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

XXVII NO. 3    October 2006

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

PREZ SEZ
Fred Wendt

There have been times I could sit at my computer and crank out a Prez Sez column in just a few minutes. Today is not one of those days. I'll guess that is because everything is going so well for our Association.

There are no complaints about Fort Worth's loss of B-36 #2728. The folks out at Pima are doing a fantastic job assembling and preparing the big bird for display. Consequently the B-36 Peacemaker Museum group in Fort Worth is devoting its time and talents toward the development of a Fort Worth Aviation Museum at Meacham Field. Their monthly meetings feature guest speakers such as our own George Savage and Don Pyeatt.

Elsewhere in this issue you will read that Don is now our Historian and Frank Kleinwechter has moved to the position of Historian Emeritus.

Also in this issue, you will read about brick sales for the MK-17 thermonuclear bomb display/SAC Monument to be located at what we knew as Carswell AFB. Our Board of Directors voted to purchase bricks to commemorate the 7BW B-36 Association and its leadership since inception.

Preparations for our reunion at the Green Oaks, April 19 - 22, 2007, are proceeding on schedule. We will fill in some of the planning gaps at our January Board Meeting and you will get the details along with application forms in your February 2007 SCANNER. There will be a special Board Meeting in March to make final adjustments before the reunion. Very few membership applications have come in from other B-36ers. Remember, it is up to you to let them know we are sharing our good fortune. You may want to slip a note in with the Christmas card to your old buddy.

I have been involved in, and had leadership positions in many organizations since retiring from the USAF in 1972: church, VFW, the local festival association, our B-36 Association, and recently I was appointed as an Emergency Services District Commissioner. I must say that none were or are as pleasurable as being on this Board of Directors. It is worth the trip from San Antonio to meet with these guys for an hour or two every four months - - even with the increase in gasoline prices.

I LIKE A MAN TO COME OUT AND SAY WHAT HE THINKS.
IF HE AGREES WITH ME

SEC SEZ
(Dick George)

˜˜ The status of our association remains very healthy. When you consider the fact we started initial organization meetings under the guidance of Glen Loveall in 1981 and haven't been in the red since, we must have done something right. I like to think it has been the result of having such dedicated and ethical people at the helm backed up with like personnel on our Boards. Most of the current Board members have served off and on for 25 years and some the entire time. It can also be attributed to the support of our membership without whom there would be no cause for existence. Everyone has risen to the occasion when help was needed just like the Carswell B-36 units did in the past.

Stick-to-a-tive-ness (I know the term was used often in the 7/11 Bomb Wing days but I have no idea how to spell it) made us the finest B-36 units in SAC. The same trait has made our association the success it has always been. We have only two more reunions before like many of our friends our organization takes its "last flight." We hope there is full attendance at both events. Be sure to ask your friends from other B-36 unit as well as guests to come next April. There won't be much opportunity to tell your war stories after we dissolve. We have moved back to the Green Oaks Inn on your request. Let's fill it.

FORMER WING COMMANDER DIES

Brigadier General John A. "Jack" Roberts, four-time commander of the 7th Bomb Wing, died June 22, 2006, in Fort Worth at the age of 89. No other commander served the Wing in that position as long as Gen. Roberts. All service with the 7th Bomb Wing was in the rank of Colonel.

General Roberts first came to Carswell AFB in February 1949 while the Wing was receiving its first B-36s and was instrumental in creating the first combat ready Very Heavy bomber force. After a brief respite from the wing in October 1950 he reassumed command in February 1951, remaining until October of the same year. But, he just couldn't remain away for long and returned in April 1952 to hold down the fort until January 1953. His last tour began in July 1957 and he took us through phase out of the B-36 and into conversion to the B-52 Stratofortress. He left the wing for the final time in January 1959.

General Roberts' colorful career began when he entered the US Army Air Corps October 1937. During WW II he served in the Pacific Theater of Operations and accumulated 906 combat hours in B-17's and B-29's while flying 143 missions. He was piloting one of the B17's that arrived in Hawaii during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Later he took part in the American air group that shot down 105 enemy planes and sunk 22 Japanese ships. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery, Fort Worth.

CARSWELL B-36 DEMISE

Starting in early 1958 the B-36s of the 7th Bomb Wing began leaving the Carswell flight line one by one until they no longer graced the skies over Fort Worth. Aircraft of the 11th Bomb Wing had left already as the wing moved to Altus OK. Beginning as an idea long before the atomic bomb was a weapon in anyone's arsenal, the B-36 served throughout a period of tremendous technological advance, finally being pushed aside by the advent of the all jet engine bomber. By June 1958 began a new era in strategic bombardment transitioning into the all-jet B-52 Stratofortress. Gone was the Peacemaker but not the legend it left behind.

THERE IS ONLY ONE THING ABOUT WHICH I AM CERTAIN AND THAT
IS THERE IS VERY LITTLE ABOUT WHICH I AM CERTAIN

For over a decade North Texas residents lived hand and hand with the thundering multi-engine silver birds, safe and secure. Secure that if a war ever threatened their way of life the Peacemaker would thunder off in their defense. It flew with an accompanying rumbling thunder that will never be forgotten by those who were in earshot. Despite a service life of only 10 years which covered the height of the Cold War and all of the Korean War, the B-36 never fired a shot, preserving the peace, richly earning its unofficial name Peacemaker. For the men and women of the 7th and 11th Bomb Wings the B-36 won a permanent place in their hearts. She never fired a shot in anger, but she accomplished her mission. Peace was her profession.

MONEY TALKS
(DOUG WOOD)

Balance 1 May 2006: (See your printed SCANNER for the current financial report.)

STUFF

A major item that keeps this newsletter going is the receipt of "stuff" from you members. It fills a void and keeps all members in touch with old friends and memories. STAN SOLMONSON sent us a bunch of "stuff" the other day. It will come in real handy when news is barren and minds grow weak. This issue has a bunch of info to pass on so me, your Editor, is not pressed for ideas. But when guys like STAN keep up my supply of stuff, all is well. Thanks a bunch you guys, and keep up the good work.

SAC MEMORIAL

Thanks to the great efforts by BOB ADAMS, he is the guy who puts out the tables of good stuff for us to haggle over at our reunions, a SAC Monument Committee was formed to find a home for a Mark 17 bomb which BOB also found sitting at the ex-bomber plant.

He got approval from the Air Force and Lockheed (now at bomber plant) to drag the bomb over to NAS Ft. Worth, JRB, Carswell Field (ain't that a hummer!) He even got a group to drag it over when the time comes. Then he got the JRB to let him set it up as a memorial to SAC. All he had to do was get enough money to build the monument. That's where our Association, along with anybody else, comes in. Our members have been most generous and at this point have contributed more than any other organization. There is still room for more help and the following brochure tells all how to get on board.

THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE US GOLF AND CALLED IT A GAME ARE
THE SAME PEOPLE WHO GAVE US BAGPIPES AND CALLED IT MUSIC

AN INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CREATION OF A PERMANENT MONUMENT TO ALL WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY WITH THE STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND.

Greetings from the SAC MONUMENT COMMITTEE, Carswell Field, Texas.

We would like to invite your participation in a long overdue civic project that is nearing completion at the former Carswell Air Force Base. Carswell, one of the first three SAC bases, now Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base at Carswell Field, was SAC's primary training base during the early days of the Cold War. As such, thousands of volunteer servicemen devoted their lives to maintaining world peace by training for their peacekeeping missions at Carswell Field.

Recently, a majestic Cold War relic of SAC's ultimate purpose has been preserved and assigned to the Joint Reserve Base for display with other Cold War items. This relic is the empty casing of the world's largest nuclear weapon, the MK-17/24 thermonuclear bomb. Weighing 42,000 pounds when operational, this device was the largest ever made and could be delivered only from the bomb bay of a B-36 Peacemaker bomber. SAC's motto was PEACE IS OUR PROFESSION and peace was its ultimate mission. This monument will honor SAC and its mission with the display of a super weapon that was never used and will be your expression of appreciation to SAC veterans everywhere.

Construction of this monument is financed strictly by public donations and by the sale of engraved bricks that will be used in the monument. Please see on the web: www.sacmonument.org 

MANY THINGS IMPROVE WITH AGE. 
MEMORY IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

A Strategic Air Command Monument Committee has formed to build a monument at NAS/JRB Ft. Worth, Carswell Field to honor the men and women of SAC. This monument will honor all who served in any way to keep this country safe from aggression. SAC was designed for one thing and that was to destroy any country that attacked our country. Peace was SAC's profession and its mission. SAC fulfilled its mission and preserved the peace during the Cold War.

You can help build this monument by ordering an engraved brick for $100.00 or by sending a donation. In the squares below print what you want on the brick. You can use 14 spaces on each line and up to 3 lines. Punctuation and characters count as a space. Your text will fill the surface of the brick - the more lines the smaller the letters. Enter your desired text and mail this form to: SAC Monument Committee, P.O. Box 27121, Carswell Field, Fort Worth, TX 76127

CHECKS OR POSTAL MONEY ORDERS ONLY PLEASE
PAYABLE TO SAC MONUMENT COMMITTEE
www.sacmonument.org 

MANY THINGS IMPROVE WITH AGE. MEMORY IS NOT ONE OF THEM

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

=In a San Francisco restaurant: "Eat here once and you'll never live to regret it."
=In a Health spa: "Waist Management"
=Near the entrance to a grocery store: "Free Mouse traps" By a large basket of kittens
=In the window of a bicycle shop: "Cycologist on duty"
=In the window of a shoe repair shop: "We bring back departed soles"
'At a wallpaper store: "Shop here and hang the consequences"

IF CONNECTING A MUSLIM TERRORIST'S BALLS TO THE BATTERY CABLES WILL SAVE ONE AMERICAN GI'S LIFE, THEN I HAVE JUST TWO THINGS TO SAY:
RED… + IS POSITIVE AND BLACK… -- IS NEGATIVE

26BS MINI REUNION
APRIL 2006, Salado, Texas

A great group of Non-Com's from the 26th Bomb Squadron had themselves a mini reunion at the Stage Coach Inn at Salado, TX this past April. A good time was had by all and they will meet again at the 7BW B-36 reunion in 2007.

LAST FLIGHT

Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow, I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain, I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush, I am in the graceful rush.
Of birds in circling flight, I am the star shine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom, I am in a quiet room.
I am the birds that sing, I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die.

COL VICTOR ARMISTEAD SMS TOM BERLIN
CMS AUBREY HIGHSMITH SMS GERALD S KILE
MAJ BOBBY R OUTENREATH BGN JOHN A ROBERTS
MAJ ROBERT W SAUNDERS LTC ANDREW J STOUGH III
RUTH widow of CMS JAMES A HEATON JERRY widow of CMS ROBERT YANKASKAS

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. 

THESE DAYS I SPEND A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT THE HEREAFTER.
I GO SOMEWHERE TO GET SOMETHING AND WONDER WHAT I'M HEREAFTER

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