LEADER'S WORDS

By Ron Dietes, Squadron Leader

     It has been a very busy month and as you probably already know, the Brownsville show was a success.  The weather was great so we were able to return as planned on Sunday evening.  No detour over water this year.  I think the entire crew all had a good time and we did extremely well giving cockpit tours and selling items from the PX.  The Brownsville folks were gracious as always.  Thanks to the crew for the hard work.

     The Memorial Crew Names have been painted on the Rose by Jerry Taylor and Mike Renck.  So if you haven’t seen them, be sure to check them out next time you are in the hangar.  Bob Gardner has taken the pictures for the software company’s use.

     By now you probably also know, we were not able to fly to Midland for the Open Cockpit Day as the landing gear problem has come back.  So, we have two weeks to try and resolve the problem before we are scheduled to fly to Burnet.  I have been on the phone to California, but so far, no definite solution has been found.  However, we have corrected a couple of minor hydraulic leaks and hopefully the parts on order from AeroTrader will arrive in time to install them and perform the retract checks before the Burnet Airshow.

     Bob Gardner is continuing with the fund raising project.  Progress is being made and hopefully we’ll have good news to report to the squadron.  On another note, Bob is organizing the WWII dignitaries for the Centex Airshow.  So far he has four people that have agreed to attend.  They are Tex Hill, Dick Cole, Bill Cavoli and Lynn Daker (Air Apaches).  If you think you would like to help chaperone these folks, let Bob know.

     Grant is very busy working on the Rose air show schedule and I am sorry to say, we have had some shows cancel.  Guess the high fuel cost is just too much for some air show sponsors.  Look for the updated list in this newsletter.

     Don’t forget the squadron meeting on Tuesday April 12^th.

MINUTES of the March 8, 2005 Meeting of the Yellow Rose Squadron

By Dave Howard, Squadron Adjutant

The regular squadron meeting was held at San Marcos in the Centex Hangar Ready Room.  Squadron Leader Ron Dietes called the meeting to order at 1803.  Other officers present were XO, Maintenance, Adjutant, Finance, Safety, Publicity, and PX.  Fifteen members were present.  Minutes of the February meeting were approved as printed in the last issue of Briefings.

 

REPORTS

 

Operations:  Grant has agreed to fill in as Ops until Howard’s replacement can be arranged.  He passed around the list of crew assignments that have been established to date for the air shows on our schedule.  Members are urged to contact Grant as soon as they can commit to the trips they would like to make.  March 25th the Rose is going to Midland for Open Cockpit Day on the 26th, returning that afternoon.

 

Finance:  The February beginning balance was $18,287.  Net income and disbursements cost $5565, including ANUAC, parts, and PX stock.  This left a February ending balance of $12,722.  March activity to date has brought in $420.  Payables are estimated at $2675, including $2500 for repairs and $175 for PX stock.  Projected March ending balance, including payables, is $10,467.  Balance in the “hands-off” accounts is $46,285.  Judy also reported that she has received a membership application from Ken Thompson, a new member from San Antonio.  Ken is a marketing professional involved in Bob Gardner’s fund raising project.

 

Maintenance:  The Rose is almost ready for Brownsville.  One more retract check is needed.  The co-pilot brake linkage needs adjustment, instrument vacuum needs adjustment, the post-maintenance flight should be done on Thursday, and the logbooks need to be updated.  We’ve done a lot this past winter, especially Jim and Ron; but our skilled maintenance team continues to grow!  We all can be proud to be part of it.

 

PX:  Greg reported that the PX is ready to go to Brownsville. 

 

Safety/Newsletter:  Jerry reminded that the deadline for articles in the newsletter is the 25th of the month. 

 

Publicity:  Bob reported that thanks to Paul Newkirk there is now a remote camcorder mount in the nose for in-flight videos.  Bob has asked Chevron for 200 feet of some industrial shelving that has become available.  If we get it, it would be used for parts storage in the room above the museum.  Last, but not least, four potential donors have been identified to be approached to kick off our fund-raising program.

 

Adopt-An-Airport:  Mike Colaluca plans to do more shrub and brush trimming around the airport entrance in the coming weeks. 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

     Jim Liles announced that we conducted a number of cockpit tours last weekend during the Chamber of Commerce Casino Night party held in the hangar.

     Ground school was well attended.  Afterward we tried to see if anyone would be able to operate the hangar sprinkler system.  Some training on it is definitely needed for all of us!

     A documentary film group is coming to film scenes in the Rose for use in a piece to be shown to the troops in Iraq.

     On May 28^th, the WASPs are planning the first annual fly-in at Avenger Field in Sweetwater.

     Mike Colaluca will schedule our first PX booth at the flea market in Kyle, in about three weeks.

 

GONE WEST

 

Judy McMillan expressed a common desire among the members to do something in Howard’s memory.  A suggestion was made that we commission a plaque for him and carry it in the cockpit for a season before moving it to a permanent place in the hangar.  

 

     The meeting adjourned at 1836.

BOOK REVIEW

TWILIGHT OF FURY
Review by Eileen Charbonneau, submitted by The Historical Novels Review.  Used with permission.

Joe Matlock, Hilliard and Harris, 2004, $17.95, pb, 261pp, 159133070X
Well researched and with riveting action sequences, Twilight of Fury provides a galloping story of finding honor, sacrifice and love during the harrowing days of the firefights in the skies of World War II. The love story is between Tom MacMillan, an impoverished mid-western farm boy turned medical student turned fighter pilot, and Molly Masterson, a weary, starchy British nurse with a particular distaste for "overpaid, oversexed and over here" American men. Their fractious first meeting is predictable and plays toward the stereotype as they paste each other with long winded lectures. But their shared troubles mature and deepen them both. Mr. Matlock's writing style may be rough in spots, but the storytelling is a riveting page-turner. The novel's welcome visual aids and historical notes are top notch.

ROSE TRAVELS AND ACTIVITIES

 

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Yellow Rose B-25 Brownsville Airshow Trip

March 11-13, 2005

By Richard Garcia

     As the “rookie” on this trip, I was given the assignment of reporting my views of the Brownsville Airshow trip as a crew member of the “Yellow Rose”.  First of all, I was excited to be on the trip manifest since I was actually flying in to my hometown.  It was at this airfield that I was first introduce to an airplane – a Pan-American DC-3 (my father worked for Pan-Am) – when I was around 5 or 6 years old and I still vividly remember that long walk at a steep angle to the cockpit.  And all the dials and levers in front of me as I sat in the pilot’s seat.  So this trip was a “pay back” by me to that event long ago.

     We had a great crew on this trip.  Ron Dietes, Grant Lannon, “Mad” Jack Reeves, Ken Udcoff, Greg Young, and myself loaded up Friday afternoon for the ride to Brownsville.  Weather reports and forecasts look good.  Sunny, clear skies all weekend.  High temperatures at Brownsville in the 80s and 90s with a breeze from SSE through SSW.  At to top it off, a tailwind going down.  We were also going to be a “flight of three” with the P-40 and P-39 as escorts.  As we took off to the north from HYI, I looked out the left gunner position and could see our escorts in trail as we circled to head south.  ATC cleared us through San Antonio airspace after a quick exchange that we indeed were a North American B-25.  On the way, we could see the P-40’s shark mouth  alongside at its position to the left and behind us.  We requested and performed a low break over the Brownsville Airport to get established for our landings.  The three planes immediately attracted attention from the pre-airshow folks that were setting up for the following day.  One thing that impressed me was the “familiarity” that folks in Brownsville have about the “Rose”, the P40, and the P39.  Just about anytime I talked to someone, they commented about past airshows and how pleased they were to see the “Rose” back in Brownsville.

     Friday night was a “get to know the crew” event.  We started out at a chicken wing place where Grant, Jack, and I had fried fish (figure that one out) while the other three had a variety of food.  Decided to try another recommended grill, stayed for awhile, and then decided it was time to rest up.  Next morning it was up early and off to the airfield to set up the PX and get the “Rose” ready for the cockpit tours.  As soon as the gates opened at 9 am, we had a line of folks who wanted to visit the cockpit and bombardier area.  A steady steam of folks took advantage of this until the ramp turned “hot” and we were ready for the flying part of the airshow.  After the traditional CAF flying demonstrations, we were back on the ramp along with the folks who wanted to see and touch the B-25 “Mitchell” that represented so much history.

     After the airshow, it was back to the hotel to change and off to find a meal.  Again, a previous year visited diner was chosen for the evening entertainment (keep in mind the airshow coincided with Spring Break).  Serious discussions about personal histories, goofs, embarrassments, close calls, escapes, etc., were discussed in great detail resulting in much laughter and comments.  Finally, it was back to the hotel, catch some sleep, and get ready for Sunday.

     Sunday was pretty much a repeat of Saturday except the weather was a bit warmer.  Being inside the “Rose” during a sunny mid day while conducting cockpit tours can be a bit warm.  Soft drinks and iced water were premium items for the crew.  But throughout the two days, it was refreshing to see the faces and excitement of those little kids who climbed into the “Rose”, sat in the cockpit, and had their parents take their picture.  The “pay back” obligation I mentioned in the first paragraph was fulfilled.  And I wonder how many of these kids will remember their cockpit visit to the “Rose” some 40-50 years from now.

     After the flying part of the Sunday airshow, we set up the “Rose” for more cockpit tours, not expecting many visits as the airshow was over.  Again thought, the interest of those attending the airshow surprised me as we continued to have lines of kids and parents wanting to visit the “Rose” until we needed to load up our PX supplies and get back to San Marcos.  After we took off, I think I had the best seat in the plane after I was asked if I wanted to sit in the nose for a short while.  What a view!  Finally, just about dusk, we spotted the rotating beacon at HYI and come in on a straight approach.  Back to the hanger, get the blue rags out, wipe the plane down, and pull her into the hanger.  Go in to the lounge, grab a coke, a handful of pretzels, thank Ron and Grant for the opportunity to fly in the “Rose”, get in the car, and think about that whole weekend on the drive home.  I got asked how the trip went when I got home, and I thought, “How can you really explain it all?”      

     The following financial report for the Brownsville trip was submitted by Judy McMillan, Finance Officer:

Cockpit tours, $395.00
PX sales, $1241.00
Air Show fee, $1500.00
Fuel load for show, -$773.77

 

NEW YELLOW ROSE SQUADRON MEMBER

By Judy McMillan, Squadron Finance Officer

 Scott P. McCartt of Tinker AFB joined the CAF and the Yellow Rose Squadron in February.  Scott is a USAF pilot and instructor and has been in the Air Force for almost 16 years.  He and his wife, Kirsten, live at Tinker in Oklahoma.  Scott has 5500 hours of flying in a very long list of airplanes.   Scott says he has time and effort to contribute to the Squadron.  We welcome his support.  Welcome Scott! 

 

We look forward to the participation of all new members and hope they will speak up, step up and pitch in. 

A LETTER OF THANKS

 

Again my thanks and appreciation go out to the CAF Yellow Rose Squadron for allowing me, a future Navigator for the USAF, the opportunity to see a remarkable aircraft where the navigator was essential to the overall success of the B-25 Mitchell in WWII.  The B-25 Yellow Rose is an amazing aircraft and even more amazingly it is the type of aircraft that hit Japan in the Doolittle Raid.

                               

Every aircraft I climb into and explore always brings to mind the incredible fact that these big beautiful machines we create slip into the sky and achieve flight.  It is remarkable how bombers like the B-25 are made and is only a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of such an amazing country we have the honor of living in.  Getting to learn about the role of the navigator in the B-25 was particularly important to me being that it is my immediate future in the Air Force. 

                               

What amazed me about the B-25 navigator and WWII navigators alike is how essential their role was to the overall success of a mission.   These men used relatively low tech means of basic navigation to precisely navigate their bombers to the target and then back home.  Although basic navigation is alive and well, and essential to the navigation of aircraft, much I can imagine has changed with the advent of technological advances like GPS.  But, as I sat in the pilot seat of the Yellow Rose with a good friend, who is also off to Navigator training with me, it hit me.  We will become an essential part of a crew who will depend on my abilities to perform my job under any circumstance. I can only imagine what it was like sitting in the navigator’s seat trying to calculate and plot a course while under fire.

                               

So not that much has changed as I look back at the navigator’s position in the B-25, we are all still part of an aircrew with our success dependent on each other’s abilities to perform our jobs with the tools at hand.  Getting to catch a glimpse of the B-25 navigators panel, directly behind the pilot, makes me look forward to the camaraderie that exists in an aircrew for which I am headed to.  As I navigate whatever plane I am destined to crew, it will be much like the navigators of WWII with the exception that I will have more tools at hand to successfully complete my job.  The Yellow Rose is an exceptional piece of history and a joy to see take flight, it has only motivated me in making sure I do my job precisely and to the best of my abilities.  My words will not do justice to the experience of climbing through such an awesome plane.

                                Thank you again for this amazing opportunity.

 

Sincerely,

 

2dLt Mark Musheno USAF

A SPECIAL OFFER

From Bill Walsh

At our last meeting, I asked if any of our members would be interested in having a scale display model made of the a/c they flew in the service.  This came about as a result of the open house we had for members of the Austin and San Antonio chapters of the International Plastic Modelers Society.  The Austin group has had a display case at Bergstrom for the last few years depicting one of every type of Air Force plane stationed at that former base.  Ed Lipscomb and I are members of the Austin club.  Both S. A. and Austin have expressed interest in a similar project for Centex and Yellow Rose.  Any member who flew as pilot or crew can request a model of a particular a/c with which that member was associated.  This would be for war or peacetime service.  When the model is completed, it will be given to the wing or squadron for permanent display.

     I need to ask if you will let me create a special display area to showcase the planes our members flew.  I will take responsibility for the entire project.  I am certain I can get the model kits donated by the hobby shops in each city.  When the model is completed, I will have an attractive plaque created to include the member's photo, branch, rank, crew position and dates of service.  I will also describe the type of a/c and the member's unit.  If the member has adequate photo evidence of his/her a/c, we can make the model exactly as it appeared at the time of the member's service.  If not, we will do our best to make a generic version at the time and place of the member's choosing.  Of course, some members have had several types of assignments.  I'll leave it up to them as to which of their a/c to memorialize. 

     I also need to ask if we can do something in return for the modeler.  I will be asking only those club people I know to be outstanding modelers to participate.  In addition to giving credit for constructing the model on the display plaque, can we consider a ride in one of our planes?  It can be short and entirely at our convenience.  This would include the possibility of the Yellow Rose.  I anticipate one or two models per month being made if the demand is there from our members. 

      This should be a very attractive way to honor a member for his/her military service.  I can assure you that I will make it a quality exhibit for the museum.  It should be a way to establish some esprit de corps for the unit as well.  Tim Black has asked if I can provide a model of the A26K he flew in Vietnam.  The president of the Austin club has agreed to build it for us and I have already supplied him with the kit and the photos Tim gave me of his a/c.  Tim understands that if this plan is approved, the model will be the property of the wing or squadron to which he belongs. 

      How about it?  Can I proceed?  If I can, can I do an article for our newsletters?  I have a member in San Antonio that wants to do models of the a/c flown by Tex Hill.  That would include his Flying Tigers P-40B,  his Air Force P-40E and his post-war P-59.  We should consider a model of Dick Cole's Tokyo B-25.  By the way, there are good kits available of the P3 Orion and the F-100, O-1 and O-2. 

WWII AIRSHOW HONOREE

It was decided earlier that for the Gathering of Eagles Airshow, the Yellow Rose B-25 Squadron would sponsor a number of WWII veterans.

Bill Cavoli is one of those selected to be honored.  His story follows and was submitted by Bob Gardner.

 

      After graduation from flying school in Class 42-B at Ellington Field, TX in February 1942 and after two very brief assignments in Georgia and Florida, in late March 1942 I was finally assigned to the 17th Bomb Group at Columbia Army Air Base in Columbia, SC. This was the same Group from which the aircrews and B-25s for the Doolittle Raid were picked. (NOTE: Only later did I learn that, just a few days before I arrived at Columbia, the Doolittle crews had left for Eglin Field, FL for their specialized training.)
     Some time later, after being checked out in the B-25, I became a B-25 instructor in the 309th Bomb Group, whose job (as an Overseas Training Unit) was to train squadrons/groups for combat in the European Theater. This is what I did until it was my time for an overseas assignment. That time came when I received orders assigning me to the new 345th Bomb Group being organized at Columbia. My assignment was with the 500th Bomb Squadron (one of four squadrons of Group) as their first Operations Officer on 11 November, 1942. The squadron later became known as the "Rough Raiders."

     Extensive training followed Stateside and finally in late April-early May, 1943 our squadron flew its B-25s across the Pacific to Australia then to Port Moresby, New Guinea from where, in mid June 1943 we flew our first combat missions against the Japanese.
     The B-25Cs and Ds we had at the time were medium bombers, with just one 50-caliber gun in the nose. Consequently, our first missions against the Japanese were in New Guinea from medium altitude. Thanks to the famous "Pappy" Gunn who made the modification possible, after just a few medium altitude missions all our B-25s were sent to Townsville, Australia for modification of all of our B25s to low-altitude strafer/bombers. This modification included four 50-caliber guns in the nose and two exterior 50-caliber waist gun pads on each side of the forward fuselage. All these forward-firing guns were fired by the pilot.

     I flew my missions against targets, where needed and with various crews, mostly in and around New Guinea for about eight months. My 36th mission on 15 February, 1944 was to one of the Japanese strongholds at the time at Kavieng, New Ireland. This mission, which turned out to be my last one, is where my right engine was hit over the target and caught fire, causing me to have to ditch before the B-25 might explode.
      Flying at about 100 feet did not give me a lot of time for preparing to ditch, especially being on fire, with no hydraulic system, bomb bay doors open, no flaps, right wheel down, etc. Fortunately, I was able to make the ditching OK, a relatively short distance from the Japanese-held shore. After about an hour and a half, all six of us crewmembers were rescued by a US Navy Catalina, piloted by Navy Lt. Nathan Gordon. Gordon had already made three other landings in the Kavieng area harbor to rescue nine other downed airmen under heavy enemy fire. Our crew happened to be the last one. For this mission, Nathan Gordon was later awarded the Medal of Honor
      After returning to our base, I spent 10 days in Sydney on R& R, then was sent home. This ended my 15 months with the 500th Bomb Squadron.

 (NOTE: In answer to your question, the B-25 I originally flew from Stateside across the Pacific to New Guinea was painted SNAFU/MFUTU by a former artist who worked for Walt Disney when we were at the depot in Sacramento, prior to leaving for overseas. SNAFU was lost when its pilot, Captain Lyle "Rip" Anacker was forced to ditch, following a mission to Rabaul, New Britain, on 18 October, 1943. This was on the same raid as the 500th Squadron's most famous "Tondelayo" mission.)

2005 Airshow Schedule

 

Mar 12-13	Brownsville, TX *
Mar 19-20	Luke AFB, AZ  Cancelled
April 9	Burnet, TX *
April 16-17	Holloman AFB, NM *
May 7-8	Temple, TX *
May 14-15	Tyndall AFB, FL *
May 21-22	San Marcos, TX *
June 3-5	Minden, LA
June 25	Dyess AFB, TX
The Yellow Rose is scheduled to be in Midland on rotation from mid-July through early September
Sept 10	Cannon AFB, NM
Sept 24-25	McConnell AFB, KS
Sept 29	Tucumcari, NM
Oct 1-2	Midland, TX *
Oct 8-9	Houston, TX
Oct 22-23	New Orleans, LA

Editor’s note:

Due to the high cost of fuel, many marginally profitable or budgeted airshows are beginning to cancel or become questionable.  We try to keep the schedule up to date and the membership informed of the changes.

2005 Yellow Rose B-25
Squadron Staff Officers

Squadron Leader - Ron Dietes

dietes.ron@heb.com

Executive Officer - Tim Black

tangblack@austin.rr.com

Finance Officer - Judy McMillan

heyjude@texas.net

Adjutant - Dave Howard

dave.howard@baesystems.com

Operations Officer - Grant Lannon (interim)

glannon@texas.net

Maintenance Officer - Jim Liles

james.liles@tstr.net

Safety Officer - Jerry Taylor

james_j_taylor@msn.com

PX Officer - Greg Young

tbolt52@hotmail.com

Publicity Officer - Bob Gardner

bob@rhga.com