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

XXVII NO. 2    May 2006

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

PREZ SEZ
FRED WENDT

At our April 2005 Reunion I stated my desires for our 2007 reunion group to view B-36J #2827 at the Meacham Field Museum site. Less than a month later, ownership of #2827 was transferred to Pima Air and Space Museum at Tucson, Arizona. That was not a good start for my two-year tour.

Soon after our May Board meeting our chaplain and one director resigned. We are still looking for a chaplain. My leadership skills must need some honing.

This April I e-mailed our most recent reunion hotel, the Holiday Inn Fort Worth South, to send a draft contract for April 19-22, 2007. I had reserved those dates right after our 2005 reunion, and wanted to sign a contract at our May 10th Board meeting. Well guess what!  It is now a Radisson Hotel with no record of my reservation, and room rates higher than I was willing to accept. I was beginning to think I had jinxed our Association.

In a panic I e-mailed GEORGE SAVAGE and he mailed me a proposed contract the Green Oaks Hotel had submitted in 2005. A subsequent phone call to the Green Oaks resulted in a proposed agreement for our desired dates with room rates lower than we paid in 2005. After a little e-mail negotiation, our Board met at the Green Oaks Hotel on May 10th, and approved the package without hesitation. 

We will maintain our reputation as having the most affordable military reunion. And, we plan to lower the cost to you even more if possible, by subsidizing some of the reunion items. Don't worry, we're still going to keep sufficient cash for annual fees, continued publication of the SCANNER, our final reunion in 2009, and for dissolution in 2010.

Those of you who have been attending our reunions may remember that we started at the Green Oaks in the mid-80's, and moved to a larger venue when our attendance exceeded the Green Oaks' capabilities. I had forgotten how nice the Green Oaks' accommodations are. If you have internet access, visit www.greenoakshotel.com for a complete description.

The agenda this year will closely parallel last year's. Once you get to the Green Oaks, you will not have to go anyplace else until after the reunion. There will not be any chow lines, and "standing" portions of our programs will be limited to the mealtime prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now, If we could just find someone to be our Chaplain, I might get a better efficiency report.

NEWS IS THAT THE AL QUAEDA ARE EXTREMELY OFFENDED AT BEING CALLED "TOWEL HEADS".
WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THEY DO NOT WEAR TOWELS ON THEIR HEADS. THEY WEAR SHEETS. 
IN THE FUTURE PLEASE CALL THEM "SHEET HEADS"
THANK YOU.

SEC SEZ
(DICK GEORGE)

My congratulations are extended to the many who responded to my request for full payment of dues through 2010. Of the 514 active dues paying members, their numbers now include 417 Life Members. I couldn't believe the overwhelming response from my last plea. You're the greatest. We now have a good idea of just how much money we have to work with until we demobilize in 2010. We would like to end up with a zero balance. If the remaining members who pay at an annual rate come through and finish their dues to 2010 we could refine the planning. Your generosity can make that possible. As you are aware, the association cannot operate for nothing. It costs around three (3) grand a year on average to cover expenses. The Board thanks you for your support.

HONORARY MEMBERS

The Prez recently pointed out our desire to keep the numbers up at our next two reunions by offering an Honorary Membership to those of other B-36 units. The number choosing this step has been disappointing. All of you need to serve as recruiters to your friends from "those other B-36 wings" and have them join you at the 2007 Reunion.

CHANGE OF VENUE

We are moving back to the roots of our beginning in 2007, the Green Oaks Hotel near the south edge of Carswell. Holiday Inn South, the site for several of our previous reunions, was sold to the Radison Hotel group and would not offer a contract the association could live with. Green Oaks wanted the event thereby permitting return to where most wanted to be anyhow. We selected other venues after the first two reunions due to lack of space to handle such a large group as ours. Time continues to decimate our numbers thus Green Oaks Hotel can now meet our every need.

RECORDS UPDATE

Keeping current records is a difficult task in managing the assets of your family. It becomes increasingly difficult in management of records for the Association's family. The mailing list is the most valuable tool available for keeping the members informed. If your data is incorrect we waste money sending the SCANNER or some other document such as a new directory. A lot of effort goes into these two documents and if incorrect usually results in non-delivery. Response to previous requests has been fruitful. Now help again:

1. Review the data contained in the most recent directory you possess. If any error is present, please notify the Association at P.O. Box 330279.
2. The association must not exceed a certain number of non-military members in order to retain its veteran tax-exempt status. There are approximately 75 widow Life Members in our records many of whom have had no contact since the demise of their spouse yet we continue to post each mailing to them. If you are in this category and no longer wish to remain a member, please advise so that your name can be removed from the active file. Or, if you know of a widow who is listed in any category of membership who does not wish to continue her affiliation with the Association, please advise that we may get closer to the required percentages.

IF YOU CAN READ THIS, THANK A TEACHER
IF IT'S IN ENGLISH, THANK A SOLDIER

THE UNCHANGING SCENE

I believe most of you will recall the hot humid Texas summers in Fort Worth. These days were brought vividly to mind as I climbed twenty-two tiers up in the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (TCU's basketball arena) on May 13th to attend the graduation exercises for my grandniece. As I sat drenched in sweat in my coat and tie (one of about 10% of the men who wore them) it was easy to let my mind wander back to the good ole days on the ramp at Carswell.

Remember when each training quarter required a six-hour transition mission? Without air conditioning the temperature in the airplane often reached 130 F. The pilots didn't have to worry. They each had a six inch shrouded fan to blow air on them for cooling. Of course the fan-blown air was 130° F also. It was easy to lose 8-10 pounds on a transition flight.

Remember crawling the wing on preflight? I had Flight Engineers like Ed Kieschnick, Bob Hardwick, Ed Brunson and Bob Saunders, none of which could stay nice and dry on a summer day. Bob Saunders took the most radical approach one day and got down to his skivvies in violation of AF regs! I might add in his defense, however, he got soaked with hydraulic fluid when a line broke while manually lowering the gear. His flight suit was replaced by Personal Equipment at the end of the runway. Scanners and Radio Operators were only slightly better off. Since touch-and-go landings were prohibited they could pull a plug or blister and let some of the stale air escape between landings and the next take-off.

Remember when Carburetor Air Temperatures (CAT) could not be gotten down within take-off limits? Several SAC Squadron Evaluation  Flights and Standardization Check Flights were aborted because of this. I often wondered why the CAT stayed just right for the crews at other times. Maybe Les Brockwell and Russell Stokum or Glenn Loveall and Art Merritt or Bob Barouch and Bill Boatright could explain this amazing phenomena.

Remember changing an engine on the ramp when the metal was so hot you couldn't touch it without getting a blister? The white gloves helped some when changing spark plugs in the early days. Then some one discovered the plugs weren't as delicate as first imagined. There went the gloves.

Remember the air shows? Oh what fun! The last air show at Carswell was May 13-14, 2006 and featured the Blue Angels. I recall many hours on a blistering ramp trying to stay under the wing of an airplane to get out of the sun. We were asked a zillion questions about the B-36. The most enjoyment came when the crew loaded up, took-off and gave a fairly good buzz job (limited to 500 feet) as we headed home. Of course, if the show was at Carswell, there was little or no fun at all. Just the incessant heat.

On the opposite end of the thermometer, remember when the only time we seemed to go to Goose Bay Labrador or Alaska was in the dead of winter? Never figured out just why we were supposed to learn how to be cold as well as hot. Oh well, those were the days.

SENIORS

Well, I am a senior and I absolutely refuse to discuss these issues with everyone else. If I have a problem, I find a solution. It is not always the solution that I like, but I handle it the best way I know and I don't discuss it with every person I see on the street that is past 62. No sir.... With this in mind, I bought myself a new scooter. I wanted something that was easy on gas and could zip me to the store and about town. This seems to meet my EVERY need. I love it. 

(Contributed by our very own SCANNER editor.)

ASSOCIATION WEB SITE

You are asked to help upgrade the Member Biographies area of the association's web site. Don Pyeatt is our Web Master and also one of our historians. His knowledge of North Texas aviation history seems endless. He established our web site some years ago and is regularly adding items of interest for the members. Every Scanner published since May 2000 may be found here. One section over which he has little input control is that section named "Member Biographies." It is disappointing to find less than twenty members providing input to this project when the book we published in 1995 contains 95 pages of bios (approximately 290 summaries.) Lets get this web site section filled out by each of you with a computer submitting a sketch to Don Pyeatt. His e-mail address is b-36@cowtown.net. By using e-mail rather than typing your input it can be pasted in. We have no retype capability so your input would most probably not make the scene if sent other than e-mail. Please tell us your life history using those already published as a guide and let's flesh out this section of our web site. The web site address is http://www.7bwb-36assn.org/biograph.html.

YOUR SECRET IS SAFE WITH ME AND MY FRIENDS

ED SEZ
(GEORGE SAVAGE)

They asked why I like retirement.
Question: How many days in a week? Answer: 6 Saturdays, 1 Sunday
Question: When is a retiree's bedtime? Answer: Three hours after he falls asleep on the couch. 
Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb? Answer: Only one, but it might take all day.
Question: What's the biggest gripe of retirees? Answer: There is not enough time to get everything done.
Question: Why don't retirees mind being called Seniors? Answer: The term comes with a 10% discount.
Question: Among retirees what is considered formal attire? Answer: Tied shoes.
Question: Why do retirees count pennies? Answer: They are the only ones who have the time.
Question: What is the common term for someone who enjoys work and refuses to retire? Answer: NUTS!
Question: Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage? Answer: They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want to store stuff there.
Question: What do retirees call a long lunch? Answer: Normal.
Question: What is the best way to describe retirement ? Answer: The never-ending coffee break.
Question: What is the biggest advantage of going back to school as a retiree? Answer: If you cut classes, no one calls your parents..
Question: Why does a retiree often say he doesn't miss work, but misses the people he used to work with? 
Answer: He is too polite to tell the whole truth.
Share this one with all the retirees that you know. I'm sure they can relate to some of them! AND, if you have not yet retired, look what you have to look forward to.

MONEY TALKS
(DOUG WOOD)

(Financial Statement supplied in member's mailed SCANNER only.)

I'VE GOT ENOUGH MONEY SAVED FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
UNLESS I WANT TO BUY SOMETHING

GIRLS LIKE TO MARRY A MILITARY MAN. HE CAN COOK, SEW AND MAKE BEDS, IS IN GOOD HEALTH AND IS ALREADY USED TO TAKING ORDERS.

Remember:

Senior Citizens Are Valuable
We are more valuable than any of the younger generations:
We have silver in our hair 
We have gold in our teeth. 
We have stones in our kidneys. 
We have lead in our feet and .... 
We are loaded with natural gas.

THE AVERAGE PILOT, DESPITE THE SOMEWHAT SWAGGERING EXTERIOR, IS VERY MUCH CAPABLE OF SUCH FEELINGS AS L0VE, AFFECTION, INTIMACY, AND CARING. THESE FEELINGS JUST DON'T INVOLVE ANYONE ELSE.

HIGH FLIGHT

Oh I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth 
and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds ---
And done a hundred things you have not dreamed of.
Wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlight silence,
hovering there, I've chased the shouting winds along,
and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace 
where never lark, or even eagles flew.
And while with silent lifting mind I've trod the high,
untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand
And touched the face of God.

LAST FLIGHT

Green pastures are before me which yet I have not seen.
Bright skies will soon be o'er me where darkest clouds have been.
My hope I cannot measure, my path in life is free,
My father has my treasure and He will walk with me..

SSG ROBERT E DAILEY     CMS PERRY A DANIEL JR
COL REMBERT A EBERT     MAJ GORDON J FISH
ADDA R McGEE     COL JOHN P McKINNON
CPT ELROY A MELBERG      LTC EMIL A MOLKENTINE JR
PAUL R PENDLEY     SMS ROY W TIMM
EVELYN wife of MGN THOMAS G DARLING      RUTH wife of MSG WARD A HOGUE
AURITA wife of COL RAY F LEMOINE        ARLENE wife of LTC JOHN K LONSDALE

TV HAS COME A LONG WAY.
FIRST IT WAS BLACK AND WHITE,
THEN IT WAS COLOR,
NOW IT'S OFF-COLOR.

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

(For a printable form, CLICK HERE)

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

NAME:_____________________________________SPOUSE__________________________

ADDRESS:___________________________________________________________________ 

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

UNIT ASSGND____________________________________________ 

ASSGD TO B-36 BASE:

 FROM:____________________________________TO:____________________________ 

MILITARY ACTIVE DUTY FROM:___________________TO:__________________________ 

WILL ATTEND REUNION 2007: YES___ (LORD willin' and NO___ 

AND STAY AT REUNION HOTEL: YES___ the creek don't rise) NO___

 SIGNED:_____________________________________________________________________ 

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

MY WIFE SAYS I NEVER LISTEN TO HER.
AT LEAST I THINK THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID.

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