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

XXVI NO. 3     October 2005

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

PREZ SEZ (FRED WENDT)

EVEN GROWN MEN CRY

Military reunions are popular, in part, because they reunite team members from a bygone era. We all like to remember being on the best maintenance team, the best aircrew, in the best squadron or wing, or having the best equipment. Our association has the distinction of having maintained and flown the B-36, the most awesome airplane the Air Force ever had in its inventory. We maintained world peace for ten years during the Cold War, and we did it without expending any ordnance. One low-level pass over the capital city of a banana republic was enough to adjust a renegade ruler's attitude. Thank God we never had to demonstrate our nuclear capability.

Dedicated men in the Fort Worth area, many of them members of our Association, contributed over 44,000 man-hours rescuing and restoring B-36 #2827. Others made monetary contributions. City officials assured us that 2827 would be the main attraction in a museum to be built in Fort Worth, birthplace of ALL B-36's. We all anticipated the day when our grandchildren and their children could gaze in awe at the machine we loved so much.

Those of you who attended our 2003 reunion heard two mayoral candidates promise to keep 2827 in Fort Worth. One of them is the current mayor. He and most of the current City Council consider 2827 just another vintage aircraft - - - not the symbol of Fort Worth's change from an agricultural town to an industrious city. They cherish their beloved stockyards with its saloons, long horns and tattoo parlors. The city and its designated fundraiser organization, the Aviation Heritage Association, did nothing to change their "Cowtown" image.

Despite desperate efforts by the restoration team and the newly formed B-36 Peacemaker Museum organization, the Air Force (owner of 2827) elected to display the aircraft at Pima Air and Space Museum at Tucson, Arizona. Our dreams were shattered. The decision to move the plane was made by the Director of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. He is a retired major general who entered the Air Force from college ROTC after the B-36 became operational. His biography states that "he served in many significant financial management duties world wide", including Commander of Air Force Accounting and Finance Center.

WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING IT MEANS THEY ARE UP TO SOMETHING

What a pity he never had the opportunity to love a machine capable of carrying him across oceans, deserts and frozen arctic lands, to the fringes of space, through the outskirts of nuclear test blasts, and return home safely without in-flight refueling. He will never comprehend why men wept because of his decision.

There is a silver lining ---for Tucson, Arizona. Their mayor led a group of dignitaries and the Tucson media to welcome the aircraft. They envision throngs of tourists visiting their fair city to see 2827 parked alongside a B-52 ironically also christened City of Fort Worth. And the Fort Worth restoration team can console themselves knowing that the B-36 will live on to tell its story at a place where it is appreciated.

HERE'S A NEW MEMBER

MY NAME IS ROBERT E DAILEY. IN JULY 1953 I WAS ASSIGNED TO THE 98TH BOMB SQDN.,11TH BOMB WING CARSWELL A F B TEXAS. I READ THE HISTORY OF THE B-36 PROGRAM AND SAW MANY NAMES OF PEOPLE I HAD SERVED WITH. I WAS FIRST ASSIGNED TO A NON-READY CREW WITH MAJ. BUCHINGHAM AS AIRCRAFT COMMANDER. HE HAD PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS FIRST PILOT WITH ROY SHOLWALTER WHO AT THE TIME I ARRIVED WAS COMMANDER 98TH B S.OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CREW WERE PAUL HUBBLE ,RADAR, JERRY MORGAN 1ST RADIO OPERATOR. HUMPHREY CHAMPAIGN GUNNER. I WAS ASSIGNED SECOND RADIO OPERATOR. AS A CREW WE NEVER REACHED READY STATUS BUT WE DID GO TO STEAD A F B RENO NEV. ON SAC SURVIVAL TRAINING TOGETHER IN 1953. IN 1954 I WAS REASSIGNED TO THE 42nd B S 11th B W. ON A NON READY CREW WITH CAPT NOVOTNEY AS A/C. FROM THERE I WAS ASSIGNED TO A LEAD CREW WITH CAPT GAIL W LARSON AS A/C. I STAYED ON THAT CREW UNTIL IT WAS DISBANDED IN 1957 WHEN THE 11th B W WENT TO ALTUS AFB IN OKLA. I RETRAINED INTO ANOTHER CARRIER FIELD.

I ALSO FLEW WITH COL McCLUSKY WHO WAS LISTED IN THE ARCHIVES AND HIS CREW ON A TDY TO N.AFRICA IN 1954. WHEN THE NATIVES WERE RESTLESS. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ANYONE WHO MIGHT REMEMBER ME TO WRITE BACK TO ME. I WAS AN E-5 S/SGT ON THE READY CREW. A F S N 12414090.

THANK YOU, R E "BOB"DAILEY oldgeezer5@aol.com

SNAIL MAIL: R.E.(BOB) DAILEY, 1145 S W CYPRESS SPACE 111, McMINNVILLE OR, 97128

DOES THIS RING A BELL?

It might be too late but in the late 70's I found an 11th Bombardment squadron ring with a metal detector in Arizona. I would like to get the ring back to the owner or family. It's not in very good shape but I'm sure they would like to have it returned. If you might have a lead they can e-mail me. gmedders@dinuba.ca.govGary Medders, Engineer/Medic, Dinuba City Fire Re-reading your message I noticed you said "squadron" while I was thinking "wing"-two very different outfits. The 11th Bombardment Squadron was a WWII org, inactivated in 1945 but according to their web page: "The 11th Bomb Squadron was reactivated and is currently operating B-52s from Barksdale Air Force Base, LA, under the 2nd Bomb Wing." See: http://pages.prodigy.com/jing_bao/sqdrn_11.htm

Perhaps that is the route to pursue if the ring says "squadron". I suggest providing a detailed description of all wording, letters and designs on the ring. Good luck!, Wray Jolley

"GOOD LOOKS CATCH THE EYE BUT A GOOD PERSONALITY CATCHES THE HEART. YOU'RE BLESSED WITH BOTH." HOWEVER DON'T BE FLATTERED. THIS MESSAGE WAS SENT TO ME AND I JUST WANTED YOU TO SEE IT.

SEC SEZ
(Dick George)

When we started our association in 1981, a scramble was undertaken to find enough ex-Carswellites to justify having a reunion in 1982. It seemed an impossible task because (believe it or not) they had not all retired in Fort Worth. One ex-436 Bomb Squadron member said after observing the location efforts had the audacity to say, "I'll give you a buck for everyone over two hundred who shows up." I wish Les Brockwell's offer had been accepted since over 825 showed up for the festivities. Today he wouldn't have lost so much money. Only 293 attended the 2005 Reunion. What has happened? Mainly, old age and health problems have taken its toll.

With the exception of 346 Life Members, only 165 of 256 (who paid dues for 2004) have paid dues for this or coming years, leaving a great shortfall in operating resources for 2006 and upward. So, what can be done about it?

First, everyone could pay up through 2010, the year we are programmed to cease operation. The 256 to which this would apply would only have to submit from five to twenty-five dollars (depending upon how far in advance you are paid) to end your dues paying days forever. Think about it, guys and gals.

Second, we could get more people to join. But how can we do that when eligibility for membership, according to our bylaws, requires service at Carswell? It seems that I (if you can believe this) made a mistake when I drafted the bylaws. Yep, ole' George wrote in Article III, Section A, par. 2, pg 50 of the 2005 Membership Directory, "Honorary ( Surviving spouses of the 7th Bomb Wing personnel and individuals approved by the Board of Directors." And, the membership approved it.

At the September 14th Meeting of the Board of Officers and Directors the group found the mistake (I prefer to call it a loophole I intentionally wrote in anticipation of its need) and approved admitting members from other B-36 units as well as a limited number of their descendants. This is a veteran's para 501c(19) organization under IRS rules and a certain balance must be maintained to insure 85% are military. So, get the word out to your friends that they may be eligible to join one of the most elite outfits around!

STALWARTS RETIRE
(Dick George)

Since May 13, 2005, the association has lost from its staff through resignation two stalwarts for the past 24 years ( Bill Minelli and Fred Zimmermann. These two have served in many posts and provided much input to the success of our planning and presentation of the fine reunions put on during that time.

Bill Minelli became our Treasurer shortly after the 1982 Reunion. The following three years found us growing from just a "party" group to a full-fledged veterans organization with all the rights of a tax-exempt organization. Bill as well as his daughter Pat worked closely with the president and others to get this accomplished. He relinquished the position to a CPA ( "Bugs" Warner ( in 1985 and moved to the Board of Directors where he served until 1993. He became 1st Vice President for the next two years before dropping out to enter religious training. This made him the perfect candidate for the Chaplain position following the death of the then Chaplain Thurston Mallard in 1999, a position he held until his startling resignation. His absence has left a hole in the staff that will be hard to fill.

Fred Zimmermann is one of the finest men we have ever had serve on the staff. He is the type of guy who lets nothing go undone. He gets things done. When asked to help in clinches, he never asks, "What is the matter?" His positive reply is always, "What can I do to help?" He can be a Master of Ceremonies at the drop of a hat. He once took over a reunion when the president succumbed suddenly. Election to our highest post was eagerly accepted as a challenge to Fred. There are too many instances to list of when he did step forth and resolve the difficulty being faced at the moment. Fred served as a very effective president 1993-1995 and then moved to the Board of Directors. He served on and off that board until his recent resignation. Fred is the type of man you would want on any team since he is a real problem solver ( and we have them.)

Neither Bill nor Fred has resigned from the association ( just from their staff positions and I know they will again help out with any emergency calls for help. I will personally miss each of you on the staff and the special help you gave to me through the years. I wish each of you God speed in your new endeavors, endeavors that will take time from your busy life, time you used to share with the 7th Bomb Wing B-36 Association and that now we must relinquish. I am extremely grateful and honored to have served with each of you. (Dick George)

OVER THE HILL? WHAT HILL? WHERE? WHEN? I DON'T REMEMBER A HILL.

THANKSGIVING

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious, may your pies take the prize,
May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off of your thighs!!

KATRINA & KEESLER

(Ed Note: My #2 son was stationed at the Keesler hospital and two of my grand kids were born there - back in the '80's. Lots of our members now live on the Gulf Coast. Any news from any of them? BOB HUEBERT reports that "ZIP" ELDER weathered the storm by going to Pensacola. No word on how his home in Gulfport fared)

Here's what has happened to our own USAF brethren at Keesler AFB, Gulfport MS:

- Base housing was largely destroyed by a 25 foot wave
- There's 4 feet of mud in Maj Gen Utterback's house (2 AF/CC)
- MSG/CC house burned to the ground (gas leak caught fire)
- 6000 USAF members and their families are living in shelters
- The power will be out there for at least 3 weeks
- The 2nd largest USAF hospital (at Keesler) is closed-Seawater got into the generator and they have no power
- Commissary/BX mostly destroyed
- Runway is operational; it's the only open airfield in the area-Day/VFR conditions only
- Gulfport Airport is closed for the foreseeable future
- The fence around the base is severely damaged
- Keesler had looters last night-Maxwell AFB is sending an SF detachment to reinforce the Keesler SF
- Parts of I-10 are under water; at least one major bridge is down
- Keesler has almost no communications (landline or cell) -- They are relying primarily on radios

VOICES FROM THE PAST
(Fred Wendt)

Some of you may remember 7th Bomb Wing B-36 Chorus performances during the mid-50's era. The Chorus was composed of some thirty flying officers of the 7th BW. MARY MALLARD has graciously presented our Association with a CD of their performances copied by members of her family from 45RPM recordings. The original recordings were made at TCU's Ed Landreth Auditorium and a guest on the Margaret McDonald TV Show.

BOB BRANCH served as spokesperson and featured soloists were WES PENDERGRAFT, ROBERT WALLACE, HENRY HARPER, and LELAND NEVILLE. Songs include "The B-36 Song", "This is My Country", "The Old Chisholm Trail" and a variety of others. While the sound quality retrieved from the oft played 45's is less than concert quality, just hearing these voices from the past will bring tears to your eyes.

MARY desires to share these memories with former members of the Chorus or perhaps their descendents. If you qualify, send us a letter stating your qualification for the request to the address on page one. We will consolidate the letters and forward them to MARY.

JUNK IS STUFF YOU THROW AWAY, STUFF IS JUNK YOU KEEP

TREASURER'S REPORT
(DOUG WOOD)
[See your printed SCANNER for details]

SIGNS OF THE TIMES At a bank offering premiums to new depositors: For all you no-accounts. In a landscape nursery: Light up your life - plant bulbs At a gift shop in New Jersey: God help those who help themselves! On a bill board in St. Louis: Missouri love company. In an antique store in Saratoga Springs, NY: Den of Antiquity. On a bumper sticker in Burlington, VT: Welcome to Vermont - Now go home. At a Scout benefit car wash in Chicago: Car Wash 75Cents, Seniors washed free. In a New Jersey jewelry store window: Ears pierced while you wait. At a restaurant in Pasadena, CA: Food so good you think we kidnapped your Mother.

BIRTH OF THE B-36

    (BENNETT LONG sent us a nice excerpt from "Flight, 100 years of Aviation" published by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. It's an interesting summary of the beginning of the B-36/)

    "In 1947 the Strategic Air Command's potential nuclear strike force consisted of just 10 B-29 bombers. And it was widely accepted that the B-29 was not up to the job in range, altitude, or speed. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A YARD SALE AND A TRASH PICK UP IS HOW CLOSE TO THE ROAD THE STUFF IS PLACED.

    "The process of finding a replacement bomber for the nuclear role was plagued by indecision and politics, centered around disputes as to which kind of bomber would work and whether what would work was worth the price. Boeing initially came up with the B-47, a seminal jet design with swept wings and the engines in pods on struts under the wing. It was considered fast enough to penetrate Soviet aid defenses, cruising at around 560MPH, but it lacked intercontinental range - therefore it would either have to be based on the territory of America's allies nearer the Soviet border, or rely heavily on in-flight refueling.

    "For a true intercontinental bomber, the USAF looked at one point as if it would turn to America's most innovative designer, Jack Northrop. Since the early 1940's, Northrup had been working on the SB-35, a propeller-driven flying-wing bomber with neither fuselage nor tail. He proposed a jet-powered version, the YB-49, as America's strategic nuclear bomber. But after much discussion, the Air Force instead opted for the Consolidated B-36, an aircraft that was remarkable above all for its sheer size - one pilot said it was "like flying an apartment house." The b-36's wingspan of 230 feet was more than double that of a World War II B-17 - in fact considerable bigger than today's Boeing 747. A physical monument of the transition to the jet age, it had six pusher propellers plus four turbojets, an array of power that made the ground shake as it flew overhead. Deployed alongside the B-47, the B-36 provided a stopgap solution until the Boeing B-52 took over at the hub of America's nuclear bomber force in the second half of the 1950's "

    GENERAL CURTIS LEMAY, head of the Strategic Air Command, had this to say, "I believe we can get the B-36 over a target and not have the enemy know it is there until the bombs hit!" INTERESTING WW II FACTS - At the time of Pearl Harbor the top US Navy command was called CINCUS (pronounced "sink us"), the shoulder patch of the US Army's 45th. Infantry division was the Swastika, and Hitler's private train was named "Amerika." All three were soon changed for PR purposes. - More US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine Corps. While completing the required 30 missions your chance of being killed was 71%. Not that bombers were helpless! A B-17 carried 4 tons of bombs and 1.5 tons of machine gun ammo. The US 8th Air Force shot down 6,098 fighter planes, 1 for every 12,700 shots fired. - It was a common practice on fighter planes to load every 5th round with a tracer round to aid in aiming. This was a mistake. The tracers had different ballistics so (at long range) if your tracers were hitting the target 80% of your rounds were missing. Worse yet the tracers instantly told your enemy he was under fire and from which direction. Worst of all was the practice of loading a string of tracers at the end of the belt to tell you that you were out of ammo. This was definitely not something you wanted to tell the enemy. Units that stopped using tracers saw their success rate nearly double and their loss rate go down.

- When allied armies reached the Rhine the first thing men did was pee in it. This was pretty universal from the lowest private to Winston Churchill (who made a big show of it) and Gen. Patton (who had himself photographed in the act).

- The US Army had more ships than the US Navy.

IF YOU THINK TALK IS CHEAP, TRY HIRING A LAWYER

LAST FLIGHT

When I come to the end of the road, And the sun has sent for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room, Why cry for a soul set free.
Miss me a little - but not too long, And not with your head bowed low,
Remember the love that we once shared, Miss me - but let me go.
For this is a journey that we all must take, And each must go alone.
It's all a part of the Master's plan. A step on the lonely road home.
When you are lonely and sick at heart, Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds, Miss me - but let me go.

SMS JOHN D "JACK" BEABOUT    A1C ROBERT E METZGER

BGN CLIFFORD (KIP) SCHOEFFLER    CMS LEO P SHANNON

LAURA wife of LTC WALTER G DEMOND    BETTY wife of COL VICTOR L SANDACZ

BETTY wife of COL DEAN SMITH

I'VE GOT ENOUGH MONEY SAVED FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

UNLESS I WANT TO BUY SOMETHING

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
(Membership open to anyone assigned to a B-36 base, Aircrew, Ground crew, Staff, Air Base Group, etc.)

ONE-TIME DUES: $25.00 (2006 THRU 2010)

NAME:_____________________________________SPOUSE__________________________

ADDRESS:___________________________________________________________________ 

HIGHEST RANK:_______B-36 BASE OF ASSGMNT_______________________________ 
(If not Carswell, "Honorary" Membership) 

UNIT ASSGD____________________________________________ 

ASSGD TO B-36 BASE:

 FROM:____________________________________TO:____________________________ 

MILITARY ACTIVE DUTY FROM:___________________TO:__________________________ 

WILL ATTEND REUNION 2007: YES___ NO___ 

AND STAY AT REUNION HOTEL: YES___NO___

  SIGNED:_____________________________________________________________________ 

NOTE: Completion of form - and submission of $25 - entitles applicant to membership in 7BW B-36 Association until it's dissolution in 2010 and means receipt of the newsletter four times a year and acceptance at the 2007 and 2009 reunions to be held in Fort Worth, Texas.