WICHITA, KANSAS
September 20 and
21
By Skip Jones
A few weeks ago I was sitting in front of my computer going over a speech that I was going to be giving in a day or two. The base of my speech dealt with 3 different types of
respect that my father had taught me. Respect for ability, respect for bravery and respect for friendship. All three points in my talk were stories that my dad had told me about things that had happened to him in WWII while he was a B-25 pilot. An email came through and in the subject box it said, "extra seat on B-25". It was from Grant Lannon and he was inviting me along on a trip up to the Wichita Air Show. I quickly emailed back and said that I was in but I would have to make a couple calls to be sure I was covered at work. Everything
worked out and I knew that I was getting set up for my first flight in a B-25. I have a little bit of flying time in general aviation. I started flying when I was in 6th grade and have loved it ever since. As far as twins go, I've got
some seat time in 414's and 421's but nothing like a B-25. I had heard my Father/Hero talking about B-25's for the last 40 years and I was finally going to get up in one. My wife is Jimmy Doolittle's great niece so I guess you could say my whole family is kind of involved with the war bird.
The morning of the 19th was beautiful, almost perfect day for flying. I got to work, got my appointments out of the way and headed for San Marcos. I stopped by at a friend's office, whose brother is a 52 driver, to let him know where I was off to. His reaction was just what I was looking for. Envy and joy that I was about to do something that father had done - taken his first flight in a B-25. I stayed very focused on that.
When I got there the plane was already out and looked ready to go. Truck parked inside, form signed, gear stowed, get on board. Fire this thing up and let's go!
I became very still when Grant came up to power and knew that my father had seen, felt and smelled the very same thing. Not many people get the chance to do the exact thing that their hero did 60 years prior. It was an incredible moment in my life. One of my all time best and most life defining moments. I looked around at the crew along with us. Clint, Mad Jack, Mike, Jim, Bob, Howard and Grant. How could these men know what was in my heart? How could they not?
Five minutes after takeoff Jack told me I should go up in the nose and check out the best seat in the house. He wasn't kidding. For anybody that is afforded the privilege of flying
in the Rose, get yourself up in the bombardier's seat. I felt like I was being shown heaven. Usually when you come out of the clouds, if you are able to see out of the front of a plane, you're working. This was different. I had glass
all around me and a perfect view with my hands by my sides. 30 miles visibility at least. Grant in left seat and Howard in right did an excellent job on the flight up. It seemed like 5 minutes had gone by when Grant called up on the intercom and told me I would have to come out of the nose because we were 20 minutes out of Wichita. two and a half hours had flown by.
Coming in we had to circle for bit due to POW/MIA tribute that was going on at the airbase. Another 20 minutes and we were on the ground. My first flight in a B-25 was over but the weekend was just beginning. We were parked on the taxiway behind the B-17 out of Houston. Major Eric Hamilton came out, greeted us and took a quick tour of the Rose. His eyes glazed over a bit as he spoke about the life the Rose crew has, "flying around to air shows and hanging out with other aviators, that's what life is all about". You could tell this man had a love for vintage war birds. Behind him was the beer cart with Mary and the fun got going. They threw a party for all the air show participants there on the base. Great burgers and brats! They had a night air show scheduled and we got to see Patty going through her aerobatic routine. A B-1 flyby showed us the incredible power of the U.S. military machine. We thought it was going to perform a
"split S" after one climb but I guess the pilot decided he wanted to keep his commission. After a couple hours of meeting and greeting we decided to head off to the hotel. It was a good thing we had Clint and Mike along this weekend. Both of them had lived in the Wichita area and were great navigators. The maps
given to us by the air show folks never were correct. On Saturday Mike was able to go visit with his grandmother and get a great meal that included some beautiful mashed potatoes. We were told that in the morning we should come back in a certain gate if we didn't want to get hassled by the guards. Whichever one it was wasn't the one we thought it was. The guards went through every vehicle, every glove box, every camera case. Someone told me later that they had to wait almost a hour to get past the guards at our gate. Oh well, that's flying. If you've got time to spare, go by air. It was a good thing we got there early so we could get our breakfast in hanger 10. Whoops, no
breakfast, how about some day old doughnuts and coffee? whoops, no coffee. I saw at least 15 grown men cry that morning when they showed up for the briefing and found out there was no java.
The weather that morning was clear and cold. Clint and Bob took me over to the BX so I could snag a sweater. We got by the guard on the base by promising to bring back a newspaper for him. We snagged a quick bit of chow at the Burger King on base and headed back to
the Rose. People were already in line to get in the plane and a brisk business in cockpit tours was being done. I asked if there was anything I could do to help and Grant put me to work collecting cash for the tours. "Tell them to step here, reach up and grab the yellow, not the red, bar". I was a pro in about 2 minutes. It was great talking to all the people that wanted to get in the Rose. I spoke with a woman whose father flew Gen. Macarthur around as well as a man whose father flew in North Africa the same time my father did. We also
met a number of the Canadian Air Force as they came through the Rose for a tour. These men and women were amazed at the Rose. Funny accents, great people.
The air show was great. Patty's aerobatic's were spectacular. Jimmy Franklin and his jet Waco were amazing. To see a biplane fly over and hear a jet engine really is something. Bob Jones flew a tight cover for the B-17 and the Rose was incredible in her photo-op pass. Every time I hear a B-25 I get choked up with pride for what my father did in the war. To think that men strapped into these birds and took on evil makes me proud not only of my dad but all those who put their lives in harms way for me. Someone that wasn't even a glint in my father's eye yet. Thank you to all veterans! At the end of the day I got to help Bob Jones cover up the P-39. Off to Hero's Bar and Grill for a party sponsored by the City of Wichita. Great food and tons of fun with
our new Canadian friends from the P-3. John (P-3 navigator), for some unknown reason, was adored by the belly dancers at the party. Great food and libations were had by all and I got to hear a bunch of air tales that only spirits could have pried from these guys. The Rose crew was the hit of the party and picked up a signed shirt from our waitress, Kristi. They got it right off her back. Don't worry, she was wearing another shirt underneath it. It's now available for viewing in the Rose.
Back to the hotel where we stopped in at the restaurant for a quick snack. I work for the company that printed some posters for the Yellow Rose and the guys all voted me PDO. The "Poster Display Officer". I'm not sure yet what this entails but I'm looking forward to whatever it is.
Thunder storms during the night. Whoops, no breakfast again. Just a bit late for the restaurant. I couldn't fathom that Jack had not even liberated one banana for me. Oh well,
another of life's lessons. If you want to eat breakfast, get up on time.
This time we had the correct gate to get through and sailed right in. One of the B-17 drivers had left the sun roof open on his car the night before. Some of the guys had their poles out and were fishing in it. The weather stayed pretty bad all day and they finally cancelled the show about 1400.
Quick Good byes to everybody I could find that I'd met and a fast tour of the Canadian P-3 with Mike. The Canucks really are a great bunch.
Into the Rose and off we go again. I didn't have my camera with me in the nose on the way up so I grabbed it and headed for the front. I wanted to get a shot of my toes near the Norton bombsight just so I would know it wasn't only a dream. I got my picture. The trip home was more fun than the one up. I loved every minute of it. We came back down to about 2500 feet for the rest of the trip home. I couldn't tell the color of the cow's eyes but I saw a boy fishing on a pier wave up at us.
This was one of the best weekends of my life just hanging out with some aviators all because my Dad/Hero flew B-25's in WWII. Thanks Dad and Thanks to the Yellow Rose Squadron!
