Previous issues
BRIEFINGS
June, 2006 The Yellow Rose B-25 Squadron Newsletter Vol. 09-06
  Briefings e-mail address: B25YR@msn.com  


The official confirmation letter from the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders advising Ron that their 65th Reunion would be held in San Antonio and accepting the invitation of the Yellow Rose Squadron to act as hosts.


LEADER'S WORDS

By Ron Dietes, Squadron Leader

     As many of you already know the Yellow Rose Squadron is the hosting organization for the 2007 Doolittle Reunion that will be held in San Antonio.  The event has to include April 18th, so we are planning April 17-21, 2007 as the dates for this event.  We have had several meetings and have formed a group of committees.  You will find the list elsewhere in this newsletter.  I encourage you to look over the committees and then volunteer to be on one or more of these committees, so that we will be able to get all the work done.  This is a very large effort and we really need help.  By the way, this committee list is a working list, so if you see something that we have overlooked, please let someone know, so we can incorporate your ideas.  We certainly cannot think of everything, so don’t be shy.  All ideas and suggestions are welcome.

     Since the last Squadron meeting, the Rose has attended the shows at Barksdale AFB and the Greenville/Dyess AFB trip.  We did very well in both the PX and cockpit tours in Barksdale and we did very well in Greenville.  Considering where we were parked at the Dyess show, you could also say we did well there too.  We would have done much better in cockpit tours at Barksdale, but after flying the show on Sunday, we were parked too far away from the crowd traffic.  Other than that, and having to stay an additional night in Barksdale due to the weather, we should give ourselves a well done.  My thanks to all the crew members that helped, not only at the shows but those who worked in the hangar to get her clean and polished and to those who turned the wrenches, filled the oil and fueled her up for the trips.

     The next scheduled air show for the Rose is on June 18th in ADA, Oklahoma.  This has always been a fun place to stop and I am fairly certain it will be this year too.  I spoke to the airboss for ADA, at the Barksdale show and he assured me that they were looking forward to the Rose attending the show.  He did tell me that they were not going to have wavered airspace this year due to difficulties with the paperwork.  But it really does not matter for us.  We will have a good show anyway.  There is also the possibility that we may be a fill in for SHOW ME as they are down with an engine change.  The date for that show is July 7 and 8th.  Although it is a long trip for us, maybe the guys from the Show Me crew that helped us out, will put in a good word for us.  We’ll let you know when we know something, either way.

     There is just one more thing I would like to mention.  When you are around the Rose, whether it is just at the hangar in San Marcos or when we are at an air show or some other event, please remember you only have one chance for a first impression.  I think everyone knows what I mean.  I do not want us to appear unprofessional.  There are a lot of B-25’s on the air show circuit and I really want everyone we meet to know that we are the number one aircraft and crew.  Bar none.

 


Maintenance Matters

By Jim Liles, Maintenance Officer

(Maintenance does matter)

Well, we have had a few air shows with the “Rose” and we have had some problems.  At the Barksdale AFB Air Show, number 13 on the left engine push rod had to be changed due to a good oil leak.  No problem until we returned hone, then the left brakes had to be adjusted and three more push rods had to be changed due to oil leaks.  The “Rose” went to Greenville in route to Dyess AFB, and number 13 intake manifold came off and had to be repaired on Sunday morning so that we could make the show.

 

Now we are in the process of changing out the carburetor on the left engine. I want thank those individuals for helping make sure the “Rose” continues to make her commitments.


B17-B52 formation

HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPH

By Grant Lannon

We were at Barksdale to be the camera ship to take an airborne shot of the B-17, B-29, and B-52 in a Boeing Heritage formation flight.  We took the place of the Galveston B-25 which was going through an engine change.  We took off after the B-17 and flew on their wing until we reached 10,000 feet.  The B-52 had taken off earlier and was orbiting above us.  I took the lead at 10,000 feet and the B-17 moved off our right wing while the B-52 moved up on the B-17.  We had three photographers on board and the escape hatch off the right side.  They snapped pictures from the side gunner’s position and the open hatch.  Jim Liles also took pictures.  We have those and he passed out the best shot to the sponsors of the Barksdale AFB airshow and the B-52 guys.  Mission accomplished!


the Rose at Barksdale guests at Barksdale

The “Rose” gang at Barksdale AFB

Photos Courtesy Ray Clausen


PX Report

By Greg Young, PX Officer

     The last few weeks have been busy for the PX both airshow wise and orders.   The highlight of the orders has been the new TShirts that KC Sports produced.  For those who have not seen them, there are 2 different designs on the backs: one features the Rose photo pass and the other features the specifications of the Rose which was similar to one of the previous designs.

  The shirts come in two colors: white and ash gray and with and without pockets.  A contact of Jack Reeves produces magnets so I am going to do a trial run of 2 sizes of magnets with the squadron logo on it.  I am also ordering some sizes of crew shirts.  Snap together models, 50 caliber shells, airplane balls, and the pull back toy planes continue to sell well. 

     3 shows produced good PX income: Temple Cockpit tours $374, PX sales: $1,144.  Barksdale Airshow Cockpit tours: $221 (somewhat limited by the airplane having to park away from the crowd after the second day show), PX sales: $1,147, Bomb: $66.  Greenville Flyin/Dyess airshow Cockpit tours $295, PX sales $835.  We continue to return having achieved a prime PX goal: empty boxes loaded on the airplane for the return.  I thank all the individuals who work together to make the PX and cockpit tours productive.  Until next time, happy landings.


MINUTES of the May 9th, 2006 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 1814.  Other officers present were Ops, XO, Finance, Adjutant, Safety, PX, and Publicity.  Twenty-three members attended, along with former members Charles and Dorothy Greinke.  The previous meeting’s Minutes were approved as printed in the Briefings.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Ron announced the Doolittle Raiders’ decision to accept the Yellow Rose Squadron’s proposal to hold their 65th reunion celebration next April in San Antonio.   Committee structure is being established now, and members are encouraged to choose a committee that suits their talents and interest ASAP.  Ron expects the committee list to go out to the e-mail list this week.  Also, there will be a fund-raiser auction to raise $700 to reimburse Bob Gardner for his travel expenses incurred during his trip to Dayton, Ohio, to make our winning presentation.  The last USAA fly-over was cancelled due to weather; however, USAA donated the $2000 fee to us anyway.

 

REPORTS

 

Operations:  Hondo (EAA SWRFI) will be skipped this weekend in favor of our last-minute invitation to Barksdale AFB at Shreveport/Bossier City.  We will leave Thursday or Friday.  Alliance (Dallas) has shown no interest in inviting us there.  Dyess will be the weekend of the 20th, with a fly-in appearance at Greenville on Saturday.  Cannon follows on the 27th and 28th.  Memorial Day flyovers include Salado at 10 AM and Ft.Sam at 2 PM.  At present there is space available on Centex a/c for the Memorial Day flights.  Contact Grant to get a seat. 

 

Finance:  Judy reported on the various account balances, accounts due and payable. Upcoming expenses will incude the quarterly hangar rent. Cockpit tours on Saturday at Temple were modestly successful. Judy asked for a volunteer to direct the sales campaign for the Flight Simulator B25 add-on.  William Foster accepted that task.

 

Adjutant:  The 2006 Roster has been distributed to the e-mail list.  Please review and send Dave any needed corrections. 

 

Maintenance:   Jim reported that replacement of the #9 cylinder on the right engine has been completed.  One difficulty encountered was that the valve clearance was hard to get right, leading to speculation that the intake and exhaust pushrods had been interchanged.  Jim demonstrated that there is a very small but important length difference between them, so that it is vital to identify them properly whenever they must be removed.

 

Safety/Newsletter:  Remember to get Briefings articles to Jerry every month by the 25th.  Late-arriving material cannot be published until the next month’s issue.

 

PX:  We have received a donation of a first-class model of the B25 “Executive Suite”.  The donor is a model company that wants our business.  The model is valued at $295.  They also have a B25 “B” (Doolittle) version model available for $150.  The new T-shirts are in, both white and ash-gray, with and without pockets.  The Temple air show PX sales were good.  The $8 snap-together models are selling well, but the Flight Simulator add-on CD has quit selling. 

 

Publicity:  Bob has completed the PDF brochure to be mailed to prospective sponsors for fund raising. 

 

Adopt-An-Airport:  Two weekends ago Mike’s team spent time collecting FOD material from the ramp.  He said they picked up over two pounds, mostly rocks.  We need to police the ramp more frequently to avoid prop damage.

 

NEW BUSINESS

The Flight Mechanic’s checklist is being reviewed and updated.  A list of current qualified trainers will be added.

 

The meeting adjourned at 1844.


OPERATIONS REPORT

By Grant Lannon, Squadron Operations Officer

     We continue to perform at various airshows on the schedule.   Maintenance problems have been confronted and solved to keep the Rose operational.  Temple was a success, despite looming storm clouds that cancelled the USAA Spring flyover in San Antonio.  Thanks to USAA and our promoter within their ranks, Shane Arnwine, for obtaining the fee for that event even though we were not able to fly.  On May 18-22, the Rose was in Shrevesport for the last minute call for help on a special event surrounding the Barksdale AFB airshow.  The Galveston B-25 was down for an engine change and we flew camera ship for a long planned Boeing Heritage flight of the B-52 and B-17 in formation.  We flew both days of the show and returned on Monday because of weather threats on Sunday.  On the 20th we flew to Greenville, Texas for the EAA fly-in and then to Dyess the next day for that airshow.

     The left engine continues to give us problems on occasion and maintenance work is being done on that engine now to replace the carburetor once again.

2007 DOOLITTLE RAIDER’S REUNION

We continue for form committees and identify activities that have to be performed to make the reunion a success.  Word was passed down the chain of command from the Air Force Chief of Staff that the Air Force would do “whatever is required” to make the event a success.  This includes rooms, transportation, fund raising, and other facilities.  We are working with Aeroshell as a potential sponsor.  CAF Headquarters is helping us with their connections to fundraisers and experiences in such activities.


AUCTION ANNOUNCEMENT

From Tim Black, Squadron Executive Officer

I am collecting items for an auction to reimburse Bob Gardner for his expenses getting the Doolittle Raiders reunion in San Antonio.  I would like folks to send me, or call me and I'll pick up, items they would like to donate.  I would like 12 items.   Grant has already provided 3, so I am needing 9 more. The auction will work like this.  We will draw names out of a hat at each monthly meeting for the next year and that person will get one of the items.  (The drawings will start once all items have been collected) The tickets will be $25.  That will give you a chance for all drawings.  I would like to collect the $25/pp up front.  That will allow the squadron to reimburse Bob now instead of having to wait 12 months.


    AIRSHOW SCHEDULE

Wichita airshow has been confirmed.  We have a bid into Cape Girardeaux if another scheduled B-25 is not airworthy (it will be added to the schedule when confirmed).  Alliance Airshow has been bid—no word on acceptance.  Shows on the schedule that have not been confirmed are shows we are normally invited to anyway.  Potential contacts will be renewed during the summer doldrums for any further fall schedule appearances.  Dates on the calendar include the probable date of departure, not just the days of the show.

 

Event Date Confirmed Duration
Rose at Midland Jul 15 - Aug 24 Confirmed 3 weeks
Wichita Flight Festival Aug 25-27 Confirmed Two days (Fri Arrvl)
Alice TX fly-in Sep 1-2 Confirmed One day (Sat)
Midland Fina Oct 6-8   two days
Wings Over Houston Oct 20-22   two days

For all us old guys....

From Madjac Reeves 

I hope there's a place way up in the sky, where old flyers can go on the day that they die.

A place where a guy can buy a cold beer, for a friend and a comrade, whose memory is dear.

 

A place where no doctor or lawyer can tread, nor an FAA type would 'ere be caught dead.

Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke, where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke.

 

The kind of a place where a lady could go, and feel safe and protected by the men she would know.

There must be a place where old flyers go, when their flying is finished, and their airspeed gets low.

 

Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young, and songs about flying and dying are sung.

Where you'd see all the fellows who'd flown west before, and they'd call out your name,

as you came through the door.

 

Who would buy you a drink, if your thirst should be bad, and relate to others, "He was quite a good lad".

 

And then through the mist, you'd spot an old guy, you had not seen in years, though he taught you to fly.

He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear, and say, "Welcome, my son, I'm pleased that you're here.

 

For this is the place where the true flyers come, when their journey is over, and their war has been won.

 

They've come here at last to be safe and alone, from the government clerk, and the management clone,

Politicians and lawyers, the Feds and the noise, where all hours are happy, and they're all good ole' boys.

 

You can relax with a cold one, maybe deal from a deck, this is heaven my son.....
”You've passed your last check!"

 Author Unknown


GONE WEST

We all were saddened to learn that Col. Jack Hart, long-time Yellow Rose Squadron member and three-time sponsor of the Yellow Rose passed away on Saturday, after a lengthy illness. Jack was a moving force behind the plane for many years.  He will be missed.


CONGRATULATIONS

Cory Leist, CAF cadet, graduated from Smithson Valley High School on May 29.  Until Cory and his family moved to the hill country, he frequently participated in Yellow Rose activities.  Cory graduated with honors and has been accepted to Texas A&M University in their Aerospace engineering program.


FINANCIAL REPORT

From Judy McMillan, Squadron FinanceOfficer

The Barksdale Air Show brought in $221 from cockpit tours, $66 from 'The Bomb,' and $1147.65 from PX Sales.  We will also receive a $1600 fee and the Rose's tanks were filled prior to departure

Temple was a 2-day airshow.  Cockpit tours: $374; PX sales $1144.00.  The cockpit tours total comes close to our all time record in 2005 at Brownsville of $395.  PX sales at Temple in 2005 was $894.  Great job, PX crew.


DOOLITTLE REUNION MEETING NOTES

By Ron Dietes

     A Doolittle Reunion Meeting was held at the hangar on Tuesday, May 23, 2006.  The purpose of our meeting was to select committee chairpersons for each committee and to solicit volunteers from those in attendance.  If you missed the meeting, any and all volunteers will be welcomed.  This is a huge task.  We will need all the help we can get.

     Some of the topics we discussed were the hotel selection process, the list of events, our observations from our first meeting with Any Baby Can, and the results of Pat Jopling’s meeting with members of the military.  Based on what Bob Gardner knows at this time, it appears that the hotel choice will be a hotel in downtown San Antonio.  We also talked about creating the 2007 Doolittle website.  A Yahoo Group will be created for easy communication among the committees.  So we will be communicating how to access the Yahoo Group and post questions, answers, suggestions and comments.  It was suggested that we obtain a written commitment from the military and Pat Jopling will investigate this suggestion.

     When discussing the committees at our meeting we discovered that many committees overlap.  You may think that you do not have experience in a certain area, but remember you are not alone on your committee.  Everyone will be working together and the committees will interact.  A list of the committees is attached elsewhere in this newsletter.   Remember that the volunteer list is an evolving work in progress.  Committees may be added and sub-committees may be created, moved, or deleted as we learn more about hosting this monumental event.

     Committee heads will meet after the Centex meeting on June 13th in the briefing room at the San Marcos hangar.

 


WHAT IS A DOOLITTLE REUNION LIKE?

By Grant Lannon

I would like to describe what a reunion is like based on our experiences at Columbia, SC so that if you are thinking of volunteering for a committee, you might have an idea of what the responsibilities are.

                The Raider activities are often separate from the peripheral activities.  Activities involving the Raiders will be very limited, especially considering their age and limited mobility.  Some big events will only be of interest to the fans of the Raiders.  Activities around the aircraft is one those.  At Columbia, three of the Raiders came out to the airport but most activities need to be close to their rooms and in a controlled (crowd and temperature) environment with transportation for the physically challenged and adequate rest periods.  We attended the banquet and the dance at the Raider’s hotel and it was so crowded that we were in a room with a remote monitor to listen to the guest speaker.  The dance afterward was overwhelmed with diners and it was standing room only.  There were many vendors of memorabilia in the lobby.  We will probably limit that to sponsors of the activity so they can get the proper recognition.  I would guess that vendors paid to be in the hotel.  That was also a place where people could buy things to get autographed by the Raiders.  Signing of memorabilia was a mob scene.  It has to be properly controlled.  The Raiders tire easily, especially now that they are five years older.  If you would like to know more about that, talk to Herb Welch.  He also has information on other reunions we did not go to, as do Bob Gardner and Pat Jopling have information on the Dayton reunion.

                There were several flyovers at Columbia.  The biggest formation was eleven B-25s and we pre-briefed those at the FBO.  The ramp was small but we were safely marshaled and there were no incidents.  We spent most of our time at the airport and there was a steady stream of visitors and it was hot so we welcomed the activities tent with food and drink during our breaks.  We stayed at a local hotel.  We were not assured that our rooms and expenses would be paid for but the Freedom Foundation eventually came up with the money after we returned home and we were reimbursed.  We were given a rental car for transport which we paid for and were then reimbursed.  We had obtained some sponsorship monies but each Rose participant donated $750 toward expenses on the airplane and they were prepared to pay their own hotel and food expenses.

                There were activities for the Raider’s families.  Shopping trips and site seeing were included.  We have been told that the best reunion they have had so far was in Mystic, Conn., where the whole town took part and the Raiders were isolated from the big city crowd.  We must work to duplicate that.


     2007 DOOLITTLE REUNION COMMITTEES

Air Operations

Chairperson:  Grant Lannon

Members:  Dave Howard, Greg Young, Zac Armstrong, Mike Renck

Activities (including guest speakers, sponsors, activities for Raiders wives and family)

Chairperson:  Bret Renfro (Bubba)

Members:  Cowden Ward, Judy McMillan, Letty Dietes, Grant Lannon

Hospitality (including welcome packets, maps, itineraries, meal tickets)

Chairperson:  Letty Dietes

Members:  Judy McMillan

Public Relations/Media (including publicity, advertising, media, website)

Chairperson:  Bob Gardner

Members:  Julian Serda, Ron Dietes, Cowden Ward

Security (including indoor crowd control, signage, and entry control point)

Chairperson:  Greg Young

Members:  Zac Armstrong

Military Liaison

Chairperson:  Pat Jopling

Members:  Tim Black

Transportation

Chairperson:  Julie Pulcipher

Members:  Greg Young, Pat Jopling, Dennis Shields

Escorts (men/women)

Chairperson:  Herb Welch

Members:   Judy McMillan, Letty Dietes

Charities Liaison

Chairperson:  Bob Gardner

Members:  Pat & Charlene Moore

Facilities (including hotels/meeting rooms)

Chairperson:  Bob Gardner

Members:  Charles & Dorothy Greinke

Fundraising/Finance

Chairperson:  vacant

Members:  Judy McMillan, Cowden Ward, Grant Lannon

Scholarships

Chairperson:  Julian Serda

Members:  Pat Jopling, Pat & Charlene Moore

Ways & Means (including memorabilia and design logo for 65th reunion)

Chairperson:  Steve Gladwin

Members:  Bret  Renfro, Pat & Charlene Moore


2006 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

 






Links to previous issues
2003 issues Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2004 issues Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2005 issues Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2006 issues Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Return to top of page