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SECOND AIR DIVISION ASSOC. EIGHTH AIR FORCE 10111M, 4:41, 1A.v.144 itION kit 40kr Alt:* •*A how Vol. 28, No. 4 SECOND AIR DIVISION ASSOCIATION Winter 1989 B-24 First Flight Golden Jubilee San Diego, California • September 20-24, 1989 by Jack Stevens (4671h), 2ADA Project Officer, San Diego At 10:00 AM on Thursday, September 21, 1989, a Consolidated Aircraft B-24J Liberator bomber landed at San Diego's Lindbergh Field and taxied to the Convair flight line. The plane's prototype had made its maiden flight from the same location fifty years earlier. (Consolidated Aircraft was the predecessor to General Dynamics' Convair Division.) More than 18,000 B-24 aircraft, flown by every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and many Allied nations, carried WWII to Axis targets worldwide. The plane that landed in San Diego on September 21, 1989 was the world's only fully restored and flying B-24 bomber. Its owners, through the Collings Foundation of Stow, Massachu- setts, are Bob and Caroline Collings. They named the aircraft "All American" to repre- sent all B-24 aircraft and to honor the workers who built them, the flight crews who flew them, and the ground crews who main- tained them and patched up their battle damage night after night. "All American's" arrival was the high point of the four-day San Diego B-24 50th Anniversary Celebration. It was sponsored by General Dynamics and the International Celebration attendees also viewed exhibits latter, an aircraft that disappeared following B-24 Liberator Club to commemorate the of WWII and B-24 memorabilia, books, a bombing mission to Italy, was found well- B-24 prototype's first flight. General photos and displays of the B-24 through preserved sixteen years later in the Libyan Dynamics' chief executive officer Stanley combat. Bill Feder's historical panorama of desert. Pace, a WWII B-24 pilot, was aboard the units from the Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in An eye-catching 2nd Air Division Associa- plane. Hundreds of WWII B-24 flight and Pueblo, Colorado was especially notewor- tion booth displayed the tail colors of the ground crew members and aircraft workers thy. Many participated in special parties and fourteen B-24 Groups that made up the 2AD attended the celebration. They, with VIP tours of military installations in the San of the WWII 8th Air Force. Several video- thousands of others, visited "All American" Diego area. They heard seminars devoted to tapes depicted B-24 production, main- and recalled their former association with B-24 design and production, to its use in this now-obsolete warplane. combat and to the "Lady Be Good." The (continued on page 3) Second Air Division Association Eighth Air Force President's Message HONORARY PRESIDENT JORDAN UTTAL Let's Look at Our Wake. 7824 Meadow Park Drive, Apt. 101, Dallas, TX 75230 [Wake (wak) n. a track or course of anything OFFICERS gone before.] President C N (Bud)CHAMBERLAIN 769 Via Somonte, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274 by C.N. (Bud) Chamberlain Executive Vice President FRANCIS DiMOLA 390 Madison Avenue, New Milford, NJ 07646 Riding one day with my brother-in-law in his boat, we Vice President were beyond sight of land. For some time, I noticed he Membership EVELYN COHEN periodically looked aft (excuse the Navy term). Each time Apt. 06-410 Delaire Landing Road Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19114 he did so, I followed his gaze. But, to my non-nautical Vice President eye, there was nothing there. Finally, I said, "Jack, why Journal WILLIAM G. ROBERTIE over your shoulder?" He responded 627, Ipswich, Mass. 01938 do you keep looking P.O.Box of how he was handling the helm. Since then, Treasurer DEAN MOYER that the wake he left behind was a good measure 549 East Main St., Evans City, Pa 16033 I have felt this basic helmsmanship lesson applies, as well, to everyday life. To know how well Secretary DAVID G. PATTERSON we are staying the course requires an occasional look back to see how straight is our path. Now Court, Alamo, Calif. 94507 28 Squire is the time to glance back on the past 15 months to appraise our navigation between the 41st GROUP VICE PRESIDENTS and 42nd year posts of our 2ADA life. before my term as your -eadquarters RAYMOND E. STRONG Unfortunately, deadline tyranny forces me to write this 30 days 320 Burlage Circle, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 president expires and 60 to 90 days before you read it. So, what you read may be old hat unless 44th BG H C (Pete) HENRY you missed the Hilton Head Island Convention. Even then, you may have missed the message, 164B Portland Lane, Jamesburg, NJ 08831 briefly by a glance back at our "wake" toward Colorado Springs. There, we 93rd BG FLOYD MABEE so I repeat it here 28 Hillside Ave., Dover, NJ 07801 set some courses of action to further the purposes or objectives of our Association. They were 389th BG LLOYD E. WEST outlined in the Fall '88 Journal. For convenience, they are repeated below along with a Box 256, Rush Center, KS 67575 necessarily premature assessment of our progress. 392nd BG JOHN B. CONRAD American Librarian 2981 Four Pines, 41, Lexington, KY 40502 2AD MEMORIAL ROOM: Support the establishment of a full-time 445th BG CHARLES L. WALKER and a full-time library aide. Requiring an estimated $500,000.00 capital fund, we hoped for full 1530 S. Pomona B-32, Fullerton, CA 92632 subscription by our 1989 annual meeting. STATUS: After a slow start, the response has been 446th WILLIAM F. DAVENPORT fund is 60% subscribed by about 1807o of the membership. New Wheeler Place, Santa Ana, CA 92705 truly gratifying. Today, the 13382 and gives us confidence that, 448th BG LT. COL. LEROY J. ENGDAHL,(Ret.) commitments come in every day. This is excellent progress 1785 Wexford Dr., Vidor, TX 77662 ultimately, we will achieve our goal. 453rd BG MILTON R. STOKES LONG RANGE PLANNING: Work is essential, as a minimum, to wrap up the affairs of 64, Westtown, PA 19395 P.O. Box person" Association. We hope for such a plan to be presented to theExecutive Com- 458th BG E A ROKICKI our "last 365 Mae Rd., Glen Burnie, MD 21061 mittee in November 1989. STATUS: Much work has been done to develop appropriate long 466th BG ELWOOD NOTHSTEIN term goals. It appears the goals will have been selected by the annual meeting. A plan to 40 Meadow Dr., Spencerport, NY 14559 achieve them will follow. 467th BG G "JEFF" GREGORY awards Dr., Garland, TX 75041 AWARDS: To recognize our many hard-working volunteers, we are structuring an 3110 Sheridan First 489th BG JAMES DAVIS program with the hopes of implementing it at the 1989 Convention. STATUS: Our 2519 Shell, Midland, TX 79705 Annual Recognition Night will have been held following the buffet dinner on November 3, 491st BG HAROLD FRITZLER honored certain Group Vice Presidents for performing services vital to their Chestnut Drive, Portland, OR 97219 1989. We will have 1130 S.W. new honorary membership certificates 492nd BG E W (Bill) CLAREY Groups and to our Association. We will have presented 2015 Victoria Court, Los Altos, Calif. 94022 to special people. We will have presented a number of newly designed 2ADA awards to some of our volunteers long overdue for recognition. I hope this will become an annual tradition. HERITAGE LEAGUE PRESS RELEASE PROGRAM: A further measure to raise the Association's profile, President MRS. KURT (VICKI) WARNING 2736A N. Dayton, Chicago. IL 60614 recognize achievement and increase membership, which we hope to have in place by the 1989 annual convention. STATUS: We are highly confident that this will have been achieved. JOURNAL B-24 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY: Enter an information/recruiting booth at the Fort Editor WILLIAM G. ROBERTIE during May 17-21, 1989. P.O. Box 627, Ipswich, Mass 01938 Worth Convention Center for the entire period of the celebration STATUS: This was accomplished as planned and was reported in our Fall 1989 Journal. Our DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS presence there was so successful that we also participated in the First Flight 50th Anniversary FREDERICK MEYER in San Diego. As a result we have at least 60 new members from Fort Worth and 106 Nottoway Drive, Penllyn, PA 19422 Celebration DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES 26 from San Diego. DAVID G PATTERSON These ambitious activities were all over and above the rather substantial ongoing level of 28 Squire Court, Alamo, Calif. 94507 effort needed to make our Association the great one that it is. Six professional class Journals have been produced; membership has grown steadily at an annual 5010 net rate and has been BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEMORIAL efficiently processed; near simultaneous planning continues for three conventions spanning THOMAS C. EATON. Chairman three years; daily to weekly international communications go on with the Trust Governors on Upper King Street. Norwich, Norfolk, England 3 matters vital to the Memorial and its future; regular stewardship is applied to our Association's PAUL R. KING, Vice Chairman relations Noverre House, Norwich NR2 RH, England financial affairs; and, our administrative, data processing, audio visual and public MRS. MICHAEL BARNE activities enjoy constant coordination and attention. Many organizations approaching our size Crowfoots, Sotterley Beccle, Suffolk NR34 7T2 have paid full-time Executive Directors and staff to run their day-to-day affairs. Ours is done CHEYNE CDR. MARK EDMONSTONE with volunteers who at best are reimbursed for their expenses. We have a good operating team Ditchingham Lodge execution, Ditchingham, Bungay, Suffolk, England arrangement. Let's hope we can maintain it for the future.