The official publication of the
7th Bomb Wing B-36 Association

XXIII NO. 3   AUG 2002

Email address: b36asn7bw@aol.com Web site: www.7bwb-36assn.org

LETTER "S"

As EDITOR of your newsletter I wish to call your attention to the change in the "Email address" listed above. You will note that there is one less "S" in the "ass" in "b36assn". You must figure out for yourself whether it was the first or second one. Your Corresponding Sec’y, DICK GEORGE had to change the address because he was getting too much excess stuff from all over that had no relation to our organization. He told me to make the correction in the May issue. When the issue came out, DICK GEORGE was not too pleased that I neglected to make the correction and told me I didn’t know my "S" from a hole in the ground. Well, here it is DICK, stick that up your "S".

I ran across this poem the other day. It tells a lot about us and our place in the every day life of today. I hope you like it as much as I did:

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER

He was getting old and paunchy, and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion telling stories of his past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies – they were heroes, every one.
And though , sometime to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we’ll hear his tales no longer, for old Bill has passed away,
And the world’s a little poorer for a soldier died today.
He was just a common soldier, and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s part
Is to clean up all the troubles that others often start.
If we cannot give him honor, while he’s hear to hear the praise,
Then at least let’s give him homage, at the ending of his days
Perhaps a simple notice in a paper that would say,
"Our country is in mourning. ‘cause a Soldier passed away."

(Money is not the key to happiness but if you have enough of it you can get a key made)

In his final report, BUGS WARNER, your Treasurer and Keeper Of The Cash, reported that we took in $6,791.02 during Reunion 2002. HE also reported that we took out (spent) $13,573.06. In other words, you guys and gals who attended the reunion came away $6,782.04 to the good, net cost for all the subsidized meals and goodies. Those of you who did not make it to 2002 better get your boots on and get to reunion 2003 and share in all this good stuff! Speaking of Reunion 2003, your Prez, TOM REDWINE, reports that April 3-6 are the tentative dates. Put that on your calendar and look for further info in future SCANNERS.

And there WILL BE a Reunion 2003. BUGS reported that, even after spending all that money, we still have $29,656.75 in the kitty – even after reducing the dues 50% and even after a bunch of you guys, according to DICK GEORGE, have not yet kicked in your annual share.

BUGS also reported (boy, he really has been busy) that he bought us some more B-36 hats and Tie Tacs. There are two types of hats, blue with silver trim – including scrambled eggs on the rim – and white with gold trim, eggs, too. Drop him a line and he will send you a hat of your choice for $9, 2 for $14 including postage and handling. If you really want to make out, come to the reunion and get one for only $5! Same with the Tie Tacs, they are $3 each or 2 for $5 mailed but only $2 each at the reunion.

I take great pride in being your EDITOR but in all honesty I must admit that my prowess in this endeavor came from an extensive course in "HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL WRITER." As a measure of the esteem I hold for all you readers, here it is:

"In promulgating your esoteric cogitations or articulating your superficial sentimentalities and amicable philosophical or psychological observations, beware of platitudinous ponderosity. Let your communications possess a compacted conciseness, a clarified comprehensibility, a coalescent cogency and a concatenated consistency. Eschew obfuscation and al conglomeration of flatulent garrulity, jejune babblement and asinine affections. Let your extemporaneous descanting and unpremeditated expatiations have intelligibility and voracious vivacity without rodomontade or thrasonical bombast. Sedulously avoid all polysyllabic profundity, pompous prolificacy and vain vapid verbosity.

"In short: Be brief and don’t use big words."

There are loved ones who are missing from the fireside and the feast;
There are faces that have vanished, there are voices that have ceased;
But we know they passed forever from our mortal grief and pain,
And we thank Thee, O our Father for the blessings that remain.
Thanksgiving, oh thanksgiving that their love once blessed us here,
That so long they walked beside us sharing every smile and tear;
For the joy the past has brought us but can never take away,
For the sweet and gracious memories growing dearer every day.

From time to time JOE WEBER sends us interesting stuff. Here is a bit he sent from a guy (Carl D. Camp) responding to an article JOE had in an aviation magazine. (Why isn’t this guy in the B-36 Assn?)

Dear Joe:

I was a member of the 436th Sq of the 7th BG at Carswell when they towed the first B-36’s across the runway to the Carswell side and I was immediately put into a high-powered fam course on it. Then, I was a 1685 Electrician Gunner on B-29’s. At first glance, we were not enamored with the giant push/prop beast but it was highly interesting.

It was not my first knowledge of the B-36. I knew of it as far back as Feb. 1945. I lived in an apartment house in Liberator village, across the street from Consolidated. Another tenant, who worked for Consolidated told me he was working on a giant plane that allowed one to stand up and work on the accessory section of the engines while in flight. He told me that they used dwarfs/midgets to crawl into tight places and buck rivets and do other needed tasks.

I was dubious of all this but since I washed up on the peacetime beach of Ft. Worth due to marrying a local girl, I began to hear of the beast more and more often. Ft. Worth regarded it as its own special creation. In any case, it was well known in advance when it would first fly and on the appointed day, White Settlement Rd.. was a solid mass of cars. I had a Cushman motor scooter and I snaked my way to where I could get a good observation position, riding through the gaps, in the ditches and wherever I could in order to get through the congestion.

The old XB-36 flew and the crowd roared. The decibel level reached even greater heights than it did on VJ Day. She flew over Ft. Worth for a seemingly long time, giving everyone in town a good look at her. I think, on that day, she seemed more beautiful than ever again. She made even the most aviation-ignorant person stand tall and proud as he watched her sailing overhead – at the grand speed of about 150MPH. She certainly was no ball of fire. I sort of felt that flying in general had been sent back twenty years.

From the top of a hanger, after being run off the control tower ladder, I and scores of other 7th Group men watched the day the landing gear drag strut dropped free just after take off. They bailed the non-essential crew out near Weatherford and brought her in. The pilot steered ever more to the left to hold pressure against the right gear and finally she went off into the grass between the runway and taxiway – but the gear held. Once more that "Heard-in-Heaven" roar of thousands of human voices, for White Settlement Rd. was once more loaded with spectators. The word had gotten out over the radio and Ft. Worth came to pray for their giant bird (and to witness the crash if that was the way things were to turn out.) With all the GI’s on the base clinging to some high observation point and all civilians on White Settlement Rd., it kinda made you wonder who was minding the store.

I was sent to B-52 maintenance school in April 1958. I was crewing on a B-52 night refueling crew when the last B-36 to fly came over my house in Ft. Worth headed for the airport between Ft. Worth/Dallas (Greater Southwest Airport) to be a monument. I got out of bed, sleepy as I was, and went into the yard and watched her and even gave her a highball. I read the names of her crew in the afternoon paper and they were bosom buddies from Biggs AFB. Hell, yes, I admit, I got a little weepy-eyed. I was still rather young then but I knew the passing of a grand era when I saw one. I looked back down the trail of aircraft I had traveled, from B-18’s through LB-30’s, B-23’s, B-24’s, B-29’s and B-50’s and felt suddenly very old and useless, washed up at 34!

The point of all this is that as often as I heard an aircraft go over that sounded even superficially like the B-36, I could not resist running outside and looking up, even though I knew there would never be another B-36 in the sky. If you remember, a C-124 could often fool a person and I was not the only B-36 man to allow himself to be fooled for a moment. It saddens me sometimes to find that there are people everywhere who have not the slightest memory of that Old Darling.

Sincerely, Carl D. Camp

'J~ I thought I understood some of the principles of recruiting at one time. After twenty years of coercing, pleading and browbeating our members we have been able to keep the dues paying membership level around 875 out of the 1200 names with known valid (?) addresses. That ain't bad. But, what happened this year?

We hoped to maintain a stable level of members until our anticipated demise by 2010. The price of all membership categories was reduced by 50% or more starting with 2002. Life memberships ballooned. We went from 248 to 331. But, there are 185 regular members who paid dues in 2001 who have not remitted their 2002 dues.

Five dollars a year is not very much. This Scanner alone costs fifty cents or $2.00 for the year (4 x .50 -- $2.00). Other expenses eat up the rest and more. You used to pay $10.00 a year; so, if you pay the new rate of $5.00 you will be paying the same as in the past and can start your new rate in 2003. So, how about it? If you have the number 2001 in the upper left comer of your address label, send $10.00. It will pay this year (2002) and you will be covered through 2003. That would sure cut down on the computer keystrokes I have to make and you will be paid ahead. Pleeeeze!

During the last reunion business meeting, there was a discussion about sending the Scanner via the interact to those having access to that medium. This could produce a savings in excess of $50 per mailing based on the known members with intemet capability. Further discussion at the July board meeting pointed out that while such a procedure had merit the ability to keep up with the regular USPS mailing addresses was lost. Some of you are very good about reporting your moves while others are only discovered when the mail is returned. (By the way, a returned Scanner that is then sent on to you costs an average of $1.06.) Despite the cost, the board voted to send a hard copy to the address on Erie and to eat the expense of forwarding the returned mail. I might point out, the Scanner is posted on our web site at 7bwb-36assn.org even though it is mailed out.

Speaking of our fine web site, we definitely need your input to make it better. One obvious area - which only you can write - is the Member Biographies section. The book published by the association in 1995 titled PEACEMAKER, History of the B-36 contains 95 pages of biographies written and submitted by you. A request for the same to post on the web site has produced only 13. What has happened? There are approximately 165 E-mail addresses on file and each need only send an E-mail with their autobiography. It can then be easily added to our web site. If you have one in the book, you only need to copy and send it. I say you because we do not have the staff to copy the 95 pages in the book. Then too, if you do not have one in the book, write one. E-mail can be used for lots of things besides forwarding jokes.

It appears there is movement at last in identifying and starting construction on a site where the public can again see a B-36 in our area. No, it wont be in the air but you will be able see the fruits of the labor of many folks in the metroplex. The Aviation Heritage Association (AHA) and the leaders at DFW International Airport have worked diligently with a strong sense of cooperation and are at long last meeting with success. By the time of your next reunion the project under the leadership of Mr. Mel Haas, President of AHA and Mr. Bill R. Plumlee is expected to be well underway. The 911 incident has set the project behind at least a year. So keep your fingers crossed. If we have our way, come hell or high water, THE AIRPLANE IS GOING TO STAY IN FORT WORTH.

THE QUALITY OF YOUR THINKING
DETERMINES THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE

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