Suzie Schulenberg and FaverWebs be awarded an
Honorary Membership in the 13th Bomb Squadron
Association for their outstanding contributions to our
organization for nearly five years.
for their contributions in the success of the site. Bob
also presented them with a framed copy of Don
Henderson's wonderful graphic art work of all 37
aircraft the squadron has flown .
The efforts of FaverWebs began in February 2010
when they proposed a military website that would
trace the history of the 13th Squadron from 1917
forward including WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the
Vietnam War and the Global War on Terrorism. Once
accepted, FaverWebs proceeded to design, develop,
maintain and update the history and achievements of
the Squadron on www.13thbombsquadron.com that is
considered the prestige site for active duty Air Force
squadrons today.
In responding to the presentation, Suzie said, “I’m
SO happy to hear you made it back safely and cannot
thank you enough for sharing your generous time
and love to me and to my FaverWebs team. It was
one of the most priceless honors I have ever received
and it meant even more that you went to so much
trouble on our behalf. We are honored to have been
chosen to partner with your great organization of
such courageous soldiers. We are deeply grateful and
will treasure our membership as part of your elite
group. God bless you and the 13th Bomb Squadron
Association! It is truly an American treasure…”
Traveling to Franklin, TN to make the presentation,
past president Bob Butterfield's timing was spot
on because the FaverWeb Christmas party had to
be postponed to January on the same day that Bob
could make the trip. Therefore, he was able to meet
the team members and congratulate each personally
We are truly grateful to Suzie and FaverWebs for the
support they have given us. We look forward to their
professionalism and expertise in helping us present on
the world wide web what the men and women of the
13th Squadron have contributed to the defense of our
country since 1917.
10
March 2015
Captain Hobey Baker, Class of 1914
Posted on October 28, 2010 by Brett Tomlinson
On Nov. 11, 2010 the Philadelphia
Sports Hall of Fame inducted Hobey
Baker, Princeton Class of 1914, a
legendary football and hockey star
at Princeton. That Baker would be
honored on Veterans Day seems
appropriate: A World War I fighter
pilot, he died in a flying accident the
month after the Allies and Germans
signed the November 11, 1918,
armistice that ended the war.
before America’s entry into the war,
with the idea of fitting himself for the
service should the need arise. As might
have been expected of probably the
best and most successful athlete this
country ever produced, he excelled in
flying as he had in football and hockey.
Early in the summer of 1917, he went
to France as a First Lieutenant among
the first of the American pilots, in
order to take the advanced courses in
Baker, a native of Bala-Cynwyd,
acrobatics, combat and gunnery, which
Pennsylvania, was an agile and swift
could not at that time be obtained in
open-field runner on the football field.
this country. He first took a course at
He also earned acclaim for his kicking
a Flying School in England and then
Captain Hobart A. H. "Hobey" Baker.
skills. But it was in hockey that he
at the French Schools at Avord, Pau,
truly dazzled, earning a reputation as the greatest player of
and Cazaux. At the Gunnery School at Cazaux he made a
his era. At the time, hockey was a relatively minor sport
brilliant record. He appreciated the fundamental principle
on campus, in part because Princeton did not have its own
that for the pilot of a pursuit plane to do accurate and
rink. Varsity games were played in New York City.
effective shooting, he must from the first train himself to
fire from the shortest possible ranges. His appreciation of
Baker’s athletic exploits were well known to his
this however almost led to his undoing on one occasion.
contemporaries, but shortly after his death, the Princeton
In diving on a balloon used as a target, Hobey tried to
Alumni Weekly took a closer look at his contributions
maintain his fire until very close. He riddled the balloon
as an aviator with an article written by Maj. Charles
but misjudged his distance and ran into it just as he was
Biddle, Class of 1911, a flying ace and one of Baker’s
pulling away. The impact shattered his propeller and badly
former commanders. In it, Biddle describes Baker as “a
strained the machine, and the cloth of the balloon became
striking example of the finest that America can produce” –
wrapped around one wing and thereby threw the plane out
courageous, unselfish, and modest.
of balance. Those watching on the ground held their breath
Captain Hobart Baker’s Career in the Service
and gave him up for lost, but Hobey was one of those who
By Maj. Charles J. Biddle, Princeton Class of 1911
never give up and realize that in aviation the surest way
to lose your life is to lose your head. By the most skillful
To the many friends of Captain Hobart A. H. Baker, the
handling of his crippled machine he was able to bring it
news from France that he was killed in an accident while
safely to the ground, to the great delight and astonishment
flying at the Toul aerodrome on Saturday, December 21st,
of his French audience.
came as a great shock. With the fighting at an end we
had all been hoping to see him home before long, where
Lieutenant Baker had hoped to be sent to the front as soon
we could personally do him the honor which he so richly
as he had completed his training, but he was assigned to
deserved, for no one ever knew Hobey Baker who did
instruction work and kept at this duty for some time. I
not admire him for his many splendid qualities and the
saw him in Paris in January and he was leaving no stone
work he had done, and love him for the man he was. His
unturned in trying to get orders which would take him
death makes us realize more than ever that the great war
to the front, but there were many unavoidable delays, so
did not end with the signing of the armistice, nor will it
that his long hoped for orders did not finally arrive until
end for many years to come, and we know that our friend
about the first of April, 1918. He was at this time sent
has laid down his life for a cause to which his whole heart
to the 103rd Aero Squadron, better known under its old
was devoted, just as surely as though he had gone down in
French name as the “Escadrille Lafayette.” The pilots
combat on the lines.
of the squadron had already transferred from the French
After a long and phenomenal career as an athlete at
Princeton, Hobey Baker took up flying more than a year
to the American service and the enlisted personnel was
almost entirely made up of American mechanics, but the
11
cont. on page 14
March 2015
12
March 2015
(U.S. Air Force photos by Senior Airman Bryan Crane)
13
March 2015
near him. When the patrol was over and Lieutenant Baker
and I were walking to our quarters I said to him, “Well,
Hobe, I guess you saw what a Hun looks like, anyhow.” To
which he replied, “No. Where? I did not see any.”
Lt Col Charles J. Biddle, the first war time commander of the 13th Aero Squadron
and its leading Ace with 8 confirmmed victories
squadron itself was still operating with the French and
continued to do so until about the first of July. On April
1st he was with the famous Fourth Army in Champagne
under General Gouraud, covering the lines between Rheims
and the Argonne Forest, in conjunction with a number of
French squadrons. I was myself a flight commander in the
Lafayette Squadron at the time and was delighted when
Lieutenant Baker was assigned to my flight. An American
pursuit squadron is divided into three flights of six or seven
pilots each, and patrols are usually made by flights led by
the flight commander. There is nothing so reassuring to a
pilot as to know well the men with whom he is flying and
to feel that they will stick with him through thick and thin,
regardless of odds or the dangers to themselves.
Soon after Lieutenant Baker arrived at the Lafayette
Squadron, we moved to Fismes with the Chemin des
Dames region as our sector. On April 12th Hobey went out
with me for his first flight over the lines. We had hardly
gotten started and were still climbing to gain our altitude
when I sighted a German two-seated photographic plane
coming into our lines high above us. We immediately
started in pursuit, but although we got within a thousand
yards or so, the [German] was too far above us and got
back into his own lines before we could come within
range of him. A few minutes later almost the same thing
happened again with another two-seater, who caught sight
of us and escaped far into his own lines before we could get
Then I told him about the two that we had been after and
he was terribly disgusted with himself for not having seen
them. As a matter of fact it was the best thing that could
have happened. All his friends knew from the beginning
that he would make a splendid pilot, but feared that in his
great anxiety to fight he would try to begin by doing too
much. One of the greatest dangers to a new pilot at the front
is that, no matter how great his ability and how hard he may
try, he will at first probably not see more than one-third of
what he will see after he has had a little experience. The
reason for this is that he is occupied with his machine, with
keeping his place in the formation, and in trying to learn
the country over which he is flying. Then also other planes
in the air do not so readily catch his eye as they do that of
a more experienced man. The result is that new men run
a great risk of being taken by surprise, and an experience
such as the above impresses this all important fact upon
them as nothing else could. Lieutenant Baker learned the
game in a remarkably short time and it was not long before
he saw as well as the best of them. In all his experience at
the front I do not remember a single instance when he was
caught unawares.
About the end of April the Lafayette Squadron moved to
Flanders for the battle around Kemmel Hill south of Ypres.
Our first flight in this sector was a daylight patrol one misty
morning when the French were counter-attacking in the
region of the Hill. The mist and low clouds forced us to
fly at an altitude of only about two hundred yards and the
shelling on the ground was terrific. Kemmel Hill looked
like a volcano in eruption, and the shells were falling so
thick on its summit that the whole top of the hill seemed to
be constantly exploding and resembling somewhat, a huge
pot of boiling water. In the mist it was very difficult to keep
formation and Lieutenant Baker became separated from the
rest of the patrol. Soon afterward I caught sight of him in
the fog, flying in the direction of the German lines. It was
his first flight in this sector and the weather conditions were
such as to make it almost impossible for one not familiar
with the country to keep his bearings. I had myself spent
five months in this region with the French aviation in the
summer and fall of 1917, so that I knew the ground. Seeing
Lieutenant Baker making off into the [German] lines, I
thought he must be lost, so started after him, firing my gun
to one side of him to attract his attention, but the noise of
his own motor, added to the din on the ground, prevented
his hearing me and he disappeared in the mist. Upon
returning to airfield near Dunkirk we waited anxiously for
him to come back, but four or five hours went by without
14
cont. on page 15
March 2015
news from him. We were all beginning to be very much
worried lest he had gotten lost and either been shot down
or forced to land in German territory, when to our great
relief and delight a telephone came from an English field
near Bethune, saying that he was there and safe. It seems
that after becoming separated from the patrol and not
knowing the country, Lieutenant Baker had started home
by compass, but unfortunately there was something wrong
with his compass, so that when it read “west” he was in
reality flying south. At this time the lines south of Ypres
made a large bulge west towards the forest of Nieppe, and
flying south took Lieutenant Baker across this salient. He
flew for miles inside the German lines, and each time he
would came down out of the mist to see where he was he
would be greeted by a burst of fire from the ground. He
worked around more to the west and finally when he came
down to look once more, he breathed a sigh of relief upon
seeing a lot of British Tommies marching along a road. He
landed near Bethune after having flown across the entire
salient, and a joyful squadron we were to have him safely
back with us again.
His First Victory in the Air
It was toward the end of May that Lieutenant Baker brought
down his first German plane. Five men from the Lafayette
Squadron attacked a loose formation of about twenty-five
[German] scouts and Lieutenant Baker shot down one of
them near Ypres, a very fine performance, considering
how greatly our men were outnumbered. For this he was
decorated with the French Croix de Guerre, the ceremony
taking place at Handschaote in Belgium on June 12th.
Towards the end of May the [German] aviation in Flanders
was greatly reduced, most of the squadrons evidently
having been moved further south for the offensive there. In
consequence opportunities were hard to find and Lieutenant
Baker got few chances until the Lafayette Squadron moved
to the St. Mihiel sector about July 1st, with headquarters
at the Toul aerodrome. I had just been given command
of the 13th Aero Squadron and succeeded in getting
Lieutenant Baker transferred to it as a flight commander.
He accordingly left the Lafayette and became a member
of the 13th about July 15th. But the Mihiel front was very
quiet at this time and although Lieutenant Baker spent more
time over the lines than any other man in the squadron and
was of invaluable service in training the new pilots, he was
hardly able to get a shot at a [German]. One two-seater
which attacked went down in a spin for a long distance, but
managed to straighten out just before he hit the ground and
go back to his own lines.
The first week in August Lieutenant Baker was put in
command of the 14th Aero Squadron and was ordered
to the rear to complete its organization and bring it to
the front. As bad luck would have it, his squadron was
not ready and it was not until the end of October that he
was finally able to get it in operation on the front, the
squadron at this time being made a part the 4th Pursuit
Group, stationed at the Toul aerodrome and flying in the
St. Mihiel sector. As was often remarked by his friends,
Hobey Baker was from the beginning beset by the hardest
kind of luck. Through no fault of his own, or rather in spite
of everything he could do, he was held a long time in the
rear before getting to the front, then when he got there he
had a lot of trouble with his machine guns failing him at
critical moments, and finally when he got a squadron of his
own, it was one which was not ready for the front while
other men who were made squadron commanders after
him had the good fortune to get squadrons which were all
equipped. Then just when Lieutenant Baker had gotten
all his pilots and was ready to take them to the front, it so
happened that they were needed to replace losses in the
squadrons operating in the Argonne offensive, and his men
were almost all taken away from him, so that he had to
start all over again, getting a new lot together. It was at this
time about the middle of October, that he was promoted
to the rank of Captain. During the last ten days before the
signing of the armistice, Captain Baker got the first real
opportunities for active fighting which he had had since
the preceding June, and brought down two more [German]
machines, his second and third. The first of these was a
Fokker single-seater, one of a group of five which Captain
Baker attacked while leading a formation of an equal
number of his new pilots. The [German] fell into German
territory northwest of Pont-a-Mousson and the wreck was
visible from our lines, the American artillery completing its
destruction. The second and the last plane which he brought
down was a two-seater which penetrated the American lines
at a great altitude for the purpose of dropping propaganda
leaflets among the infantry. Captain Baker and one of his
pilots attacked him between nineteen and twenty thousand
feet up and under Captain Baker’s fire the [German] plane
turned completely over on its back, throwing the observer
out, the body falling in our lines. After falling upside down
for about five thousand feet, the pilot, who had evidently
been wounded, managed to right his plane and started for
his own lines. He was again attacked and finally crashed
a hopeless wreck about a mile inside the German lines.
Shortly after the signing of the armistice we crossed the
lines and found the skeleton of the machine, and scattered
about it, quantities of the propaganda sheets with which it
had been loaded.
His Success as Squadron Commander and Pilot
As a squadron commander, Captain Baker was very
successful, for the officers and men under his command
loved and admired him as did all who knew him. His
pilots knew that he would never ask them to undertake
15
cont. on page 16
March 2015
anything which he would
a true friend on whom one
not do himself, and that in
could always rely. He was
him they had a friend who
entirely unselfish and always
was constantly watching
thinking of others rather than
over their safety and
of himself, and I remember
who would never forsake
one occasion on which I as
them, regardless of the
his commanding officer had
consequences to himself.
practically to order him to
His enlisted men knew that
take credit for the destruction
he was always thinking of
of a German plane, which
their welfare and comfort
by all the reports he and he
and that any order which
alone had quite evidently
came from Captain Baker
brought down, because
would be just and fair. I
he felt that there was a
Hobey Baker's crashed SPAD. On December 21, 1918, a little over a month since
well remember one day last the Armistice, Hobey received his orders to return home. Against the objection
possibility that some of
of his men, he insisted on taking one last flight in his SPAD. According to
November when a patrol
his pilots might have had
witnesses, Hobey Baker took off in the rain, he leveled off at 600 feet, but the
returning from the lines
something to do with it,
carburetor failed and the engine failed. Baker attempted to glide the plane back to
reported that it had last seen the airfield. With another 100 feet of altitude, Hobey probably could have safely
and he therefore wished to
made
it
back,
but
he
didn’t
have
that
altitude,
and
the
plane
nose
dived
into
the
Captain Baker engaged in a
withdraw in their favor. In
earth. His men pulled him from the wreckage, but Hobey Baker died moments
hard fight with half a dozen later in the ambulance. He was only 26 years old.
spite of all the well deserved
[German] single-seaters and
praise that was heaped upon
that they were afraid that he had gone down in the unequal
him for his success in athletics and in the service, he was
fight. A look of consternation spread among the men,
totally unspoiled by it and he was modest almost to a fault.
which was succeeded a few minutes later by a cheer, as the His record as an officer was a splendid one, and he was a
Captain’s machine with its orange and black markings (he
son of whom Princeton may well be proud.
had adopted the Princeton colors and a Princeton tiger as
No details have as yet been received of Captain Baker’s
the distinguishing mark of his squadron) was seen returning death but as he fell at Toul he must have been buried at the
from the lines. Hobey had attacked a German formation by cemetery of the hospital at Sebastopol, about two miles
himself and had gotten into hot water, but with his usual
north of Toul. There he will lie in company with [Raoul]
skill and presence of mind had extricated himself with
Lufbery, [David] Putnam, and many others who played a
nothing worse than a bullet through one wing.
great game through to the end and won, because they did
As a pilot, Captain Baker was one of the very best; he
enjoyed flying and handled his machine with the greatest
skill. I have never known a man who was more eager to fly
or who tried harder to give to his country the very best that
was in him. He fought whenever the opportunity offered
and always with the most fearless courage. With his great
bravery, he at the same time used his head at all times
and realized that there is a wide difference between true
courage and foolhardiness, and that the latter accomplishes
little but is really playing into the hands of the enemy. The
only reason that Captain Baker’s score in German machines
brought down was not higher was because the chances
which came to him were few. Had he had them or had the
war continued, there is no doubt that his tally would have
been a long one. During his service at the front he at all
times flew the Spad single-seater pursuit machine and was
entirely engaged in pursuit work.
As a man Captain Baker was a striking example of the
finest that America can produce. In the course of several
months of living and flying with him on the front I came
to know him intimately. He was a thorough gentleman and
their best.
About the author: Charles J. Biddle, Princeton Class of 1911.
Biddle joined the French Foreign Legion in 1917, Escadrille
SPA 73, Escadrille Lafayette SPA 124. After the United
States joined in the war, Biddle served as Commander of the
13th Aero Squadron and was Commander of the 4th Pursuit
Group. He was an Ace with 8 victories, he received the
Distinguished Service Cross, the Purple Heart, the French
Legion of Honor, and France’s Crois de Guerre with four
palms for his extraordinary contributions to the Allied cause
in Europe during World War I. A Harvard Law graduate,
he had a notable career as a senior partner in the firm of
Drinker, Biddle, and Reath. He died in 1972 at age 82.
16
“YOU SEEMED WINGED, EVEN AS A LAD,
WITH THAT SWIFT LOOK OF THOSE WHO KNOW THE SKY,
IT WAS NO BLUNDERING FATE THAT STOOPED AND BADE
YOU BREAK YOUR WINGS, AND FALL TO EARTH AND DIE,
I THINK SOME DAY YOU MAY HAVE FLOWN TOO HIGH,
SO THAT IMMORTALS SAW YOU AND WERE GLAD,
WATCHING THE BEAUTY OF YOUR SPIRITS FLAME,
UNTIL THEY LOVED AND CALLED YOU, AND YOU CAME.”
—The inscription on Hobey Baker’s tombstone
March 2015
13th BOMB SQUADRON REUNION1969
By Bob Butterfield
Not waiting until the war was over to
have a reunion, the 13th Bomb Squadron
Grim Reapers and their sister squadron,
the 8th Bomb Squadron Liberty Bell,
were reunited in a gala reunion at the
Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada,
15-17 August 1969. (The 8th and 13th
flew combat missions in Southeast Asia
between late 1964 and early 1968.)
Both squadrons had been in Japan in the
3rd Bomb Wing, along with the 90th
Bomb Squadron, Pair of Dice, flying
B-57Bs. In early 1964, the squadrons
were preparing to rotate back to the
CONUS when the 8th and 13th were
alerted for reassignment to Clark
Air Base in the Philippines (RPI) in
preparation for supporting Allied Forces that might be
needed to defend South Vietnam from communist North
Vietnam invaders. That transfer took place in April 1964.
After the August 2, 1964, Gulf of Tonkin attacks on U.S.
Naval vessels, crews from both the 8th and 13th squadrons
were deployed to Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, to
fly combat support missions (reconnaissance) at two-week
intervals. In February 1965, the first ground attack mission
was flown by the 13th Bomb Squadron. Sorties continued
from Bien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut Air Bases until August,
when the aircraft began flying from DaNang Air Base
in northern South Vietnam. The two squadrons started a
sixty-day rotation, with one squadron training at Clark,
while the sister squadron flew day and night combat attack
missions. Fourteen months later, the squadrons' deployment
base became Phan Rang Air Base, three-hundred miles
south of DaNang. During these deployments to Vietnam,
crew members completed as many as three-hundred combat
missions in the B-57 aircraft.
By January 1968, the rotations ended. About half of the
B-57s were flown home and were reconfigured with
new, sophisticated electronic equipment. In 1970, they
were deployed to Ubon Air Base, Thailand, as B-57Gs
in the 13th Bomb Squadron. The remaining aircraft were
reassigned to other units in the CONUS or retired, and the
8th Bomb Squadron was re-designated as the 8th Attack
Squadron flying the A-37 aircraft.
In 1969, Lt Col Frank (Smash) Chandler, a bigger-than-life
former 13th Bomb Squadron navigator, with the help of
Robert (Batman) Bateman, a pilot from the 8th Squadron,
organized a reunion of the men of the 8th/13th who had
taken the fight to the enemy. Many
members were still on active duty, while
others had finished their service and
had returned to civilian life--some to fly
commercially.
I was in the Pentagon when Smash
called me and asked for some help. He
wanted to publicize the reunion, and
thought General Carl (Tooey) Spaatz
USAF (Ret.) would be a great supporter
of the gathering of eagles. (During his
amazing career, Gen Spaatz had flown
with the 13th Aero Squadron for two
weeks in 1918, and had shot down
three German planes.) When I asked
Gen Spaatz if he would participate, he
accepted gladly, and I invited him to the
Pentagon for a publicity photo.
From the USAF Museum, I borrowed a large, framed
section of fabric fuselage on which was painted an Oscar,
and the Number 20, from the WW I Spad assigned to Lt.
Murray Guthrie. (Note: When the war ended, pilots were
allowed to cut off their aircraft number as a souvenir. The
number 20 indicated that Guthrie was the 20th duty pilot to
check into the squadron in France in 1918. The squadron
commander, Capt Charles J. Biddle had been given the
number 0.)
General Spaatz suggested we invite some of his comrades
with whom he had flown in France, and we were successful
in contacting eight more pilots who also attended. I was
able to obtain the film, "The Lafayette Escadrille," for the
event. The film described the flying of a French fighter
squadron, manned mostly by American pilots who had
volunteered to fly with the French in 1916, before the
United States entered World War I. (As we learned last
year during our 2014 reunion in Providence, Rhode Island,
a major financial backer of The Lafayette Escadrille in
France was American William K Vanderbilt, a prominent
member of the Vanderbilt family, who developed the
American railroad system.)
The 1969 reunion was held at the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas,
Nevada, August 16-18, and was a huge success. In addition
to General and Mrs. Spaatz, the eight WW I pilots and their
wives, another distinguished guest was Texas Senator John
G. Tower, a member (and later Chairman) of the Senate
Armed Services Committee. This was not the first contact
Senator Tower had had with the 13th Bomb Squadron. He
had visited the Reapers at Clark AB RPI, and had flown a
17
cont. on page 18
March 2015
Major Bob Butterfield and General Carl Spaatz view an original "Oscar" taken from SPAD XIII of Lt. Murray Guthrie. (Office of Director of Legislative Liason,
Secretary of the Air Force, Pentagon. Air Force photo, 1969)
combat training mission with the 13th CO Major Floren
(Nails) Nelson. Later, Senator Tower met with the 13th at
DaNang, during his tour of the combat zone.
Another distinguished guest at the banquet was Mr.
Vernon R Rawlings, Vice President and General Manager,
Baltimore Division, of Martin-Marietta Corporation. This
division fabricated and flight tested over four-hundred B-57
aircraft.
The honoree of the evening was Captain Larry B. Mason,
winner of the 1966 Karen Kolligian, Jr. Outstanding
Airmanship Trophy and the Air Force Cross, which had
been presented to him by Air Force Chief of Staff General
John P. McConnell. During a particularly dangerous
mission in Laos, at the Tchepone Pass, Capt Mason’s
aircraft was badly damaged, and his navigator Captain Jere
Joyner was seriously wounded, to the point of not being
able to eject. As pilot, Capt Mason, who had trained with
the 13th before being assigned to the 8th Bomb Squadron,
had to stay with his aircraft and attempt to land it, while
dealing with multiple problems, including one engine out
and a fire warning light on the other engine. After making
a very dangerous single-engine go-around, he managed to
get his plane on the runway and undoubtedly saved Jere's
life. As a more personal way to honor his courage under
extreme conditions, Jere named one of his twin children
for his pilot. (We were delighted to have Larry speak to us
again at our 2013 Association reunion in Reno.)
Also honored that evening was Senior Master Sergeant
Leon E Adamson, USAF (Ret.), who on May 16, 1965, was
the Maintenance Line Chief at Bien Hoa Air Base. On that
fateful day, a bomb exploded under the wing of a taxiing
B-57, causing a horrendous blast on the ramp among other
taxiing and parked aircraft. Sergeant Adamson conducted
rescue operations during a series of explosions where he
was knocked down several times, wounded by shrapnel,
and severally burned. He was flown to the Air Force
hospital at Clark and then to the U.S. He spent two years
recovering from those wounds, and was presented with the
Airman’s Medal for his bravery.
One of my favorite memories of the reunion was watching
the WW I pilots commenting on the Lafayette Escadrille
film. They were talking with their hands, reliving those
early combat missions, and remembering the men with
whom they had flown and the results they had achieved
fifty years earlier. Today it is Viet Nam veterans who are
looking back fifty years and recalling the missions they
flew in Southeast Asia, just like those WW I warriors were
doing in 1969 at the Las Vegas reunion.
Footnote: In the November 2000 Invader, General Spaatz's
picture appeared on the cover, along with his biography
on Page 16, and a letter of thanks from him. Also in that
issue is a quote from reporter Elaine Shepard’s 1991 book
The Doom Pussy II, about the Las Vegas Reunion. Elaine
had been a veteran reporter sent to Vietnam by the Mutual
Broadcasting System to cover the war; she spent time with
the 13th and 8th squadrons, both at Clark and DaNang,
and flew combat missions with Nails Nelson during her
reporting assignment. Both of her books contain a great
glimpse of Air Force life in the combat zone and are full of
stories of the men of the 8th and 13th Bomb Squadrons.
18
March 2015
13th BOMB SQUADRON REUNION
September 16-20, 2015
Radisson Hotel Branson – Branson, MO
(417) 335-5767 (888) 566-5290
www.radisson.com/branson-hotel-mo-65616/mobranso
Location
120 South Wildwood Drive, Branson, MO 65616
The Radisson Hotel Branson is located just off the strip
and in walking distance to many attractions. The hotel is
approximately 55 miles away from the Springfield Branson
National Airport.
Reservation Information
Call the number above and please remember to reference
the 13th Bomb Squadron Association or please visit
www.radisson.com/13thbsa.
Group Name: 13th Bomb Squadron Association
Reunion Dates: September 16-20, 2015
Rate: $99 + tax (currently 11.6%) Rate will be offered
3 days before and 3 days after reunion dates, based on
availability. Cut off Date: 08/14/15 Late reservations will
be processed based on space availability at a higher rate.
Cancellation Policy: Must call 3 days prior to scheduled
arrival date to cancel reservations and avoid being charged
1 nights room + tax.
Parking & Shuttle Information
Hotel parking is complimentary. Four airlines (American,
Allegiant, Delta, and United) service the Springfield
Branson Airport. GrayLine offers service to and from the
airport, current fare for one way service is $95 for 1-2
people, $115 for 3 people, and $135 for 4 people. Please
call 417-334-5463 or visit www.grayline.com/things-to-do/
united-states/branson. Branson Coach also offers service
to and from the airport, current fare for one-way service is
$100 for 1-2 people, and $10 for each additional person.
Please call 417-339-4888 or visit www.bcnwa.net to make
reservations and verify pricing.
Branson Airport, a smaller privately owned airport, uses
Grayline for shuttle service to and from the airport. The
cost is $25 per person one way. For questions or to make
reservations, please contact Grayline at 417-334-5463 or
visit www.grayline.com/things-to-do/united-states/branson.
All prices are subject to change, please call to verify
pricing. Reservations need to be made twenty-four hours in
advance for all shuttle services.
Wheelchair Rental
ScootAround rents both manual and power wheelchairs by
the day and week. Please call (888) 441-7575 or visit www.
scootaround for details and to make reservations.
Wednesday, September 16
Hospitality Room Open
2:00pm-5:00pm Reunion Registration open
5:30pm Cash Bar
6:00pm
Buffet Dinner
8:00pm-10:00pm Board Meeting
Thursday, September 17
Hospitality Room Open
8:30am-9:00am
Reunion Registration open
9:30am-1:30pm Veterans Memorial Museum (description follows)
5:00pm-6:00pm Reunion Registration continues
6:30pm-10:45pm “Red Shirt Night” – Dinner Cruise
(description follows)
Friday, September 18
Hospitality Room Open
9:15pm-2:00pm The Bretts Show / Lunch
(description follows)
6:15pm-10:30pm SHOJI TABUCHI THEATRE
(description follows)
19
cont. on page 20
March 2015
Continued from page 19
13th BOMB SQUADRON REUNION 2015
Saturday, September 19
Hospitality Room Open
9:00am-11:00am Business Meeting
Free Day to explore the Branson on your own.
6:00pm
Cash Bar
7:00pm
Banquet is served.
Sunday, September 20
7:30am-9:00am
Farewells Breakfast Buffet
Cancellation And Refund Policy For Armed
Forces Reunions, Inc.
For attendees canceling reunion activities prior to the cutoff date, Armed Forces Reunions, Inc. (AFR) shall process
a full refund less the non-refundable AFR registration fee
($10 per person). Attendees canceling reunion activities
after the cut-off date will be refunded to the fullest extent
that AFR’s vendor commitments and guarantees will allow,
less the non-refundable AFR registration fee. Cancellations
will only be taken Monday through Friday from 9:00am
until 4:00pm Eastern Standard Time, excluding holidays.
Please call (757) 625-6401 to cancel reunion activities and
obtain a cancellation code. Refunds processed 4-6 weeks
after reunion. Canceling your hotel reservation does not
cancel your reunion activities.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/armedforcesreunions
TOUR DESCRIPTIONS
Veterans Memorial Museum
Thursday, September 17
This privately owned museum contains over 2000 artifacts
in ten display rooms, covering WWI through Desert Storm.
For those who lived through these times, the memories
brought back are vivid and overwhelming. The hallmark
of the museum is the world’s largest war memorial bronze
sculpture – over seventy feet in length weighing over
fifteen tons! It depicts fifty life-sized soldiers (one from
each state) storming the beach. For lunch and shopping,
we’ll head to Branson Landing, Branson’s premier
waterfront shopping area. Stores include Bass Pro Shop
and Belk anchor stores, among many other specialty shops.
You’ll have a wide variety of choices for lunch including
subs, Mexican, Italian, burgers, and more.
9:30am board bus, 1:30pm back at the hotel
$43/Person includes bus, escort, and admission. Lunch on
your own.
Showboat Branson Belle Dinner Cruise
Thursday, September 17
The Showboat Branson Belle presents an unforgettable
experience for your entire group, especially since they
are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a new show
and menu! Themed after the majestic showboats of the
1800s, the Showboat Branson Belle evokes the spirit
of a bygone era when river boat adventure, glamorous
travel and dazzling entertainment converged into what we
remember as ‘Those Grand Old Showboatin’ Days!’ Your
2-hour cruise on magnificent Table Rock Lake includes
a delicious 3-course meal (with roast beef and chicken)
freshly prepared in the ship's galley and the exciting variety
production Celebrate featuring singing, dancing, comedy,
and more.
6:30pm board bus, 10:45pm back at hotel (8pm cruise)
Cost is included in the package price.
The Bretts Show / Lunch
Friday, September 18
Having appeared on worldwide television and in more than
3000 live performances around the globe, The Brett Family
delivers high energy, high-caliber professional musical
entertainment. The two-hour show mixes timeless classics,
current chart-topping hits, and award-winning original
music, all presented with The Bretts’ signature polish
and professionalism. The Bretts Show proudly features
Branson’s #1 Patriotic Tribute and also includes a host of
fun surprises. After the show, enjoy lunch at the adjacent
American Bandstand Grill. Details are still being worked
out, but you’ll have a choice of several entrees such as
sandwich/fries or salad.
9:15am board bus, 2:00pm back at the hotel
$67/Person includes bus, escort, show, and lunch.
Shoji Tabuchi Theatre
Friday, September 18
Branson’s hottest ticket is the Shoji Tabuchi Theatre. Shoji
and his magic violin will dazzle you with practically every
kind of music. Listen to country, bluegrass, Cajun, swing,
jazz, and even a little Classical music. Enjoy the show that's
become the "talk of the town" as one of Branson's most
delightful shows. The family that plays, sings, and dances
encompasses all the wholesome values of truly great family
entertainment, yet the show rivals the pure excitement of
Las Vegas or New York. Shoji’s wardrobe is sensational
and even the restrooms are a show-stopper!
6:15pm board bus, 10:30pm back at hotel
$65/Person includes bus, escort, and show.
Drive and Staff gratuities are not included in the tour
prices.
Please plan to be at the bus boarding area at least five
minutes prior to the scheduled time.
All trips require a minimum of thirty-five people, unless
otherwise stated.
Register online and pay by credit card at
www.afr-reg.com/13bs2015
20
March 2015
13th BOMB SQUADRON ACTIVITY REGISTRATION FORM – SEPTEMBER 16 – 20, 2015
Listed below are all registration, tour, and meal costs for the reunion. Please enter how many people will be participating in each
event and total the amount. Send that amount payable to ARMED FORCES REUNIONS, INC. in the form of check or money
order or register online and pay by credit card at www.afr-reg.com/13bs2015 (3% convenience fee applied to cc charge). If a
valid email address is provided, an electronic receipt will be sent. Otherwise, your cancelled check will serve as your confirmation.
Returned checks will be charged a $20 fee. All registration forms and payments must be received by August 14, 2015. After that
date, reservations will be accepted on a space available basis. We suggest you make a copy of this form before mailing.
Please do not staple or tape your payment to this form. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/armedforcesreunions .
Armed Forces Reunions, Inc.
322 Madison Mews
Norfolk, VA 23510
ATTN: 13th BOMB SQDN
OFFICE USE ONLY
Check # _________ Date Received _________
Inputted _________ Nametag Completed _____
# of
people
Price per
CUT-OFF DATE IS 8/14/15
TOURS
THURSDAY, 9/17: VETERANS MEMORIAL MUSEUM
FRIDAY, 9/18: THE BRETTS SHOW
FRIDAY, 9/18: SHOJI TABUCHI THEATRE
REGISTRATION PACKAGE COST IS $195
Includes Wednesday Buffet Dinner, Thursday “Red Shirt Night” – Dinner
Cruise, Saturday Banquet, Sunday Breakfast, and Registration Fee.
Please select your Saturday Banquet entrée below:
Beef Medallion w/ Bordelaise Sauce
Champagne Chicken
Pan Seared Trout w/ Lemon-Caper Sauce
Total amount due to Armed Forces Reunions, Inc.
Total
$43
$67
$65
$
$
$
$195/pkg
$195/pkg
$195/pkg
$
$
$
$
PLEASE PRINT NAME AS YOU WANT IT TO APPEAR ON YOUR NAMETAG:
FIRST _____________________________________ LAST ____________________________________
st
1 REUNION? YES NO 
SPOUSE NAME (IF ATTENDING)____________________________________________________________________________________
GUEST NAMES__________________________________________________________________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS_______________________________________________________________________________________________
CITY _____________________________ STATE ___________ ZIP _______________________________________________________
PH. NUMBER (______)_______-____________ EMAIL ADDRESS ________________________________@______________. _______
DISABILITY/DIETARY RESTRICTIONS_______________________________________________________________________________
(Sleeping room requirements must be conveyed by attendee directly with hotel)
MUST YOU BE LIFTED HYDRAULICALLY ONTO THE BUS WHILE SEATED IN YOUR WHEELCHAIR IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN BUS
TRIPS?  YES  NO (PLEASE NOTE THAT WE CANNOT GUARANTEE AVAILABILITY).
EMERGENCY CONTACT (someone not at reunion)________________________________________ PH. NUMBER (_____)_____-________
For refunds and cancellations please refer to our policies outlined at the bottom of the reunion program. CANCELLATIONS WILL ONLY BE
TAKEN MONDAY-FRIDAY 9:00am-4:00pm EASTERN TIME (excluding holidays). Call (757) 625-6401 to cancel reunion activities and obtain
a cancellation code. Refunds processed 4-6 weeks after reunion.
Register online and pay by credit card at www.afr-reg.com/13bs2015
21
March 2015
Deaths Not Previously Reported
As of November 2014
Fitzhugh L Fulton, Jr.
February 4, 2015
Pilot 1951-52
Robert E. Parker
February 10, 2015
Pilot 1972
Anders E. Benander
November 25, 2014
Navigator 1951
William J. Lucas
October 24, 2014
Pilot 1965
William C. Dawson
October 20, 2014
Personal Equipment 1950-51
Rest In Peace
Charles E. Bartels
June 30, 2014
Pilot 1950
Donald G. Bunch
March 21, 2010
Gunner 1950-51
Kenneth H. High
January 23, 2015
Pilot 1953-54
Edward J. Silva
November 18, 2014
Line Chief 1948-51
Marion A. Wise
December 31, 2014
Gunner 1950-51
Charles D. Stroehl.
February 14, 2014
Crew Chief 1968-70
Maurice A. January
April 28, 2013
Pilot 1944-46
John R. Power
May 2, 2013
Navigator 1951
Robert L. Henry
February 2, 2015
Gunner 1952-53
Dempsey D. Bankus
November 20, 2014
Engineer/Gunner 1949-50
I'll Fly Away
By Albert E. Brumley
Some bright morning when this
life is over
I'll fly away
To that home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away
I'll fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away in the morning
When I die hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away
When the shadows of this life
have gone
I'll fly away
Oh how glad and happy when we meet
I'll fly away
When I die hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away
I'll fly away oh glory
I'll fly away in the morning
When I die hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away
22
Just a few more weary days and then
I'll fly away
To a land where joys will never end
I'll fly away
I'll fly away oh glory
I'll fly away in the morning
When I die hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away
I'll fly away
March 2015
The Hot SEAT
Editor’s Comments
Seems like I just finished the reunion issue and
here we go again! Happy New Year Reapers, may
2015 be a good year for you and yours!
One of the first things I ever did for the 13th Bomb
Squadron Association was to create a digital
rendering of the WWI Oscar for Charlie Hinton.
WWI Oscar, France, 1918
Since that time I have done digital renderings
of just about every version of Oscar we could
find. Looking back on it all, it's a pretty amazing
collection of artwork and something that shows
the true independent nature of this squadron. Not
willing to settle for the officially approved 1924
Oscar, each era put its own twist on Oscar.
From what I recall, to have a rendering of each
version of Oscar from every era was the dream of
Lucian Thomas. Working with Charlie, we started
a journey that began in 1918, long before any of
us were around, when the first Oscar was designed
by Lt. Earl Richards and painted on the side of Lt.
Col. Biddle's SPAD fighter when he became the
squadron's first Ace, right up to the present day
with Oscar on the main landing gear doors of the
B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber! Sadly, Lucian didn't
get to see all the versions of Oscar that we have
recreated, but I have a feeling he is buzzing around
the heavens in the gunner compartment of his
beloved B-26 with an ear to ear grin.
and designer. When Charlie
Hinton first emailed me, I
was going through a pretty
traumatic transition from
something I had been doing
for 10 years, that I was
very well schooled at and
extremely competent at,
into a brave new world that
I was clueless about.
Don Henderson, Editor
One morning, I walked into the art studio where I
had been working for 5 years to discover that my
drawing board was gone and replaced by a computer
desk, this strange beige box and a keyboard with
a 15" monitor on top! I have to say, it was a bit
intimidating, not as intimidating as climbing into
the cockpit and flying off into the jaws of the Cat
of Death, but intimidating all the same. Everthing
I knew and was familiar with was changed, but I
learned, I persevered and I actually got good at
using the Apple computer and Adobe software. The
whole time I was learning, I was recreating Oscar
into digital vector files. It seemed like every day or
two, Charlie would share with me a scan of a photo
of another version of Oscar, WWI, the tweener era
of the 1920s and 30s, WWII, Korea, Vietnam...
and I would attempt to render it as a vector file.
At the same time, I had a friend here in Pittsburgh
who was into aviation and had a photography and
digital print shop. Ironically, she was a navigator
who flew every year in a cross country air race for
women called the Air Race Classic, and she had
me doing aircraft profiles for t-shirts and one of
the profiles she had me do was of a French SPAD
XIII. For fun and having no idea what I was getting
myself into, I put the WWI Oscar on the side of the
SPAD illustration and sent it to Charlie. That got
the ball rolling and the poster of the Historic Planes
of the 13th Bomb Squadron was born!
When I look back and think about all the things
that came into play to make this happen and lead us
to where we are today, all this happened because of
a WWI Ace, a WWII, Korean War & Vietnam War
Aerial Combat Gunner, a Korean War navigator,
a civilian woman air race navigator, an Apple
Computer and a boney fellow we all affectionately
Through this journey and the evolution of Oscar, I know as Oscar!
have seen an evolution of myself as an illustrator Funny how things happen.
23
13th Bomb Squadron Association
Bob Parks
3219 Tavern Oaks St.
San Antonio, TX 78247-3080
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Fitz Fulton with the SR-71 Blackbird prototype.
Non Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
West Press
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