December 2012 Near Capacity Crowd Enjoys Yankee Gala

Telling the willow Run Story of American greatness
December 2012
Near Capacity Crowd Enjoys Yankee Gala
The high bay was filled almost to capacity with 322 ticket holders
for the 2012 Yankee Air Museum Gala on November 10th. It was
an outstanding event.
Author and Professor Donald Miller was given a special award for
his work about WW2 and his book Masters of the Air about
bomber operations in Europe in WW2. Yankee Air Museum also
honored Bob Shoens and Joseph
W. Edwards (posthumously) who
were Eighth AAF B-17 pilots in
the ETO; Bob with the “Bloody”
100th Bombardment Group and
Joe with the 96th BG.
Norm Ellickson received the
Yankee Award for Valor for his
countless hours in service to the
Karen and Norm Ellickson
Yankee Air Museum and leadership in restoration of and being
the only crew chief of the Yankee
Lady B-17G. Norm several years ago received the FAA Charles Taylor Master Mechanic
award, given only to AC mechanics who have 50 years of impeccable safety records.
Norm in turn recognized his Yankee Lady of 45 years, wife Karen, for
Right: Past
putting up with his aviation addiction lo these many years..
Honoree
Coach Lloyd Carr of the University of Michigan closed the evening as the Professor John
keynote speaker recognizing the importance of the Yankee mission to
Clark and
remember and honor those who have served and to educate future genCoach Carr
erations.
Lloyd Carr
Bob Shoens
All photos by
Al Hudson
YANKEE AIR FORCE BYLAWS ARTICLE II - PURPOSES
Yankee Air Force, Inc.
d/b/a Yankee Air Museum
A Non-Profit Organization
501(c)(3)
47884 D Street (48111)
Willow Run Airport
PO Box 590
Belleville, Michigan USA 48112-0590
Hangar Happenings is the monthly newsletter
The YAF is organized exclusively to obtain, restore, preserve
and operate historic and vintage aircraft, related components
for historical research and public educational purposes, and to
establish a museum to facilitate the public display and
exhibition of such items.
Past Dates of Interest
7 Dec 1941
of the Yankee Air Museum.
Founding Editor:
Bill Abbott
1919 - 2000
Staff:
Dave “Drano” Steiner
Pete Petersen
Contributors:
Dwight Koslowski
Al Hudson
Linda Terentiak
Rand Bitter
8 Dec 1941
8 Dec 1941
9 Dec 1941
11 Dec 1941
11 Dec 1914
Officers of the Yankee Air Force:
Chair:
Vice-Chair:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Ray Hunter
Tom Matz
Speed Gant
Randy Hotton
Directors:
Bill Hanney
Brian Higgins
William Rands III
Dick Stewart
Bob Hynes
Dave Steiner
Jack Roush
Dan Hale
Rob Bovitz
Executive Director
Ex Officio:
Kevin Walsh
Dennis Norton
17 Dec 1903
17 Dec 1993
18 Dec 1972
19 Dec 1941
20 Dec 1941
24 Dec 1943
Meeting Schedule
28 Dec 1948
General Membership
1st Wednesday of Month - 7:30 PM
Members FREE, non-members $5
29 Dec 1939
Board Meeting
4th Wednesday of Month - 7:00 PM
31 Dec 1943
YAM Dispatch Riders Meeting
3rd Saturday of Month—10:00 AM
31 Dec 1946
Staff Meeting
4th Saturday of Month - 10:00 AM
All Department Chairs and Managers
Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
USS Ward fires first shots of WWII for
the US at a Japanese sub
United States declares war on Japan
Japanese bomb Clark Airfield, Philippines
First US bombing mission of WWII:
B-17s bomb shipping near Philippines
Germany and Italy declare war on
United States
Radio messages received over 10-mile
distance by US Army airplane
Orville and Wilbur Wright make first
powered flights
YAF Wurtsmith Division chartered
Linebacker II operations begin against
North Vietnam, including 741 B-52 sorties
Rollout of first of nine B-24Cs
Flying Tigers enter combat against Japan
in the skies over China
B-24s (and B-17s) make first major strike
against German V-weapon sites
12 USAF pilots rescued from Greenland
ice cap by C-47 using rocket boosters
First flight of the XB-24 over San Diego.
Flight lasted 17 minutes
Orders placed for B-24s so far total
20,353 aircraft
President Harry S. Truman declares WWII
officially over by presidential proclamation
Phone: (734) 483 - 4030
FAX: (734) 483 - 5076
www.yankeeairmuseum.org
Copyright © 2012 Yankee Air Force, Inc.
Opinions expressed by our columnists are rightfully their own
and do not necessarily reflect the outlook of our entire organization.
There was no November 50/50
To contact Hangar Happening’s
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: (734) 483-4030 ext 247
January 2013 issue deadline is december 8th
But best to have items in by december 1st
2
Hangar happenings - newsletter of the yankee air museum
Executive Director - Kevin Walsh
3
As I sit down to the write this month’s column, David Bowie’s classic tune
“Changes” comes to mind. You know the one…”ch-ch-ch-changes”…ok
I’ll dispense with the musical references.
However, the theme of the song echoes the many exciting developments
here at the Yankee Air Museum. Let me take a moment to share just a few
of the great things that are going on here!
First and most importantly, we have put together a very dedicated and talented Exhibit Committee. The purpose of this committee is to guide exhibit
story lines, exhibit content and overall display design. The committee will
ensure that the museum is absolute in its presentation and ensure a structured educational component for all future exhibits.
Keeping that same theme, the Exhibit Committee is strategically re-arranging the high bay area to tell a more concise
and sequential history of ‘Global Conflict’ from WWI to Modern Day Warfare. The first and most ambitious task the
committee will handle will be the construction of a Vietnam Exhibit featuring the UH-1N Huey and F-4C Phantom. The
Huey and Phantom are arguably the two most iconic aircraft of the period and will be the focal point of this major diorama.
Next, we have just agreed to purchase a fully restored B-24 Liberator flight deck. This flight deck is from an actual Ford
-built B-24 and as most of you can imagine, we are extremely happy to be bringing this piece of history back home to
Willow Run! It will be a center piece in our WWII display and help us share the story of Willow Run and what Michigan
did to win WWII.
The last point I will share with you references our Educational Department. While there is lots of information to come, I
can say that the department and programs are receiving quite a bit of support recently in both monetary contributions
and new and very talented volunteers. Again, much more to come but keep a watch on the Education Department as it
will play an even more significant role in the near future.
In closing, if anyone is interested in helping via volunteering, donating products for exhibits or simply helping
through financial contributions, please do not hesitate to
contact the museum for more details.
As François de la Rochefoucauld was quoted, “the only
thing constant in life is change”…..cue that David Bowie
track one more time.
Dale Miller
Yankee AC mechanic and regular at the
membership meetings. Dale gave freely of
his time to Yankee Air Museum and always
was at the membership meetings.
He’ll be missed.
From Lew Major, news about Courier Band
Trumpeter Dave Caswell
Just talked to Dan Raglin and Bob Chance of the
Couriers. Dave Caswell the trumpet man who had a
stroke is in a rehab center doing better.
I have sent a card from all of us at Yankee. It would
be nice if he received some cards from some more of
our Yankee Bistro goers. He is the man who has
played for us many times, along with the rest of this
extremely talented band.
Dave Caswell
Meadow Lodge
Rm. 106
5635 Lakeshore Rd.
Fort Gratiot, Mi. 48059
Of 2000+ Yankee members only 60 are signed up for the Kroger
Community Rewards Program. If you shop at Kroger in Michigan (and want your rewards to
go to YAM) then you need to double check that they actually are. Kroger will no longer report names of those designating their “donation” to YAM, so it cannot be checked. If you
think you were signed up in the last quarter and want to check contact Dave Steiner
dsteiner@blackmorecocom. See more on pg 6
Left: Bob Shoens
interviewed by
Channel 7 News
Right: Membership
chair Tom Carrol and
Yankee Lady Jacqui
Hancock greeted VIP
attendees
Top: silent auction raised
$4000
Left: Cadets photo-op with
Coach Lloyd Carr
Bob
Hynes
left
did an
outstanding job as
MC
Right: Executive Director Kevin Walsh interviewed by Channel 7
Left: Color
Guard from
Eastern
Michigan
University
and
University of
Michigan
Photos
Al Hudson
4
Aerial Photography images used for Coach Carr’s GALA talk
courtesy of
Aerial Associates Photography, Inc.
PO Box 7754
Ann Arbor, MI 48107
John Sullivan
800 900 6868
www.skypics.com
[email protected]
Hangar happenings - newsletter of the yankee air museum
General Membership Meeting News - Randy Hotton
On Wednesday November 7th, we had Laura Edge talk about her book “On the Wings of Dawn”. This is the result of almost
10 years of research. The book is about her father, his crewmates, fellow POWs, and their forced march companions at the
end of WWII in Germany.
December 5th - My Phantom Father, a documentary about a woman’s search for the P-38 crash site and recovery of the
remains of the father she never knew. The site was behind the Iron Curtain and thus off limits to JPAC until Germany was
reunited and the woman, Dr. Sharon Taylor found it with the help of her father’s squadron buddies and amateur German aviation historians. This DVD is not available anywhere in the USA and this will be the only third time it has been shown in the
USA. Read more at www.myphantomfather.com.
January 2nd the story of sailing the United States Coast Guard Sailing Ship The Eagle. Read about this tall ship at
www.cga.edu/eagle/
February 6th - we have requested that the Grosse Ile Historical Society make a presentation on the history of NAS Grosse Ile.
March 6th - Flying the P-38 in the South Pacific with Charles Lindbergh - a program featuring the oral history of Yankee
Member and P-38 pilot Dale Burgess who flew with Lindbergh (really!). Dale will be there to answer questions about flying the
P-38 and with the aviation legend.
April 3rd - A presentation about flying the Collings Foundation B-24.
Not attending the General Membership meetings? You are missing some very interesting presentations.
If you know of anyone you think we could use as a speaker, please let me know and we will see if we can schedule them as a
speaker. [email protected].
We will miss Dale Miller who has “gone west”. Dale was a regular at the monthly membership meetings.
News from Saginaw Valley Air Museum (SVAM) A Spin-off of Yankee Air Museum
Daniel Kenny, VP of SVAM, reports that Harry Brown Airport (KHYX) is getting a
new terminal and the Yankee spin-off there hopes to get the original1926 hangar
from the county. They won’t know about that until after the first of next year. But
Dan says they are hopeful. Contact Dan at [email protected]. See more
about SVAM on their web site http://khyx.org/yankee_airforce_saginaw.html
New Terminal Under Construction Lower Center and 1926 Hangar Top Right
Rooms for Rent - Revenue Needed for
Yankee Air Museum
Yankee’s Collections &
Exhibits Building is a
unique venue for meetings of all sorts and sizes.
There is a link on the
web site with all the
rental information.
Your veterinarian is the best source for up-todate pet health care information. Call or check
our web site:
http://yamair.org/documents/room_Rental_Brochure_2010.pdf
Send it to anyone or organization you know of that is
looking for meeting space. There are brochures too,
pick some up at HQ to pass or mail out. The Yankee
Education Center is also available for rental to smaller
groups of 50 or less.
www.colonialvetclinic.com
Ask us about discounts on professional services for active duty military personnel.
Colonial Veterinary Clinic is again running an
ad in every month of 2012 HH. Make sure you
call them for the very best in veterinary care for
your pet.
KROGER REWARDS TO YANKEE
ONLY 60 PEOPLE ARE SIGNED UP
FROM YANKEE FOR THIS PROGRAM
Our check for the last quarter was
$446.79
A quick check with the editor’ s family
members showed that some of them were
not getting credit although they though
they were enrolled. So check with Kroger
to make sure you are getting credit!
Enroll at www.krogercommunityrewards.com.
Have your Kroger Plus Card number ready (the
twelve numbers below the barcode). You will also
need an email address and you must enter a
password of your choice. If you don’t have a
Kroger Plus Card you can get one immediately at
your local Kroger service desk. The Yankee Air
Museum registered number is 83614, but Yankee
will be on a pull-down list on the registration site.
Program is for Kroger shoppers in Michigan only.
Any friend of Yankee can register. You need
not be a member. Get your friends and relatives to support YAM at no cost to them!
6
Yankee Air Museum offers three 20’x40’ Multi-Purpose
rooms. Room partitions are easily removed to offer a total of 2,400 square feet of event space. Each room offers
state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment that is able to
meet any and all of your needs. The High Bay can seat
300+. Competitive rates and plenty of FREE parking.
Contact Steve Hopper (734) 483-4030 ext 231 or
[email protected] for more information
Shopping at
Kroger
Makes money for
Yankee !
Yankee Dog Tags
Perfect Stocking
Stuffers
YAM DOG TAGS ARE
PERFECT
STOCKING STUFFERS
See the back page of this issue to
order Dog Tags for stocking stuffers for this Christmas holiday season. Easy to do, just fill in
the form and send in a check.
Air show Dog Tagging is done for this year but if you’d like
to be considered for the Dog Tag Team next year make sure
you get some training early next spring. Contact Steve Hopper
at [email protected].
Hangar happenings - newsletter of the yankee air museum
7
Yankee Public Relations
Department
Bob Hynes is head of the Yankee PR Department. PR sends out press releases and
asks that you contact PR with any news about Yankee events so they may be promoted as far and wide as possible.
Also, if you hear about something questionable with regards to the Museum, contact PR first so Bob and his staff may check it out first to ascertain that it is fact or
fiction before telling others. If he doesn’t know about it, he’ll look into it right away
and get back to you with the correct information.
Bob also heads the Speaker’s Bureau, so if your organization is interested in having
someone give a presentation about Yankee Air Museum, give Bob a call.
Call the Museum (734) 483-4030 ext 242. or Bob via email at [email protected] or
[email protected]
Ad space in HH
Need a Yankee Speaker?
purchasing ad space in Hangar Happenings, please contact Dave Steiner via
email at [email protected]
or call the Museum (734) 483-4030 ext
247, and leave a message for him to call
you.
If your organization would like
someone from Yankee to give a
presentation, contact Bob
Hynes. The Yankee Speakers
Bureau can provide speakers
from the Yankee ranks to talk
about the Willow Run Story and
the future of Yankee Air Museum. Contact
If your business would be interested in
HH is mailed all around the world, so your
message will reach the far corners of the
globe. Most YAM members are in southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio, so you
will also be reaching a local base and helping out the Museum.
These ads help offset the printing and mailing costs for HH.
[email protected]
or call (734) 483-4030 ext 242
Member Eric Aubrey
Serving in Afghanistan
Send a Christmas card to Yankee member Eric Aubrey with
the US Army Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan. US Mail
takes about 10 days. A regularsize card or letter needs only
one 45-cent US postage stamp,
just like mailing a card here at
home.
Eric Aubrey
USACE—AED
Attn: QALAA HOUSE
APO 09356
Email him at
[email protected]
Booklet of Poems from
Willow Run Update
This booklet of poems was given to
A-Team Captain Mel Pomerantz by
a neighbor and Mel donated it to the
Museum. If you know more about
the poet and publisher, Ward Riley
Brown, please contact HH at
[email protected]
The fact that the book was selfpublished is an indication of the
patriotism of the times.
Yankee Librarian Darlene Imus
reports that the library had nothing
like this in the collection.
I WANT YOU TO READ
LIBRARY LIBS
By Darlene Imus
I Triple Dog Dare You!
We can think of more enjoyable things to do on a cold winter day. One would be to bask in
the warm glow of being a new Member of the Yankee Air Museum. I triple dog dare you to
buy someone a Membership for Christmas and then you become a 2012 Yankee Star!
REDUCE YOUR 2012 TAX BILL
Tax Planning and Planned Giving
to Yankee Air Museum
Need to reduce your tax liability for 2012? Write a check to Yankee Air Museum before the
end of the year to. It is fully tax deductible as a charitable deduction. Don’t pay the government, make an investment in Yankee Air Museum!
If you are interested in planned or estate/trust/IRA giving to Yankee Air Museum, it is now
possible to do this through Morgan Stanley.
Contact Executive Director Kevin Walsh at (734) 483-4030 ext 241 and leave a message or
via email at [email protected]
Automatic electronic transfer can be set up for continuous giving as well.
Make Yankee Air Museum part of your legacy
8
Hangar happenings - newsletter of the yankee air museum
Yankee Lady B-17 Riders from Down Under and Across the Puddle Heard From
Dave,
We would like to thank you VERY much for the GREAT flight we had on the Yankee lady. We are the 5 Australians and all said, this was the most memorable thing we did on our USA trip. Having a WW2 veteran on board at
the same time was the icing on the cake. Once again thank you and your crew very much.
We will be in the USA again next year and will try to fit in another flight.
Lawrie Kyte
Lawrie,
Thank you so much for your kind words. We really enjoy entertaining people from all over the world that come to
fly on the B-17. We will be looking forward to seeing you next year.
Dave Wright
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2012 9:23 AM
To:
[email protected]
Subject: B-17 Experience
Hi
This is one thing off my bucket list.....When I was a teenager assembling the Airfix and Revell plastic
models in England, I made a lot of airplanes one of which was a B-17 Flying Fortress....little did I imagine
that one day I would actually fly in one. September 12, 20012 with my two boys.
Apologies to Mr. Coates but the music seemed most appropriate.
Clive Graetorex
.
Editor’s note: Clive set his very nice video to the Dam Busters March, by Eric Coates. View the video by going to the links
below. Or if reading this online, they should be hot, so just click on them. Very obvious that Clive and his boys had a great
time.
Clive Greatorex shared this with you: http://vimeo.com/49911586
B-17 Flighthttp://vimeo.com/49911586
About this video"September 12, 2012 bomb run up the Detroit
River.....An absolute blast for the Airplane Enthusiast."
Yankee Photo Gallery
Here’s the link to the Yankee Photo Gallery maintained by Dwight Koslowski. The latest HH
images in COLOR are there along with thousands
of other Yankee and Yankee related photos.
http://public.fotki.com/Kos/members_photo_galle/
Check it out and
bookmark or save
as a favorite
The Yankee Air Museum Ombudsman
The purpose of the Yankee Air Museum Ombudsman is to
provide an impartial and objective way to review problems
that volunteers, members, paid employees, and others might
have with regards to actions taken by anyone. If you have
such a problem, you should try your very best to solve it
through your department head or through the management
chain of the Yankee Air Museum. Then if you are unable to
find an answer to your problem that is to your satisfaction,
the ombudsman may be able to help.
Duties and Functions of the Yankee Air Museum
Ombudsman
The Yankee Air Museum ombudsman will listen to you
and discuss your problems, your concerns and will identify
and evaluate options to resolve your problems in a fair and equitable manner.
The Yankee Air Museum ombudsman will provide information on resources that may help you.
The Yankee Air Museum ombudsman will open avenues of communication, investigate complaints, and
gather information.
The Yankee Air Museum ombudsman will serve as a neutral party to solve problems and resolve conflict.
The ombudsman does not take sides, but works to achieve fair outcomes.
The Yankee Air Museum ombudsman will identify problem areas facing paid staff, volunteers, interns, and
yankee air Museum annual
Christmas/holiday potluck party
We’ll be putting
High bay
together a Christmas
card to sign at this event
Yankee air museum
to send to Yankee
member Eric Aubrey
Collections & exhibits building
serving in Afghanistan.
4-7pm Saturday December 8th
Bring a dish or dessert to pass
Main dish provided
10
Hangar happenings - newsletter of the yankee air museum
11
On the Horizon
at Yankee air museuM
East side of Willow Run Airport
at Beck and Ecorse Roads
Headquarters
47884 D Street , Willow Run Airport
www.yankeeairmuseum.org
ORDER DOG TAGS FOR STOCKING STUFFERS NOW ! Form on next page
December
Wednesday 5
th
Saturday 8th
General Membership meeting special
Presentation My Phantom Father, a
documentary about a woman’s search for the
father she never knew, MIA in eastern
Germany at the end of the war. See pg 5
ORDER
STOCKING
STUFFER DOG
TAGS TODAY
YANKEE AIR MUSEUM CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY PARTY POTLUCK
High Bay 4-7 pm. Meat dishes provided, bring a dish or dessert to pass.
Museum Store OPEN for shopping and Dog Tags made on the spot !!
Buy someone a priceless gift this holiday
that they will enjoy every month of the year
A membership in your yankee air museum !!
January
Fri - Sat 25th-26th
Great Lakes International Aviation Conference (GLIAC) - Yankee
will have a booth on the trade show floor of the EMU Student Center.
Go to www.greatlakesaviationconference.com/index.php for more or to
register
Bookmark www.yankeeairmuseum.org on your browser
Click on Yankee Photo Gallery for COLOR pics from this issue of HH and MUCH MORE!
PHONE FOR DETAILS (734) 483-4030 ext 237 WATCH FOR UPDATES AT www.yankeeairmuseum.org
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Permit No. 56
Belleville, Michigan
YANKEE AIR MUSEUM
P O BOX 590
BELLEVILLE MI 48112-0590 USA
December General
Membership Meeting
December 5th program features
My Phantom Father, a
documentary about a woman’s
search for the father she never
knew
Meeting is at 7:30pm at the
NEW Yankee Air Museum
Collections & Exhibits
Building east side of
Willow Run Airport.
Yankee Air Museum is part of the
PLEASE CHECK YOUR MAILING ADDRESS! NOTIFY OUR MEMBERSHIP OFFICE OF ANY CHANGES (734) 483-4030 ext 222
Order Your Unique Custom-Made Stocking Stuffer Dog Tags Today
Yankee Dog Tags are the perfect stocking stuffer. Fill in the form below and send it with your check to:
Yankee Air Museum - Dog Tags
PO Box 590
Belleville, MI 48112-0590
______ Dog Tag and Chain x $6 =
______ Silencer (rubber surround) x $1 =
Specify color and number: Camouflage ( )
Black ( ) or Red/White/Blue ( )
________ (includes postage)
_______
________ Total
Be sure to include your return address and a phone number in case there are questions about your order.
Use a sepa
rate
form for ea
ch tag
ordered
Deadline D
ec 7th