What Happened to the Surplus WW II Planes-- Part 2

Kingman, Arizona, became a huge and well-known desert parking lot for a surplus fleet estimated at more than 5,000 aircraft.  But there were many smaller "parking lots."

Most of the planes were scrapped in the postwar 1940s.

Army Air Force depots near Spokane, Washington, and Ogden, Utah,  yielded scrap in an era long before these machines were prized as historical icons.

Meanwhile,bases in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Pyote, Texas,  parked aircraft in the dry sunshine.  Pyote is said to have stored as many as 2,000 warplanes, including many B-29  Superfortresses.

Walnut Ridge, Arknasas, as well as Clinton and  Altus, Oklahoma,  also swelled with surplus aircraft, with Walnut Ridge storing nearly 4,000.  Augusta, Georgia, was another RFC storage center.

The current military aircraft storage and salvage facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson also stored Army Air Force craft  after the war.  Included in this was a number of foreign and domestic artifacts destined for the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

--GreGen

An Original Tuskegee Airman Dies Back in 2019

From the Jne 25, 2019, Chicago Sun-Times "WW II pilot, original Tuskegee airman, AP.

World War II  pilot Robert Friend, one of the last original members of the famed all-black Tuskegee Airmen, has died at age 99.

He died at a southern California hospital.

Born in South Carolina on 1920's leap day, Mr. Friend flew 142 combat missions in the war as part of an elite group of fighter pilots trained at  at Alabama's Tuskegee Institute.  The program was created after the NAACP began challenging policies barring black people from flying military aircraft.

Mr. Friend's 28-year Air Force career included service in Korea and Vietnam.

He also worked on space launch vehicles and served as foreign technology program director before retiring as a lieutenant colonel and forming his own aerospace company.

Quite a Life.  GreGen

Veteran Turns 100 in Mississippi: Talmage Byrd

From the September13, 2021, AP News  "Mississippi World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday."

Talmage Byrd of Vancleave was born in 1921 and joined the U.S. Navy when he was 20  years old, saying he was influenced by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

His first post was near the Aleutian Islands, then he  was moved to Astoria, Oregon, where he repaired battle damaged ships.  In the 1950s, he was stationed in Guam.

His military service inspired generations of his family to serve their country.  His son, Larry Byrd, joined the  Air Force in 1965, serving more than twenty years servicing aircraft like B-52s before retiring in 1986.  His grandson,  Chris Rowell,  served in  the Army beginning in 2007 and was stationed in Baghdad, Iraq, for 13 months.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Byrd.

--GreGen

Black Female Unit Seeking Congressional Medal of Honor-- Part 5: Breaking Barriers and a Movie?

Still Cummings said the time overseas with the Army  left a lasting impression on the women, many of whom dismantled barriers in their personal lives.

Elizabeth Barker  Johnson was the first female to attend Winston-Salem State  University (a historically black college) under the G.I. Bill.  She took part in the school's graduation ceremony at the age of 99 --  70 years after getting her degree.

McClendon joined the Air Force after the military was integrated and retired in 1971.  She was the first female to command an all-male squadron with the Strategic Air Command.  Another unit member, the late Doris Moore, became the first black social worker in New Hampshire according to her family.

The unit's  story has also been getting more attention.  A monument was erected in 2018 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to honor them, and the 6888th was given the Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2019.  A documentary "The Six Triple Eight" was made about their exploits.  There is talk of a movie.

GreGen

George Halas in World War II

George Halas entered the Navy again in 1942,serving as a lieutenant commander where he served overseas for twenty months under the command of Admiral Chester Nimitz.  His duties were supporting the welfare and recreational activities of the Seventh Fleet.

During this time he was awarded a Bronze Star and was released from duty in 1946 with the rank of captain.

He began coaching the Chicago Bears again and that same year met with Army Chief of Staff Dwight D. Eisenhower and Navy Chief of Staff , Admiral Chester Nimitz and Air Force Chief of Staff General Carl Spaatz and offered to set up an annual  charity football game with the Bears as hosts.  Proceeds would go to  armed forces relief agencies.

By mid-1957, proceeds from the game were $438,350.76.

FDR's "Sacred Cow"-- Part 4: To Yalta and the Birthplace of the U.S. Air Force

In addition, there was a battery operated elevator at the rear of the aircraft that allowed the president to board and leave the aircraft easily in his wheelchair.

The "Scared Cow" carried Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference in February 1945.  Illustrating the high security involved with this trip, the plane's serial number was changed for the flight as a special security measure.  This trip was Roosevelt's only one in his plane as he died suddenly in April.

His successor, Harry Truman, used the aircraft extensively during his first 27 months in office.  On July 26, 1947, he signed the National security Act of 1947 while on board the "Sacred Cow."  This bill, which became effective on September 18,  1947, established the U.S. Air Force as an independent service, making the "Sacred Cow" the "birthplace" of the U.S. Air Force.

--GreGen

FDR's "Sacred Cow"-- Part 1: The First Air Force One

Back on Jan. 31, I was writing about the planes used to fly over "The Hump" and came across FDR's plane, "The Sacred Cow."

From the Air Mobility Command Museum site  C-54M Skymaster.

They have one, but not the Sacred Cow, which is in the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton.

The C-54 that was specially built for President Franklin D. Roosevelt was known as the Sacred Cow and built in 1944.  One special feature of it was an elevator behind the passenger cabin that lofted the president and his wheelchair in and out of the plane.

The passenger compartment included a conference room with a large desk and a bullet proof picture window.

Roosevelt made his first and only trip in it traveling to Yalta, USSR, in February 1945.

This plane remained in service for the first 27 months of the Truman Administration.  On  26 July 1947, Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947, which established the Air Force as an independent service.  This also made the Sacred Cow the birthplace of the U.S. Air Force.

After it was no longer used by the president, it was assigned other transport duties until retired in 1961.

--GreGen