307Th Bomb Wing Newsletter Association
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1 307TH BOMB WING www.307bwassoc.org B-47 KC-97 ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER NUMBER 62 For all former members of the 307th Bomb Wing at Lincoln AFB, Nebraska MARCH 2011 President‟s Column seeks to negotiate with our hotel and shape the Lincoln Reunion The 307th Flies Again! to accommodate YOUR wishes. Finally, Mike Gingrich The formal activation and I wish to express our grati- The first and most impor- took place at Barksdale on 8 tude for your patience and un- tant purpose of our Association January, as the 917th Bomb derstanding over the delayed is to perpetuate the legacy, his- Wing was redesignated as the Newsletter. His household and tory and memory of the 307th 307th Bomb Wing. The ceremo- mine have been facing, and are Bomb Wing. We who served at nies were attended by many still facing, an unusually chal- Lincoln during the Cold War alumni of predecessor wings and lenging array of health issues. years have an understandable I invite you to enjoy the ac- We appreciate your support and tendency to regard “OUR 307th” counts and photos of this historic pledge to do everything in our as the center and circumference event in the following pages. power to stay on schedule from of excellence because of our role here on. in keeping the peace. Yet fair- Speaking for all the ness demands we recognize that members of our Association, I Happy New Year to you our predecessor and successor bid a warm welcome to all the and yours. Best wishes for health organizations also have distin- men and women of the latest and happiness in the sporty days guished themselves through 307th Bomb Wing. May you fly ahead. valor in combat. And now bravely and safely in the danger- there‟s a “new kid” on the block! ous skies that you will traverse Pete Todd in the future. Yes, for the first time in over a generation, the 307th Also in this issue of our Important Info for Veterans Bomb Wing flag has been un- Newsletter is an update on plan- cased. The legacy continues, the ning for our 2012 Reunion. I es- Don Mowry recently sent us a 4 page history flows on and new memo- pecially want to direct your at- long comprehensive collection of web- th sites and links containing a broad spec- ries are being added as the 307 tention to the Interest Survey on trum of information of interest to veter- Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, page 11 and ask that you print ans. It appears that the list was com- Louisiana, carries on the proud out or clip it, fill it out and send piled by Bill Nelson, the 1st Vice Com- heritage we were privileged to it to Billy Williams. As always, mander of American Legion Post 55. share. We intend to make it available through this survey is non-binding, but our website, but it may require some will be enormously helpful to time to reformat it and make it fully our Reunion Coordinator as he functional. Watch the home page for “Vets Info”, and follow the links. 2 307th Bomb Wing B-47/KC-97 Donations Association We wish to acknowledge the Officers of the Association: generosity of those who have President: Pete Todd, 1250 Big Valley Dr, recently made donations to the Colorado Springs, CO 80919-1015. Phone Association‟s General Fund. 719-531-5874. Email: [email protected]. George B Aaron Vice President/Newsletter: Mike Gingrich, 2527 Greenlefe Drive, Beavercreek, OH Mary Ashton 45431. Phone 937-426-5675. Beth Bringhurst Email:[email protected] Bruce D Cluck Secretary: Larry Boggess, 4304 Ridgecrest Dallas L Crosby Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80918. Phone 719-548-8024. Louis R Durham The Last Flight Email: [email protected]. D E "Sarge" Finn The verse on the SAC Chapel Memorial Toni L Hager Window says it best… Treasurer: Tony Minnick, 5920 Robin Arnold L Birch, ARS, Oroville WA, Court, Lincoln, NE 68516. Phone 402-423- Ralph S Krigsvold 6848. Email: [email protected] April 2010. John Lundak Alfred Brooks, ARS, Punta Gorda FL, Association Founders: F C "Mac" McMillin 13 January 2011. Billy Williams, 5546 Enterprise Drive, Patricia M Byrom, Harrisonburg VA, Lincoln, NE 68521. Phone 402-438-6061. Franklin J Medrick Email: [email protected] Thomas J Mills 29 June 2010. Roy C Hackathorn, FMS, Marietta OH, Betty C Pelletier, deceased 29 November Ludwig A Paller 1 November 2007. 2004. John J Pino Elvin “Elmo” Hills, 370 th & OMS, William T Schwob Clinton IN, 18 December 2010. The Association is strongly reliant upon Riley Sine David R Jacquart, OMS, FMS, Iron- key members who have volunteered their Nellie Spence wood MI, 22 August 2010. time and effort to keep the wheels Kenneth L Martin, AEMS, Winona running smoothly. They are: James Villa MO, date unknown. Membership: Jan Boggess, 4304 In Memory of Elmo Hills Alice L Nash, Fayetteville NC, April Ridgecrest Dr, Colorado Springs, CO William H Filpula 2007 80918. Phone 719-548-8024. Clinton V Owenby, FMS, Prescott AZ, Email: [email protected]. George A Nigh lll 18 April 2010. James R Sine Membership: Bev Minnick, 5920 Robin Allen Osborn, ARS, Atlanta GA, 19 Court, Lincoln, NE 68516. Phone 402-423- Billy D Williams September 2010 6848. Email: [email protected] John S Rogers, FMS & Hqs, Albuquer- Co-Historian: Mike Hill, 1405 8th St SW, The download version of this newslet- que NM, 1 August 2009. Minot, ND 58701. Phone 701-838-9288. ter on our website has the photographs Mary Rogers, Albuquerque NM, 13 Email: [email protected]. in full color. August 2010. Peter R Rollin, 371st&OMS, Altus OK, Co-Historian: Robert Loffredo, 6004 SW 2nd St, Des Moines, IA 50315. Phone 515- 22 May 2010. 285-3445. Email: [email protected] Bill Schuck, ARS, Long Beach NC, 2 January 2011. Assistant Editor: Earl Hill, 52309 SW Jobin Robert L Schultz, 370th BS, Colorado Lane, Scappoose, OR 97056. Phone 503- 543-0256. Email: [email protected]. Newsletter Schedule Springs CO, 24 December 2010. Irene States, Columbine Valley CO, 22 Lincoln 2012 Reunion Chairmen: The 307th Bomb Wing B-47/KC-97 August 2010. Billy Williams, 5546 Enterprise Drive, Association Newsletter is published for the William “Bill” Tuley, ARS, Boonville Lincoln, NE 68521. Phone 402-438-6061. benefit of all former members of the 307th Email: [email protected] IN, 2009. Bomb Wing of Lincoln AFB, Nebraska. It Maurice Ward, Lincoln NE, 23 August is expected to be published three times a year in March, July, and November. 2003. The Association is a non-profit Veterans Norris W Yates, Round Rock TX, date Organization. All contributions to the Contributions for publication in the organization are gratefully received, but unknown. newsletter are encouraged, and are presently are not deductible under IRS I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, essential for the success of this newsletter. Code. The President, Vice President, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Secretary and Treasurer are elected by us? Then said I, Here I am; send me. majority vote of all members at each business meeting. Isaiah 6:8 A list of Last Flights back to 2003 is at the EventsTab on the website. 3 Around the Wing t‟s doubtful you ever read the masthead on page two. But I if you do, you‟ll see a new name showing up there, namely that of Earl Hill, who calls Scappoose, Oregon, his home. Earl has volunteered to help out with the newsletter and has thus been awarded the title of Assistant Editor for which the only incurred benefit is our good will. Earl is busy learning the software we use to put things together and how we proceed to do so. Earl is both a skillful writer and wood worker after having survived about 30 years working in medical imaging for GE. He claims that much of his writing ability comes from his interest in emulating the styles of some of the founding giants of American literature such as Mark Twain, Poe, Ambrose Bierce and H L Mencken. It‟s good to have Earl on board. ***** With the unfurling of the 307th Bomb Wing flag, 307th Bomb Wing Reactivation. Well, the big 307th news the wing comes to life once again currently revolves around the reactivation of the 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB in LA, as a B-52 wing, under the Several issues ago, Smokey Beucus wrote lamenting that there new Global Strike Command, which is charged with the nu- was never any ARS/tanker info in the newsletter. Well, several clear mission, formerly under SAC. The reborn 307th will of our loyal members have taken a few steps to alleviate this remain an Air Reserve wing, consisting of two squadrons: the situation. In this issue we have A Tribute to Larry, by Don rd 93 Bomb Squadron will be a full time training unit, and the Campbell as he recalls his friend Larry French. Then, Ivan rd 343 BS will have the nuclear strike mission. The event took McKinney has sent two informative accounts of life on the place on 8 January and hopefully every one of you received tankers, of which, because of space limitations in this issue, one a personal invite. Attendees from our bunch were Jack Lee, will be deferred until the next issue. Keep „em coming, Tank- John Yaryan, Otis Wehrly, Earl Bullock, Ivan McKinney, ers. Jerry Sparks, Larry Hall, Don Davis, Michael Myatt, Robert Hart, Lavern Musselman, Robert Eells, Jim Cinnamon, Char- ***** lie Dabbs, Jerry Blankenship, Bill DeAngelis, Dale Jones, and James Villa.