Given the topics of the last two times I’ve written I’ve got three weeks of catching up to do.
CAMP, CAMP, CAMP. I mentioned before that the boys were at summer camp (that was the week of June 8). It wasn't hot like it was last year, but they sure got the rain. I saw them on Tuesday (the 10th) and Vicki and I ate with them on Friday (the 13th--see below). They both looked like they were having the time of their lives. This time their campsite was on the shore of Old Hickory Lake and their tent was about 30 feet from the water.
Both boys took the Green Bar class which focuses on getting the skills required for their next rank--Ben for First Class and Nate for Tenderfoot. Ben also had merit badge classes for Archery and Emergency Preparedness while Nate had classes for Basket Weaving, First Aid, and Soil & Water Conservation.
I brought the boys home that Saturday morning. Nate only had the weekend at home before he and Vicki left for CentriKid camp. Their group pulled out that Monday (the 16th) and returned home a week ago Friday (the 20th). They returned to Campbellsville University. I think I have said before that CentriKid focuses on one’s relationship with God. The daily schedule is bookended with worship experiences but also includes Bible study time and recreation time. In the afternoons the kids have some “track times” to take some classes that interest them. Nate’s tracks “in this order” were Weird Science, Build It, and Art Studio. Nate had so much fun he is really hoping that he doesn’t have to choose between CentriKid and Boy Scout camp next year.
With Vicki and Nate gone Jenna, Ben and I spent a quiet week at home. We enjoyed each other, but Jenna and I commented that we were looking forward to Nate returning home so Ben would have someone else to aggravate. Ben really did miss Nate and was disappointed when he didn’t get to talk to him for a couple of days. All brotherly love/aggravation aside Nate was a sad boy last Tuesday morning (the 24th) when we took Ben to church for him to go with the youth group to CentriFuge.
CentriFuge is the camp experience for teens that CentriKid is modeled after. Our group headed out early that morning to make the drive to the Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina. They returned yesterday. Ben had a great time and talked more about this camp than he has about any other in the past. He said several times his favorite part was the worship services. He also had track times: Table Games and Hiking. I think he enjoyed hiking the best.
Here at home Vicki has started getting into VBS mode, and these next two weeks see her immersed in preparations. Jenna is getting some babysitting work lined up and her schedule is filling up as well.
TWENTY YEARS. It is hard to believe that Vicki and I celebrated our 20th anniversary. Unfortunately we were apart on the day with her being out of town at CentriKid. We celebrated the Friday before (the 13th) spending the entire day together doing some shopping, eating lunch at the Korea House in West Nashville (one of our favorites), catching Maleficent on the big screen, and then driving out to Boxwell to share dinner with the boys. It wasn't the Hawaiian vacation we've dreamed of but it was a fun day with my bride. Maybe we'll get to Hawaii some day.
SPEAKING OF THE MOVIES. Vicki and I really enjoyed Maleficent. If you are a fan of Disney fairy tales you should put it on your list of movies to see. Then the next day, since the boys were back home, we all went out to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 which was also a lot of fun. This was our Father's Day outing.
TRASH AND TREASURES. One thing Ben missed while he was away at camp was Trash and Treasurers. Vicki, Nate, and I got up early Friday morning and browsed around town looking for a few deals. (Jenna opted out. She participated in the Adie’s House ministry at church.) Treasures were few and far between. Yesterday morning we all worked the concession stand for the Cross Plains Heritage Commission. We did well until the lunch rush when we could have used a second grill.
REFLECTIONS. You know, I’m tired after rereading all we’ve done in the last three weeks--and this weekend is the halfway point of the kids’ summer break. July will be gone before we know it and we’ll be getting geared up for another school year. At least we are all staying put for a bit.
Joe
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Farewell Bro. Bill
Our pastor, Bill Owen, has resigned. He has decided it is time to move on and pursue other ministry opportunities. We are all very sad as we have enjoyed him, his wife Cindy, and their sons in our church for the last 32 years.
Bro. Bill came to us in 1982. I was 15 years old at the time. In that time our entire community has been touched by his ministry here which has gone far beyond the hundreds of sermons he has delivered from our pulpit. Just speaking for my family alone he officiated our wedding 20 years ago, he has dedicated and baptized all three of our children, he has been there for us when we were sick, celebrated life with us when times have been good, and buried our loved ones. Of course, my family has had a very close connection with Bro. Bill. Mom was his secretary for 25 years and Vicki has worked with of him for the last 6.
There’s no telling how many weddings and funerals he has done over the years along with visiting the sick and counseling the hurting. And his ministry hasn’t stopped there. He and Cindy have been very active in our community. For example, Bro. Bill coached baseball teams for years when his boys were young.
I don’t think about it too much, but it is sort of odd that we give our pastor the title of “Brother” when in most other churches he would be known as “Pastor Bill.” This has simply been the tradition in these parts. I asked why when I was a boy and it was explained to me that it was because we regard our pastor as our brother in Christ. At any rate, he has been Bro. Bill, or just “Bill,” to all of us except my mom who has faithfully called him “Bro. Owen” all this time.
As I reflected on Bro. Bill’s leaving yesterday and the next steps we will be taking to find a new pastor, it really hit home with me that the vast majority of folks who are part of our church family have only seen one pastor in our pulpit. It’s very out of the ordinary that I--a member at Mt. Carmel all my life--only remember three pastors (well, four if you count Bruce Grubbs who was the interim for a year and a half before Bro. Bill came). Bruce Ousley (last name pronounced with a long O) was our pastor in my earliest memory. He came to us in 1936, left sometime in the 1950s to pastor a church in Texas for several years, returned for a second tenure, and retired in 1970, giving us 26 years of service. He was followed by Don Dorris who was our pastor for ten years, leaving in 1981. (I shared some memories of Bro. Dorris when he passed away back in March 2008.) Our church is 120 years old this year and these three men have collectively been our pastors for over half that time.
Our church has a big task ahead (Baptist churches generally have to find their own pastors) because Bro. Bill leaves big shoes to fill. This is only compounded by the fact that given the length of Bro. Bill’s tenure with us no one in my generation has ever needed to serve on a pastor search team before. We were all kids when people like my mom were looking to fill the position after Bro. Dorris left. We would appreciate your prayers as we tackle this job.
Bro. Bill, we love you and we’re going to miss you. You’ve been family. We are praying for you as you take some time to decompress after three decades with us and refocus on what’s next. I am looking forward to hearing about where God takes you from here.
Joe
Bro. Bill came to us in 1982. I was 15 years old at the time. In that time our entire community has been touched by his ministry here which has gone far beyond the hundreds of sermons he has delivered from our pulpit. Just speaking for my family alone he officiated our wedding 20 years ago, he has dedicated and baptized all three of our children, he has been there for us when we were sick, celebrated life with us when times have been good, and buried our loved ones. Of course, my family has had a very close connection with Bro. Bill. Mom was his secretary for 25 years and Vicki has worked with of him for the last 6.
There’s no telling how many weddings and funerals he has done over the years along with visiting the sick and counseling the hurting. And his ministry hasn’t stopped there. He and Cindy have been very active in our community. For example, Bro. Bill coached baseball teams for years when his boys were young.
I don’t think about it too much, but it is sort of odd that we give our pastor the title of “Brother” when in most other churches he would be known as “Pastor Bill.” This has simply been the tradition in these parts. I asked why when I was a boy and it was explained to me that it was because we regard our pastor as our brother in Christ. At any rate, he has been Bro. Bill, or just “Bill,” to all of us except my mom who has faithfully called him “Bro. Owen” all this time.
As I reflected on Bro. Bill’s leaving yesterday and the next steps we will be taking to find a new pastor, it really hit home with me that the vast majority of folks who are part of our church family have only seen one pastor in our pulpit. It’s very out of the ordinary that I--a member at Mt. Carmel all my life--only remember three pastors (well, four if you count Bruce Grubbs who was the interim for a year and a half before Bro. Bill came). Bruce Ousley (last name pronounced with a long O) was our pastor in my earliest memory. He came to us in 1936, left sometime in the 1950s to pastor a church in Texas for several years, returned for a second tenure, and retired in 1970, giving us 26 years of service. He was followed by Don Dorris who was our pastor for ten years, leaving in 1981. (I shared some memories of Bro. Dorris when he passed away back in March 2008.) Our church is 120 years old this year and these three men have collectively been our pastors for over half that time.
Our church has a big task ahead (Baptist churches generally have to find their own pastors) because Bro. Bill leaves big shoes to fill. This is only compounded by the fact that given the length of Bro. Bill’s tenure with us no one in my generation has ever needed to serve on a pastor search team before. We were all kids when people like my mom were looking to fill the position after Bro. Dorris left. We would appreciate your prayers as we tackle this job.
Bro. Bill, we love you and we’re going to miss you. You’ve been family. We are praying for you as you take some time to decompress after three decades with us and refocus on what’s next. I am looking forward to hearing about where God takes you from here.
Joe
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The Haiti Report
As promised, this is the report from Jenna’s trip to Haiti. She preferred that I interview her rather than her write up this edition on her own so here goes.
TRIP ITINERARY. The team left Nashville on Friday, May 30 and flew to Miami where they spent the night. They got up early the next morning and flew to Port au Prince where they transferred to two, small engine planes for the final leg of the trip to Jeremie, which is located near the western tip of the southern peninsula. They stayed in Jeremie the entire week and made the return trip home on Friday, June 6.
The purpose of the trip was to provide medical care to the community and to immunize the children at the Emmanuel Orphanage, the orphanage our church is sponsoring. The team went to two church services on Sunday. They hosted community clinics on Tuesday and Thursday of that week. They immunized the children at Emmanuel on Monday.
We were very fortunate to receive some large donations to immunize the children at Emmanuel. Jenna remembers that each child got three shots, one for Hepatitis.
EMMANUEL ORPHANAGE. The orphanage we sponsor is home to about 55 children. It was due to be closed down when some of our church members discovered it on mission trips last summer. In that time the orphanage has gotten a new facility and families have agreed to sponsor individual children.
Jenna says they are all really sweet children. Like any group of kids some were shy and others were outgoing even though we do not speak a common language. They didn’t enjoy getting their shots.
They are clean and well cared for though the kids don’t have much in the way of individual possessions. For example, all their clothing is in a community closet. Jenna’s impression was that it was like a big family because the older ones look out for and help the younger ones. They now get three meals a day along with juice. Before we found them they were lucky to get one meal a day and water. All the kids of school age go to school, which is more that can be said for other children in their area due to the expense.
The kids greeted our team with singing and dancing each time they arrived at the orphanage. After that they would come up to play or simply be near.
Emmanuel wan’t the only orphanage Jenna visited. There is also Lundy Orphanage nearby which is larger (some 180 kids) and sponsored by another church in our area. Jenna said this facility was overwhelming.
HEALTH CLINICS. These gave our team a chance to see people of the community. Jenna said this was her favorite part of all. Her assignment was to help the three nurses who were on the team (she was their gofer). She basically helped people get where they needed to go. She said they treated about 115 people on Tuesday and an additional 30 people on Thursday. Turn out for Thursday’s clinic was low due to miscommunication. They were all very appreciative of the services our team provided.
IMPRESSIONS OF HAITI. I asked Jenna what things stuck out to her about Haiti and Haitians. The first thing she mentioned was their clean clothes. She said everyone in the group noticed this.
Jenna rode on a bus quite a bit to get from place to place (Jeremie is larger than Springfield) and said that people would return waves and smile as the bus passed. I think what really impressed her here is that the Haitians seem to have a general sense of happiness even though we might say they don’t have much to be happy about.
Jenna enjoyed the food, especially the fresh bananas and pineapple. Rice was such a main staple she’s said she’ll take a break from rice for a while. The breakfasts were very American with pancakes, french toast, etc. They had brought the fixings for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as wells as bacon for their lunches, and their suppers were a mix of American and Haitian fare.
HOPING TO REUTRN. As I said before, Jenna is hoping to return. She would like to go in December but that won’t fit the school schedule too well, maybe next summer. If you have any questions for Jenna feel free to send us an email.
Joe
TRIP ITINERARY. The team left Nashville on Friday, May 30 and flew to Miami where they spent the night. They got up early the next morning and flew to Port au Prince where they transferred to two, small engine planes for the final leg of the trip to Jeremie, which is located near the western tip of the southern peninsula. They stayed in Jeremie the entire week and made the return trip home on Friday, June 6.
The purpose of the trip was to provide medical care to the community and to immunize the children at the Emmanuel Orphanage, the orphanage our church is sponsoring. The team went to two church services on Sunday. They hosted community clinics on Tuesday and Thursday of that week. They immunized the children at Emmanuel on Monday.
We were very fortunate to receive some large donations to immunize the children at Emmanuel. Jenna remembers that each child got three shots, one for Hepatitis.
EMMANUEL ORPHANAGE. The orphanage we sponsor is home to about 55 children. It was due to be closed down when some of our church members discovered it on mission trips last summer. In that time the orphanage has gotten a new facility and families have agreed to sponsor individual children.
Jenna says they are all really sweet children. Like any group of kids some were shy and others were outgoing even though we do not speak a common language. They didn’t enjoy getting their shots.
They are clean and well cared for though the kids don’t have much in the way of individual possessions. For example, all their clothing is in a community closet. Jenna’s impression was that it was like a big family because the older ones look out for and help the younger ones. They now get three meals a day along with juice. Before we found them they were lucky to get one meal a day and water. All the kids of school age go to school, which is more that can be said for other children in their area due to the expense.
The kids greeted our team with singing and dancing each time they arrived at the orphanage. After that they would come up to play or simply be near.
Emmanuel wan’t the only orphanage Jenna visited. There is also Lundy Orphanage nearby which is larger (some 180 kids) and sponsored by another church in our area. Jenna said this facility was overwhelming.
HEALTH CLINICS. These gave our team a chance to see people of the community. Jenna said this was her favorite part of all. Her assignment was to help the three nurses who were on the team (she was their gofer). She basically helped people get where they needed to go. She said they treated about 115 people on Tuesday and an additional 30 people on Thursday. Turn out for Thursday’s clinic was low due to miscommunication. They were all very appreciative of the services our team provided.
IMPRESSIONS OF HAITI. I asked Jenna what things stuck out to her about Haiti and Haitians. The first thing she mentioned was their clean clothes. She said everyone in the group noticed this.
Jenna rode on a bus quite a bit to get from place to place (Jeremie is larger than Springfield) and said that people would return waves and smile as the bus passed. I think what really impressed her here is that the Haitians seem to have a general sense of happiness even though we might say they don’t have much to be happy about.
Jenna enjoyed the food, especially the fresh bananas and pineapple. Rice was such a main staple she’s said she’ll take a break from rice for a while. The breakfasts were very American with pancakes, french toast, etc. They had brought the fixings for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as wells as bacon for their lunches, and their suppers were a mix of American and Haitian fare.
HOPING TO REUTRN. As I said before, Jenna is hoping to return. She would like to go in December but that won’t fit the school schedule too well, maybe next summer. If you have any questions for Jenna feel free to send us an email.
Joe
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Catching Up
We have had some of the most pleasant weather this week even with the rain we've gotten. I'm glad for the mild temps for the sake of the fellows who are painting our roof.
HOME FROM HAITI. Jenna is back home now. She came home late Friday night, and the first thing she said to me after getting out of the car was, “I’m going back.”
The main purpose for this trip was to provide medical support. They took vaccines for the kids in the orphanage we work with. They also hosted a couple of medical clinics for the general public in the area. Bro. Bill also went to lead a marriage counseling seminar for local pastors. Jenna has promised that she would write up a piece about her experiences to share so I don’t want to steal her thunder, but I will say it sounds like the trip was a success.
A QUIET HOUSE. Jenna is home and the boys are gone. I took them to Boxwell Reservation today to begin their week of summer camp with the Scout troop. Nate got a bit of the camp experience last summer. He and I stayed with the troop while he did Webelos Resident Camp, but this is his first time as a Boy Scout. Their camp site is right on the shore of Old Hickory Lake and the boys chose a tent that’s about 30 feet from the water. It’s a perfect setup!
WELCOME US TO THE 21ST CENTURY! There are three things I've always wished I could change about our house. I've wished we lived on a seldom traveled country road rather than a highway. It would be nice to have more than one bathroom and a separate laundry room, though we do pretty well with what we have. And I've always wished we could get good Internet service.
I am happy to report that we now have good Internet service and can join the ranks of millions of people who take the Internet for granted. When we first moved out here our only option was dial-up. About six years ago we switched over to satellite service. This was better than dial-up but it was expensive and came with severe data limits. We regularly exceeded the data limit and suffered from near dial-up speeds leaving our service pretty much useless except for checking email. It was a regular experience for me to spend five minutes emailing this newsletter and posting it to Blogger--that's after typing it up and giving Vicki a chance to proofread it.
We now have a new service provider expanding in our area and we signed on with them about three weeks ago. The Internet is actually a useful service for us now! We've been able to video chat in real time where this was a terrible experience before. I came in the other day to find Nate was playing a card game with his cousin Zachary in Georgia. Just the other morning I needed to get up super early to run some software updates on one of our servers at work when it would not affect others in doing their jobs. I normally drive in to the office for this. This time I took my laptop to the living room, logged in to the network at work (VPN), remotely logged in to the server like I would if I were sitting at my desk, and did all the work that I needed to do--and I did all this while sitting on the couch watching a program on the Smithsonian channel streamed over the Internet though our Apple TV (which I won in a drawing back in March). When I got done I went back to bed. I could not have done any of this a month ago.
With our Apple TV we could actually "cut the cord" if we had one to cut. Seeing how we have an old-fashioned TV antenna we'll keep that for additional TV options, but we sure have enjoyed watching the on demand programming now available to us.
Who knows, with our new Internet service I might even send a few pictures your way. Of course, that will mean getting into the habit of downloading, organizing, and posting them somewhere before they are terribly out of date. We have a lot of catching up to do.
Joe
HOME FROM HAITI. Jenna is back home now. She came home late Friday night, and the first thing she said to me after getting out of the car was, “I’m going back.”
The main purpose for this trip was to provide medical support. They took vaccines for the kids in the orphanage we work with. They also hosted a couple of medical clinics for the general public in the area. Bro. Bill also went to lead a marriage counseling seminar for local pastors. Jenna has promised that she would write up a piece about her experiences to share so I don’t want to steal her thunder, but I will say it sounds like the trip was a success.
A QUIET HOUSE. Jenna is home and the boys are gone. I took them to Boxwell Reservation today to begin their week of summer camp with the Scout troop. Nate got a bit of the camp experience last summer. He and I stayed with the troop while he did Webelos Resident Camp, but this is his first time as a Boy Scout. Their camp site is right on the shore of Old Hickory Lake and the boys chose a tent that’s about 30 feet from the water. It’s a perfect setup!
WELCOME US TO THE 21ST CENTURY! There are three things I've always wished I could change about our house. I've wished we lived on a seldom traveled country road rather than a highway. It would be nice to have more than one bathroom and a separate laundry room, though we do pretty well with what we have. And I've always wished we could get good Internet service.
I am happy to report that we now have good Internet service and can join the ranks of millions of people who take the Internet for granted. When we first moved out here our only option was dial-up. About six years ago we switched over to satellite service. This was better than dial-up but it was expensive and came with severe data limits. We regularly exceeded the data limit and suffered from near dial-up speeds leaving our service pretty much useless except for checking email. It was a regular experience for me to spend five minutes emailing this newsletter and posting it to Blogger--that's after typing it up and giving Vicki a chance to proofread it.
We now have a new service provider expanding in our area and we signed on with them about three weeks ago. The Internet is actually a useful service for us now! We've been able to video chat in real time where this was a terrible experience before. I came in the other day to find Nate was playing a card game with his cousin Zachary in Georgia. Just the other morning I needed to get up super early to run some software updates on one of our servers at work when it would not affect others in doing their jobs. I normally drive in to the office for this. This time I took my laptop to the living room, logged in to the network at work (VPN), remotely logged in to the server like I would if I were sitting at my desk, and did all the work that I needed to do--and I did all this while sitting on the couch watching a program on the Smithsonian channel streamed over the Internet though our Apple TV (which I won in a drawing back in March). When I got done I went back to bed. I could not have done any of this a month ago.
With our Apple TV we could actually "cut the cord" if we had one to cut. Seeing how we have an old-fashioned TV antenna we'll keep that for additional TV options, but we sure have enjoyed watching the on demand programming now available to us.
Who knows, with our new Internet service I might even send a few pictures your way. Of course, that will mean getting into the habit of downloading, organizing, and posting them somewhere before they are terribly out of date. We have a lot of catching up to do.
Joe
Monday, June 2, 2014
The Last Mission
This edition is all about my trip to the final reunion of the 73rd Bomb Wing. I'll catch you up on what went on at the home front in the future.
The 73rd Bomb Wing Association was formed in the 1970s and began holding annual reunions in 1976. The first reunion I attended was in 2006 after I met Mr. and Mrs. Krantz. As you know, I have attended several reunions since then which has afforded me the opportunity to meet many interesting people, including three men who flew with my father and one who shared a Quonset hut with him. I've also gotten to see pictures and documents that I never knew existed and to crawl inside a couple of B-29s. I missed the last two reunions because the kids were getting older and our schedule was getting crazier, however, this being the last reunion ever I decided to make the trip. The organization will disband after this event, though there is a group of people trying to form a new organization to pick up where this one leaves off.
THE ITINERARY. Vicki drove me to the airport Wednesday morning. I arrived in Wichita around 4:30. The Pre-Flight Social kicked things off for the reunion that evening.
Thursday featured a trip by bus out to Pratt, Kansas. This was the site of an Army Air Base back in the war and many men from the 73rd got their flight training in a B-29 there. (Dad was assigned to Clovis, New Mexico, and Kearney, Nebraska for his flight training.) The main purpose of this trip, though, was the memorabilia (more on that below). We ate lunch at the Uptown Cafe in Pratt and then attended a ceremony to honor the veterans of the 73rd.
Friday was our "stay home" day. The 73rd had their final business meeting that morning. Lots of people were thanked for their service to the organization and then we were updated on ongoing efforts to make research and education information available. This was followed by the group luncheons where each bomb group gets together. This has always been the highlight of the reunion for me because you hear things here that aren't shared in any other setting. The tenor of this luncheon wasn't the same as it has been in the past, probably because this was the last one. A banquet was held that evening and the featured speaker was Col. Jennifer Uptmor who was probably one of the best speakers we've had at the reunions I have attended.
We boarded the buses again on Saturday and visited Doc, a B-29 that is being restored to flight status (more on that below). After lunch we took a windshield tour of Wichita before heading back to the hotel. I also spent a little time with my cousin (more on this below) before the recognition banquet and dance that was held that evening.
The final event of the reunion was the farewell breakfast Sunday. I got to enjoy this before catching my flight back home which took me the northern route through Chicago. Vicki met me at the airport and we enjoyed lunch together before heading home.
CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS. The Pre-Flight Social was where I caught up with a lot of my friends, though I wound up sitting with some total strangers. One gentleman I sat with actually flew with the 58th Bomb Wing and told of his experiences flying missions from China and having to fly their supplies in from India over the Himalayas. These supply missions were called "hump" missions because they went over the mountains. They were so treacherous due to altitude and weather the crews got combat credit and the missions were denoted on the planes with a camel. Another gentleman sitting at the table continued in the service after the war for another 20 years. He earned his pilot’s wings and flew in the Berlin Air Lift and then continued to fly heavy bombers--the B-47 and the B-52--until he left the service. After some time in private industry and then flying for TWA he wound up flying private jets for a wealthy family from the Middle East...the bin Ladens. Needless to say, it was not your typical conversation around the table.
I got a chance to catch up with several folks I had met at previous reunions. I spent a lot of time visiting with Carl Barthold who shared the Quonset hut with my dad. He is quite a character and full of all sorts of interesting stories. He also kept a diary (contrary to orders) while he was on Saipan so he has a great tool for aiding his memory and verifying his facts. Mr. Barthold features prominently in Mission to Tokyo by Robert Dorr which was published a couple of years ago.
I also caught up with Bill and Joan (pronounced Jo Ann) Agee and met their nephews who attended for the first time. Mr. Agee will always be special to me because he has been so patient to answer my questions.
Two people I greatly missed at this reunion were Jim and Mildred Krantz, however, their family was represented by their daughters Lynda and Cathy; Cathy's husband, Randy; and their sister-in-law, Linda. I had a good time catching up with all of them.
As far as I know Bob Stangland and Achilles Stathas are the only ones from Dad’s crew still living. Unfortunately neither of them came to the reunion. I missed them as well.
MEMORABILIA. Over the years the 73rd Bomb Wing Association has amassed a large collection of memorabilia. From early on people started bringing their scrapbooks, records, etc. As time went on these things were donated to the association. There are currently over 70 boxes of books, albums, journals, memoirs, records, and war souvenirs. These things have been in the care of one gentleman since 2000 and he has faithfully brought everything that would fit in his van to each reunion. The organization has struggled with the question of what will happen to all this stuff in the future. They looked into many options over the years but none would satisfy the group until an offer by the Bombers on the Prairie Museum in Pratt came to their attention. This museum has promised to properly display the memorabilia and give researchers access to it. After visiting the museum, which has a great start for a new facility, we went over to the Armory where we had about 30 minutes to look through all the boxes that had not been brought to Wichita for display in the memorabilia room at the reunion. I hope to return to Pratt someday and look through what I saw there because most of what was at the Armory none of us had ever seen before.
DOC. Doc is one of eight training Superforts that was built late in the war and named for Snow White and each of the Seven Dwarfs from the Disney movie, and is the only one of the eight surviving. We got to tour Doc at the 2010 reunion but this was a much more pleasant experience as it was a cooler day and Doc was inside a hangar this time. The people restoring Doc have made a lot of progress over the last four years and hope to have it airworthy by early fall of this year. Like last time the cockpit area was closed off, but I got to crawl around all over the rear cabin and even back to the tail gunner’s position. I took over 100 pictures in and around the plane.
AN UNEXPECTED PLEASURE. My cousin, Penny, and her husband, Don, have lived in Wichita since he was called to be the pastor of Plymouth Congregationalist Church there is 2007. Saturday I decided to give Penny a call since I was in town to say hi and she said she was close by and would come over. We wound up going out to Stearman Field where they have a plane hangared and where a Stearman fly-in happened to be going on (think of this event as something like an antique car show but with vintage airplanes, Stearman biplanes in this case). We sat in the restaurant for a while visiting and watching planes come and go. After that I got a tour of their house and Don’s church which are both beautiful. I didn’t get to spend much time with Don because he was officiating a wedding, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with Penny and I am glad I called her up.
WRAP UP. As you can tell, it was a really good trip and I had a great time. I am back home now, but Jenna has gone to Haiti with a mission team from our church and won’t be home until Friday. We are getting regular updates by text from Jenna and the team so we know they are all okay and how things are going. I told her she would have to share her experiences here when she gets back so that will be coming in the next week or so. Please pray for Jenna and the rest of the team while they are away.
Joe
The 73rd Bomb Wing Association was formed in the 1970s and began holding annual reunions in 1976. The first reunion I attended was in 2006 after I met Mr. and Mrs. Krantz. As you know, I have attended several reunions since then which has afforded me the opportunity to meet many interesting people, including three men who flew with my father and one who shared a Quonset hut with him. I've also gotten to see pictures and documents that I never knew existed and to crawl inside a couple of B-29s. I missed the last two reunions because the kids were getting older and our schedule was getting crazier, however, this being the last reunion ever I decided to make the trip. The organization will disband after this event, though there is a group of people trying to form a new organization to pick up where this one leaves off.
THE ITINERARY. Vicki drove me to the airport Wednesday morning. I arrived in Wichita around 4:30. The Pre-Flight Social kicked things off for the reunion that evening.
Thursday featured a trip by bus out to Pratt, Kansas. This was the site of an Army Air Base back in the war and many men from the 73rd got their flight training in a B-29 there. (Dad was assigned to Clovis, New Mexico, and Kearney, Nebraska for his flight training.) The main purpose of this trip, though, was the memorabilia (more on that below). We ate lunch at the Uptown Cafe in Pratt and then attended a ceremony to honor the veterans of the 73rd.
Friday was our "stay home" day. The 73rd had their final business meeting that morning. Lots of people were thanked for their service to the organization and then we were updated on ongoing efforts to make research and education information available. This was followed by the group luncheons where each bomb group gets together. This has always been the highlight of the reunion for me because you hear things here that aren't shared in any other setting. The tenor of this luncheon wasn't the same as it has been in the past, probably because this was the last one. A banquet was held that evening and the featured speaker was Col. Jennifer Uptmor who was probably one of the best speakers we've had at the reunions I have attended.
We boarded the buses again on Saturday and visited Doc, a B-29 that is being restored to flight status (more on that below). After lunch we took a windshield tour of Wichita before heading back to the hotel. I also spent a little time with my cousin (more on this below) before the recognition banquet and dance that was held that evening.
The final event of the reunion was the farewell breakfast Sunday. I got to enjoy this before catching my flight back home which took me the northern route through Chicago. Vicki met me at the airport and we enjoyed lunch together before heading home.
CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS. The Pre-Flight Social was where I caught up with a lot of my friends, though I wound up sitting with some total strangers. One gentleman I sat with actually flew with the 58th Bomb Wing and told of his experiences flying missions from China and having to fly their supplies in from India over the Himalayas. These supply missions were called "hump" missions because they went over the mountains. They were so treacherous due to altitude and weather the crews got combat credit and the missions were denoted on the planes with a camel. Another gentleman sitting at the table continued in the service after the war for another 20 years. He earned his pilot’s wings and flew in the Berlin Air Lift and then continued to fly heavy bombers--the B-47 and the B-52--until he left the service. After some time in private industry and then flying for TWA he wound up flying private jets for a wealthy family from the Middle East...the bin Ladens. Needless to say, it was not your typical conversation around the table.
I got a chance to catch up with several folks I had met at previous reunions. I spent a lot of time visiting with Carl Barthold who shared the Quonset hut with my dad. He is quite a character and full of all sorts of interesting stories. He also kept a diary (contrary to orders) while he was on Saipan so he has a great tool for aiding his memory and verifying his facts. Mr. Barthold features prominently in Mission to Tokyo by Robert Dorr which was published a couple of years ago.
I also caught up with Bill and Joan (pronounced Jo Ann) Agee and met their nephews who attended for the first time. Mr. Agee will always be special to me because he has been so patient to answer my questions.
Two people I greatly missed at this reunion were Jim and Mildred Krantz, however, their family was represented by their daughters Lynda and Cathy; Cathy's husband, Randy; and their sister-in-law, Linda. I had a good time catching up with all of them.
As far as I know Bob Stangland and Achilles Stathas are the only ones from Dad’s crew still living. Unfortunately neither of them came to the reunion. I missed them as well.
MEMORABILIA. Over the years the 73rd Bomb Wing Association has amassed a large collection of memorabilia. From early on people started bringing their scrapbooks, records, etc. As time went on these things were donated to the association. There are currently over 70 boxes of books, albums, journals, memoirs, records, and war souvenirs. These things have been in the care of one gentleman since 2000 and he has faithfully brought everything that would fit in his van to each reunion. The organization has struggled with the question of what will happen to all this stuff in the future. They looked into many options over the years but none would satisfy the group until an offer by the Bombers on the Prairie Museum in Pratt came to their attention. This museum has promised to properly display the memorabilia and give researchers access to it. After visiting the museum, which has a great start for a new facility, we went over to the Armory where we had about 30 minutes to look through all the boxes that had not been brought to Wichita for display in the memorabilia room at the reunion. I hope to return to Pratt someday and look through what I saw there because most of what was at the Armory none of us had ever seen before.
DOC. Doc is one of eight training Superforts that was built late in the war and named for Snow White and each of the Seven Dwarfs from the Disney movie, and is the only one of the eight surviving. We got to tour Doc at the 2010 reunion but this was a much more pleasant experience as it was a cooler day and Doc was inside a hangar this time. The people restoring Doc have made a lot of progress over the last four years and hope to have it airworthy by early fall of this year. Like last time the cockpit area was closed off, but I got to crawl around all over the rear cabin and even back to the tail gunner’s position. I took over 100 pictures in and around the plane.
AN UNEXPECTED PLEASURE. My cousin, Penny, and her husband, Don, have lived in Wichita since he was called to be the pastor of Plymouth Congregationalist Church there is 2007. Saturday I decided to give Penny a call since I was in town to say hi and she said she was close by and would come over. We wound up going out to Stearman Field where they have a plane hangared and where a Stearman fly-in happened to be going on (think of this event as something like an antique car show but with vintage airplanes, Stearman biplanes in this case). We sat in the restaurant for a while visiting and watching planes come and go. After that I got a tour of their house and Don’s church which are both beautiful. I didn’t get to spend much time with Don because he was officiating a wedding, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit with Penny and I am glad I called her up.
WRAP UP. As you can tell, it was a really good trip and I had a great time. I am back home now, but Jenna has gone to Haiti with a mission team from our church and won’t be home until Friday. We are getting regular updates by text from Jenna and the team so we know they are all okay and how things are going. I told her she would have to share her experiences here when she gets back so that will be coming in the next week or so. Please pray for Jenna and the rest of the team while they are away.
Joe
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