Daedalus Flyer Spring & Summer 2017
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Daedalus Spring & Summer 2017 flyer New in this issue • Headquarters staff changes • New look for Flightline section • Convention 2017: Symposium Highlights • Aviation anecdotes...past, present and future CONTENTS Spring/Summer 2017, Vol. LVIII No.1 DEPARTMENTS FEATURES 04 06 Commander’s Perspective 2017 Convention--Symposium 05 08 Executive Director Daedalian Citation of Honor 10-11 09 Book Reviews Meet the Board of Trustee Members... 15-17 18 Awards Inspiration from Tex Hill & Les Leavoy 22 19 Reunions Unmanned? Not Exactly 25-39 21 Flightline Last Man Standing 44 New/Rejoining We Thank Our Sponsors Daedalians 45 Eagle Wing 46 In Memoriam 47 Flight Contacts THE ORDER OF DAEDALIANS was organized on 26 March 1934 by a representative group of American World War I pilots to perpetuate the spirit of patriotism, the love of country, and the high ideals of sacrifice which place service to nation above personal safety or position. The Order is dedicated to: insuring that America will always be preeminent in air and space—the encourage- ment of flight safety—fostering an esprit de corps in the military air forces—promoting the adoption of military service as a career—and aiding deserving young individuals in specialized higher education through the establishment of scholarships. THE DAEDALIAN FOUNDATION was incorporated in 1959 as a non-profit organization to carry on activities in furtherance of the ideals and purposes of the Order. The Foundation publishes the Daedalus Flyer and sponsors the Daedalian Scholarship Program. The Foundation is a GuideStar Exchange member. The Scholarship Program recognizes scholars who indicate a desire to become military pilots and pursue a career in the military. Other scholarships are presented to younger individuals interested in aviation but not enrolled in college. Voluntary contributions to the Foundation are used for these purposes. ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP in the Order of Daedalians is limited to: (1) Founder Members—those individuals of the Armed Services of the United States who held a commission and a rating of heavier-than-air pilot prior to November 1, 1918 (the last Founder Member made his last flight in 2003); (2) Named Members—a commissioned military officer in any component of the United States Armed Forces who is a pilot, warrant officer, women Air Force Service Pilot (WASP), navigator, combat systems officer (CSO), naval flight officer (NFO), air battle manager (ABM), remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) pilot or flight surgeon of heavier-than-air powered aircraft or astronaut and is accepted as a member to perpetuate the membership of a Founder Member; (3) Hereditary Members—the descendants of Founder Members; (4) Honorary Members—A distinguished person not otherwise eligible for membership. Daedalus Flyer, (ISSN 10832831) the official Daedalian journal, is published quarterly by the Address all editorial communications to: Daedalian Foundation. All rights reserved. For reprints, contact the editor. Daedalians—P.O. Box 249, Randolph AFB, TX 78148-0249 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Daedalians Phone Number: (210) 945-2111—FAX: (210) 945-2112 P. O. Box 249, Randolph AFB, TX 78148-0249 E-MAIL: [email protected] or [email protected] DAEDALIAN HOME PAGE: http://www.daedalians.org 2 Daedalus Flyer Spring & Summer 2017 Special Interest Items BOARD OF DIRECTORS 23 Chairman of the Board How do you become an Air Force Lt Gen Douglas H. Owens, USAF (Ret) Vice Commander Past National Commander Pilot? MG Ronald K. Andreson, USA (Ret) Lt Gen Nicholas B. Kehoe, III, USAF (Ret) Treasurer Secretary 40 Col Randall B. Putz, USAF (Ret) Col Gary Walston, ANG (Ret) Operation Lam Son 719 Historian Chaplain Col Donald Robison, USAF (Ret) Lt Gen Richard E. Brown, III, USAF (Ret) 41 Provost Marshal Judge Advocate The Rescue of Roger Locher Col Ronald R. Ellis, USAF (Ret) Lt Col J. Todd Hedgepeth, USAF (Ret) 42 Directors The Navy’s Korean War Corsair Ace Lt Gen Loyd Utterback, USAF (Ret) Maj Gen Marne Peterson, PhD, USAF (Ret) Maj Gen Jerrold P. Allen, USAF (Ret) Maj Gen D. Bruce Smith, USAF (Ret) Col Howard C. Ham, USAF (Ret) Col Eric Hastings, USMC (Ret) COL Charles F. Densford, Jr, USA (Ret) Lt Col Leslie R. Dyer, III, USAF (Ret) About the Cover: Top photo: The F-35 is one of the fifth-generation aircraft dis- cussed during the Symposium. See page 6 for full details of the panel discussion with experts. (Source: www.nationalinterest.org) BOARD OF TRUSTEES The MQ-4C is just one of the variations of “unmanned aerial vehicles” which are more appropriately called Remotely Pi- Foundation Chairman loted Aircraft (RPAs). See page 38 for more on what it takes to Maj Gen Jerrold P. Allen, USAF (Ret) operate these aircraft. (Source: U.S. Navy photos by Jeff Newman) Vice Chairman Secretary Col Ed Sheeran, USAF (Ret) Col Wayne Mudge, USAF (Ret) Treasurer Judge Advocate Col Luis M. Rodriguez, USAF (Ret) Col Francis L. Kapp, USAF (Ret) Trustees Col Daniel Sowada, USAF (Ret) Lt Col John Larrison, USAF (Ret) Lt Col Michael Buck, USAF (Ret) Advertising in the Flyer: Lt Col Olga Custodio, USAF (Ret) Lt Col Kathryn Staiger, USAF (Ret) We are now accepting advertisers in the Daedalus Lt Col Steve Tourangeau, USAF (Ret) Flyer. All advertisements must directly support the Mr. Will C. Hendrix, Jr. mission of the Daedalians and are at the sole dis- cretion of the Editor. Current rates and policies are available on our website: www.daedalians.org/programs/daedalus-magazine/ HEADQUARTERS Staff Executive Director Mrs. Maureen DeFelice Corrections: Program Manager Mrs. Kristi Cavenaugh - Winter 2017 issue: pg 33, bottom left photo; caption should Administrative & Facilities Coordinator Ms. Lucia Sanchez-Aldana read “Dale Hill and Bill Rial” Membership Coordinator Ms. Nicole Cline Public Relations Manager Ms. Annette Crawford Communications Manager Col Debbie Landry, USAF (Ret) Daedalian Foundation 3 COMMANDER'S PERSPECTIVE Fellow Daedalians, I hope all have had a great spring as we now move steadily into summer. Your headquarters staff has been very busy these past months and has my thanks for a great effort to plan and carry out a terrific convention in Wash- ington DC in April. All that attended enjoyed seeing friends and participating in the activities and discussions that culminated with our awards luncheon on Saturday, April 8th. We also had a terrific symposium beforehand on fifth-generation aircraft led by Dr. Ben Lambeth that was extremely informative and insightful. As most of you know, Ben has been responsible for the symposium for many years. We are truly grateful for his efforts to support our mission and convention activities. As an honorary member, he is a tremendous supporter of airpower. I also owe a personal thanks to Nick Kehoe for stepping in for me as Mother Nature’s weather delayed my arrival a bit. We were fortunate to be able to present all but two of our annual awards at the convention. All the recipients, families, senior leadership and members present, created a terrific opportunity and backdrop to honor outstanding performance, leadership and valor. Our organizational objective to recognize that performance remains as signifi- cant and important today as it did decades ago with the first award by our Founders. On May 19th, I presented the Navy Exceptional Aviator Award to LT Justin Waskey, a young helicopter in- structor pilot who experienced an engine failure and saved his aircraft and fleet replacement pilot during night deck landing qualifications with NVGs. The presentation took place in front of over 250 of his peers, senior Navy leadership and his fiancé at the Navy Helicopter Association conference. What a fitting venue to publicly honor him and through him, all those in attendance that stand in the breach. Our awards program is special and it keeps us close to those who defend us today. We said so long to Jim Kellogg as our National Adjutant at the convention. We all owe Jim a special thanks for his years of service and leadership at the headquarters. We wish him well and welcome Maureen DeFelice into the Executive Director role. All of the headquarters staff transition is about complete and we are all working to serve you better. I wish you all a great summer as we continue to press on with our mission to honor those who flew and fly in defense of our nation. Volabamus Volamus Lt Gen Douglas Owens, USAF (Ret) National Commander 4 Daedalus Flyer Spring & Summer 2017 From the Desk of The Executive Director Maureen DeFelice When the Order of Daedalians was founded in 1934, the mission was similar to what it is today: to advocate for air and space power and to honor those who flew and fly in defense of the nation. We were originally led by a Wing Commander and a Wing Adjutant, both of whom were elected by the members. Bylaws revisions in 1959 changed those titles to National Commander and National Adjutant, and gave the National Commander the au- thority to appoint the National Adjutant to manage “the affairs, funds, and property of the national organization, the conduct of the annual meeting of the Order, the issuance of charters to flights authorized by the national Board of Directors, and the implementation of the plans and policies of the National Board of Directors.” In 2013 the duties of the National Adjutant were expanded to include “Executive Director,” a term widely used in not-for- profit organizations. Now the National Commander and the Board of Directors have enacted another change in the leadership at Daedalian Headquarters. Effective with the April 2017 retirement of the National Adjutant, Colonel Jim Kellogg, USAF (Ret), the title of the person responsible for leading the headquarters and implementing the policies of the National Commander and the Board of Directors is now the Executive Director of the Daedalians.