Invader vol 34 issue 3 2016 11 28 16

Vol. 34 No. 3

Winter 2016

The Devil's Own Grim Reapers!

The Magazine of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association OUR HERITAGE - 13th Aero Squadron, 14 June 1917 www.13thbombsquadron.com

13th Bomb Squadron Upholds the Legacy

Winter 2016

The President's Corner

notice that we send to all members were highlights of this past year. Of the 527 notices mailed we received 238 responses containing contributions of $15,909 ($3,000 more than in 2015). One contribution of $1,000 came from Mrs. Myrna Underwood in memory of her husband Keith (a long-time proud member of our association), and another was the clever amount of $113.13. Maybe we should add a “Can you top this” in our annual request.

Greetings: The reunion in San Diego is now history, and a fine event it Charley Brown was. Bob Parks and his primary helper, Myrtle, put together a nice venue and agenda, and I'm sure everyone enjoyed San Diego and its offerings (especially the weather). The carrier, Midway, the Zoo and the San Diego harbor tour were exceptional experiences and the Crowne Plaza was a perfect reunion venue. So, if you weren't there, we missed you, and hope to see you at the 2017 Reunion at Whiteman AFB, MO in June, 2017. The 509th Bomb Wing will be our host as we celebrate 100 years of Grim Reaper history. For your convenience, further details and a “sign up” form are presented later in this issue.

Post-Whiteman Reunion Sites: At the membership meeting we voted to continue annual, versus every other year, reunions; and selected Savannah, GA, from 29 October to 2 November, for 2018. Bob and Myrtle are already working hard to set this up.

So plan ahead and come to one of the most beautiful cities in the South for a great time.

Speaking of Bob and Myrtle, I can't thank them enough for all that they do for us and our association. However, Bob has more duties than any other member of the Board, so I have been looking for someone to relieve him a little by taking over “Locator” duties as soon as possible. Bob has all of the data computerized so anyone with a computer and a modicum of computer knowledge should be able to quickly assume and handle these tasks.

So, would someone please give Bob and me an early Christmas present by agreeing to take over as our Locator.

Keep your cards and letters coming, and keep giving generously to our association so that we can continue to publish and distribute The INVADER three times per year and without any decrease in quality.

Until next time, may you all have a Very Merry Christmas and a bountiful New Year!

Your Thoughts: Since becoming president I have asked you to actively participate in the association by sharing your thoughts and comments on issues that affect the way we plan for the organization's future. I'm happy to report that you provided sufficient responses prior to San Diego that the Board and attending members were able to take appropriate actions in accordance with a consensus, not merely a simple majority. These issues and subsequent actions are described fully in the meeting minutes presented later in this volume.

Contributions:

Your responses to my letter and the annual 2

Winter 2016

Special Note to Readers As I had pointed out to in the last issue there is a proper protocol to reporting the passing of a member of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association. You are to contact Bob Parks, his email is: bob-parks@satx.rr.com Contacting Bob will ensure that your friend or loved one will be listed and honored on our Memomiam page.

Also, I am always looking for articles for the INVADER, especially articles with photos. If you are able to scan photos, to ensure good quality reproduction, they must be scanned at high resolution, 300 dpi or better. They can be burned to CD, DVD, or put onto a thumb drive.

If you can't scan your photos and you want to have me scan them, you can mail them to me and I'll scan them.

Please be sure to include your return address and pack them safely so they don't get damaged in transit. Also, include captions for the photos and where they need to be inserted in the article. If you can type the article in Microsoft Word, that would be great, if not, send typed copies of your manuscript and we will retype it on the computer. I can't guarantee that every article will make it into the next issue, but I will try and do my best to get them in the INVADER.

Celebrating 100 Years of Delivering Freedom Whiteman AFB will proudly host a Grand Celebration on 12-15 June as the 13th Bomb Squadron pays tribute to 100 years of the Devil's Own Grim Reapers. This 4-day historic event will bring together past, present, and future generations of Reapers with a program of activities that connect those who built our legacy with those who carry it on.

The Association has arranged for lodging at the Comfort Inn in Warrensburg, MO and alumni members are encouraged to contact the Comfort Inn at 660-429-4848 no later than 14 May 2017 to reserve accommodations. A special rate of $89 per night (includes breakfast) will be available for event attendees effective 12-16 June. Full program details will be provided in the March INVADER. For additional information prior to March, you can contact Bob Parks, at : bob-parks@satx.rr.com or 210-825-8661 .

The INVADER is the official newsletter of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association, a Non-profit organization. The INVADER is published three times yearly for the benefit of the Association members. Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Association or of the Department of the Air Force. *Members of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association must maintain contact with the Association or “after two years of not communicating with the association, a member will no longer receive the INVADER or the Directory”.

Editor: Don Henderson 254 Freeport Road New Kensington, PA 15068-5421 Tel: (412) 417-6667 e-mail: Don@HendersonGDI.com Henderson Graphic Design & Illustration www.HendersonGDI.com

Reserve your calendars and make those reservations now, this is sure to be...

The Reunion You Don't Want To Miss!!

Cover photo: Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Fortney, center, a former 13th Bomb Squadron (BS) commander, and his family tour the B-2 Spirit during their visit with Lt. Col. Matthew Newell, third from right, the current 13th BS commander, and fellow Team Whiteman members at Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Mo., July 26, 2016. (U.S Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jazmin Smith)

The INVADER masthead displays the principal combat aircraft of the 13th Squadron since its initial activation in 1917. ©13th Bomb Squadron Association 2015

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Officers of the 13th Bomb Squadron Association Charles J. (Charley) Brown 905 Holbrook Circle Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547-6733 charley6272@yahoo.com

President

1st Vice President/

Secretary

Member at Large WWII

Member at Large Vietnam

Robert R. (Bob) Koehne 23332 SE 225th St. Maple Valley, WA 98038 csrrk@comcast.net

2nd Vice President Locator Data Manager

Edward T. (Tighe) Carvey 6980 Olympic View Ct. Silverdale, WA 98383 tcarvey@gmail.com

Treasurer Locator Data Manager

Edward D. (Ed) Connor, Jr. 1217 Earnestine St. McLean, VA 22101-2646 ravenfive5@verizon.net

Member at Large Korea

Ron Silvia 20 Green Lane Assonet, MA 02702-1410 finefiftynine@charter.net

Member at Large GWOT

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James R. (Bob) Parks 3219 Tavern Oaks St. San Antonio, TX, 78247 bob-parks@satx.rr.com

Bill Hamman 2950 SE Ocean Blvd. Apt 43-6 Stuart, FL 34996-3512 inme95@gmail.com

Ron Jarrett 10349 416th Avenue Britton, SD 57430-5005 rjarrett@brittonsd.com

Major Bradley R. Nadolny 13th Bomb Squadron, Whiteman AFB, MO bradleynadolny@gmail.com

Winter 2016

Letters & e-mails to the Editor

13TH BOMB SQUADRON

I have a scanned image of an artwork depicting my father in an EB-57 flying a mission out of Yokota AFB circa 1960 for the 6091st Recon Squadron. I will send it to you if you are interested, along with some text, for the 13th Bomb Squadron newsletter.

You don't have to commit to publishing it, I just don't want to send you an image you don't want to review.

ASSOCIATION DONATION FORM NAME:_______________________________________ ADDRESS:____________________________________ CITY:_________________STATE_____ZIP_________

It is not the 13th, but I think the squadron was in the same 3rd Bomb Wing. They flew air sampling missions downwind of Russian nuke tests.

DONATION AMOUNT ❏ $35.00 ❏ $50.00 ❏ $75.00❏ $100.00 ❏ Other If other, Please specify amount: $______ Please Make Check Payable to the 13th Bomb Squadron Association and mail to: Col (Ret) Bill Hamann, 2950 SE Ocean Blvd, Apt 124-2, Stuart, FL 34996-3551

Later, Dad was in the 13th at Da Nang. He gets your newsletter. I would like to surprise him seeing this image in the newsletter.

I have the copyright. I drew the ink, B&W image from some of his photos, embellishing.

Lloyd Konneker

To help with the cost of producing and mailing the Invader. Here is my most generous contribution to the 13th Bomb Squadron Association.

My book: “KOREA A Short Time in a Small War” has

made me feel good by its acceptance and good reviews. As a non-author, I had a lot of uneasy feelings as to the worth of the book. I have received some great feedback from strangers and from the reviews posted on Amazon that it is a book worth reading... A reviewer for the USAF Navigators/Observers Association said it ought to be on every aviator's book shelf, and it was nicely reviewed in the British magazine FLYPAST. For your own firsthand knowledge about the book go to “Amazon.com” on your computer, search for the title as above, click on the title, and scroll down to the near bottom of the page on the left side.

I am offering readers of this ad a chance to cut Amazon's profit out of the picture, avoid sales tax, and get a personalized to you, signed copy of the book.

The book was initially priced at $24.99 and Amazon has discounted the price to $19.74, plus the sales tax in your state plus $4 shipping – about$ 24.90 to your door. Buy a signed copy from me direct, including shipping, for $17. ($13 per book plus $4 shipping) After my cost from Amazon plus shipping to me I will make about 3 bucks.

If you were a Korean War Vet with the 13th it will give your kids & grand kids some insight into what you did or helped do in the War. It will make a really nice gift for the grand kids.

You know that without our participation in that war the dynamic democracy in South Korea would be black like North Korea is today Send check or money order for $17 to Charles Hinton, 585 Teakwood Ave, Satellite Beach, FL 32937.

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Winter 2016

13th Bomb Squadron Uploads Legacy

By Jennifer Greene, 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

As the sun sets, Maj. Robert Fortney and Capt. Bob Dorbacker stand fully outfitted for the night's mission. Their aircraft is painted black for camouflage at in the dark. (U.S. Air Force photo)

the current 13th Bomb Squadron commander, Lt. Col. Matthew Newell, a unit Fortney once commanded.

Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. -- Retired Col. Alvin R. Fortney commanded the 13th Bomb Squadron (BS) during the Korean War from December 1951-July 1952. Since he held the rank of major at the time he was selected, Fortney also received a spot promotion to lieutenant colonel as the position was slated. During his command, he was instrumental in bringing about the conversion of the 13th BS to a “hardnosed” squadron.

"Here at Whiteman AFB we hear all the time that we stand on the shoulders of giants; today, I was able to meet one,” Newell said. "It is an honor knowing that as the current 13th Bomb Squadron commander, I am able to uphold the legacy of those who have come before me. It was truly an honor to meet and get to know Lt. Col. Fortney and his family.”

“I wanted to fly,” said Fortney when asked why he joined the then U.S. Army Air Corps in October 1941. "I came in because I wanted to fly in the Air Force.”

As a former 13th BS pilot with more than 7,000 flight hours, Fortney was active in combat during World War II, Korea and Vietnam. During his career he was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

45 years following his retirement, Fortney and his family visited Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB) July 26, 2016. During the visit they met with the wing commander, Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets IV and 6

cont. on page 7

Winter 2016

On January 28, 1952, his vision became a reality as the 13th BS began flying only hardnosed aircraft, increasing the safety and effectiveness of the missions. He felt it was more effective than the then current tactic of bombing with the Norden bombsight by a Bombardier in the nose of the aircraft as it was glass covered.

Fortney's legacy has shifted over the years from Air Force pilot to family man. He and his wife Dorothy reside in Arkansas. Fortney, being an only child, now prides himself as the patriarch of a combined family of nearly 30.

His advice to our Airmen of today, "You've got to set a goal, and you may have to adjust that goal as you go along,� Forney stated. “You have to do what you want to do. If you enjoy what you do, it isn't work. You have a job, but it's not work.

You're doing what you want to do. That's the way I look at the Air Force. I've had some bad times in the Air Force, some disappointments, but it all worked out. I'm proud of my service, proud of my family. I just love the Air Force."

Some of Fortney's other assignments included chief of the control division at Barksdale, Louisiana, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, vice commander of Andersen AFB in Guam from June 1966 through July 1968, and his final as commander of Blytheville AFB, Arkansas, until his retirement on June 30, 1971. His career as a U.S. Air Force pilot spanned 30 years.

Lt Col Robert Fortney at his desk at K-8 Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. The office featured plenty of Reaper Red decorating the office. Note the Esquire Caledar on the wall below the 13th Bomb Squadron flag.

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13th Bomb Squadron Association General Membership Meeting San Diego, California - October 8, 2016

Passed: Unanimous Old Business: Reunion Cost Reduction: Bob Parks reported that we are constantly looking for ways to reduce the cost of the annual reunion. One way would be to increase the number of attendees. In the past we have tended to select reunion cities based on the number of members living nearby, but that does not appear to entice those members to attend.

Reducing the reunion from 4 days to 3 would reduce costs slightly. The 2017 reunion at Whiteman AFB will be a three day reunion, but there will be optional open house activities on the 2 days prior and optional golf tournament/BBQ on the day after. Bob Butterfield suggested that each member who regularly attends the reunion should attempt the persuade one of their friends to attend. We also encourage the members of the active squadron to attend, and we did have a good turnout at Branson which was only a few hours' drive from Whiteman AFB, but currently their mission and workload does not allow time to attend. Bill Morse suggested that a door prize might attract more interest. President Charley Brown asked if Bill Morse would like to make a motion.

A motion was made to have the reunion committee seek donations or purchase a door prize/raffle item to be awarded at each reunion.

The meeting was called to order by President Charley Brown at 10:00 AM. President Brown noted that 22 members were present and the requirement for a quorum has been met.

Secretary's Report: The minutes of the 2015 meeting held in Branson, Missouri were published in the Invader.

A motion was made to accept without reading.

Motion: Ron Jarett Second: Roger Bauman Passed: Unanimous Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Bill Hamann presented the treasurer's report which is shown as an attachment.

He highlighted that contributions were $15,909 which was about $3000 more than last year. During the year we received one contribution of $1000, and 303 other contributions in response to our membership mailer. Even though the requested contribution remained $35 the average contribution was higher than that, and also higher than last year. One enthusiastic member presented a check for $113.13. On the expense side, Bill Hamann noted that the Invader costs are $6000 less this year than last. This year we have only had invoices for two issues and last year we paid for four issues due to a late invoice from the previous year.

We expect to receive another invoice for approximately $2000 soon. In Summary, the checking account has $14,699 most of which will be dispersed for reunion expenses, and the savings account has $28,383, an increase over last year of about $6,000. A motion was made to accept the Treasurer's Report.

Motion: Bill Morse Second: Howard Johnson Passed: Unanimous A motion was made to shorten the reunion duration to 3 days.

Motion: Dave Sykes Second: Bob Galbreath Carried by show of hands

Motion: Ron Jarrett Second: Ron Silvia

A motion was made to look into the practice of rotating

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Winter 2016 reunion locations from East/Central/West and back again, and instead, consider a bias in favor of locations near Whiteman AFB or convenient for active members to travel.

information in the next Invader.

New Business: 2018 Reunion: Bob Parks has been evaluating East Coast locations. Specifically, he has solicited info from Savannah, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Charleston. The clear preference considering price and availability is Savannah. There was a motion to Select Savannah, Georgia as the site of the 2018 reunion.

Motion: Charlie Breitzke Second: Tom Miller Passed: Unanimous Invader Cost Reduction: Editor Don Henderson is not in attendance.

Motion: PB Dover Second: Dave Sykes Passed unanimously

Tabled until the 2017 General Membership meeting.

B-26 Restoration Project: Ron Jarrett attempted to contact the groups restoring the aircraft and has received no response.

There was a motion to select the dates of Oct 29 through Nov 2, 2018 for the 2018 reunion.

Item Closed

Motion: Dave Sykes Second: Ron Jarrett Passed unanimously

Advisory Committee: Bob Butterfield reported that no issues were brought before the Advisory Committee.

Haberdasher: No one has volunteered during the year to be a central point of contact for selling hats, shirts, etc. Bob Parks said he will take orders for shirts. Hats are available from John Fortier, a member residing in California. His contact information is in the Association Directory and is occasionally listed in the Invader. Bill Morse said he is unable to accept the position of haberdasher but that he is willing to assist where possible.

Finance Committee: Roger Bauman reported that the transition to the new treasurer has gone exceptionally well.

Bill Hamann observed that the learning curve was steep and he thanked Roger for his help through many phone conversations.

Historian: Don Henderson is not in attendance. Charley Brown observed that two foot lockers full of memorabilia have been distributed to the appropriate agencies. One foot locker remains and it contains documents including official orders, personal letters, books and other items of minor significance. Bob Butterfield noted that the remaining items were being reviewed by an Air Force historian to determine if the remaining items have any historical significance.

Jim Pickles Memorabilia: Jo Ann Pickles, the wife of Jim Pickles, a prominent member of the Association who is recently deceased, has offered to give much of his collection of memorabilia to the Association. Ron Silvia is in contact with her and will be able to obtain the items in early January.

Ron will identify the items and will coordinate with the Board for disposition.

2017 Reunion: The active units at Whiteman AFB have taken charge of the 100th anniversary celebration. Our reunion will run concurrently at Whiteman AFB from June 12th through the 14th. The Red Shirt night will be on Tuesday, June 13th. Our banquet will be shared with the official anniversary banquet on the 14th. and as many as 200 people have been invited. Major General Harencak, the current commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service, has agreed to be the banquet speaker. He was the wing commander at Dyess AFB when the 13th BS was there, and he was also the wing commander when the 13th came to Whiteman AFB. The centerpiece of the banquet will be a B-26 inside the banquet hangar with “Oscar� on its tail. Official activities our members might enjoy include a three day public open house with static and flight displays including performances by the USAF Thunderbirds, and a golf tournament/BBQ on the day after the banquet. Bob Parks is suggesting that the Comfort Inn in Warrensburg would be the best location for the reunion hospitality room and he will have further

Election of Officers: The positions of President, Second vice President, Treasurer, Korea Rep., and GWOT Rep. are open for two year terms. Bob Butterfield reported that the Nominations Committee has contacted the incumbents of all of the positions with the exception of GWOT Rep. and they have agreed to accept their nomination. President Charley Brown told the members that he would accept the nomination, but that he plans to resign following the 2017 reunion. A motion was made to accept the slate as presented.

Motion: Roger Bauman Second: Bill Morse Passed: Unanimous There being no further business President Brown called for a nomination to adjourn the meeting. Ron Jarrett moved for adjournment. President Brown adjourned the meeting at 11:20 AM

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Winter 2016

13th Bomb Squadron Association Board Meeting San Diego, California - October 5, 2016

3:00 Pm, 5 October 2016 Call to order: establish quorum:=> 4 Officers Approval of minutes of 17 September 2015 Board Meeting

2016 Activity Invitation Letters mailed – 5 Responded – 2 (two new members) SSDI Research (Ongoing) Deceased – Approx. 5to 6 per month Old business:

Treasurer's Report: Bill Hamann.

Discussion of future (raise contribution request to $40 or higher) Locater's Report: Bob Parks Database: 7007 Database Records Active – 489 Friends – 52 Honorary – 4 Associate – 10 Survivors – 55 Inactive – 1203 Deceased – 3617 KIA – 201 Unknown – 1133 2016 Contributions Notices mailed – 527 2016 responses – 238 2015 responses – 69 2014 responses – 76

1. Memorobilia: Charley Brown 2. Advisory committee: Bob Butterfield, Roger Bauman & Ron Jarrett 3. Finance committee: roger bauman, Bob Koehne & Ron Silvia 4. Reunion committee: bob parks & charlie bretzky. 2017 Reunion: 11-14 june 2017 (include steps taken to reduce costs) 5. Historian: Don Henderson 6. Invader costs & workload distribution: Don Henderson.

• # of pages per issue • # of issues per year • Reducing Don's burden • Story backlog, if any 10

cont. on page 11

Winter 2016

13th Bomb Squadron Association Treasurer's Report September 2016

1/1/2014 Through 12/31/2015 INCOME Sales Contributions Interest Income Other Income Total Income

$621.14 $12,713.00 $45.24 $0.00 $13,379.24

EXPENSES Bank fees & Charges Purchases Hats Pins Etc. Invader Memorabilia Memorial Reimbursed Travel Reunion Expense Invader Legal Fees Locator President's Expenses Website

$24.49 $330.00 $10,477.39 $80.00 $100.00 863.46 $1757.56 $56.78 $1,600.00 $849.00 $536 $1,239.00

TOTAL OUT FLOWS Transfer From Savings OVERALL TOTAL

$17,914.43 $5,000.00 ($464.81)

Account Balances As of 12/31/2015 USAA CHECKING

1/1/2016 through 9/2016 INCOME Sales Contributions Interest Income Other Income Total Income

$170.00 $12,156.00 $45.24 $0.00 $12,371.24

EXPENSES Bank fees & Charges Purchases Hats Pins Etc. Invader Website President's Expenses Ex President's Travel Locator Legal Fees Reunion Expenses Treasurer's Expenses Tours, Dinners, Etc.

$0.00 $0.00 $3935.28 $691.00 $2,102.51 $449.51 $385.80 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 10,847.00

TOTAL OUT FLOWS Transfer From Savings OVERALL TOTAL

$18,411.85 $6,000.00 ($1,991.54)

Account Balances As of 9/16 $1,539.01

USAA CHECKING

$15,699.73

USAA SAVINGS

$22,358.23

USAA SAVINGS

$28,381.70

Total Bank Accounts

$28,211.17

Total Bank Accounts

$43,081.43

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13th BOMB SQUADRON REUNION 2016

Roger & Pam Bauman

Charlie & Linda Breitzke

Ann Marie & Charley Brown

Bob & MaryAnn Butterfield

Susan & Tighe Carvey

Nancy & Dave Clark 14

Winter 2016

13th BOMB SQUADRON REUNION 2016

Bud Compton & Natalie Lee

Ed & Sarah Connor

PB & Lou Dover

Gary & Jennifer Devore

Bob Galbreath, sister Lorie Kennedy & Jim

Bob Gerstle 15

cont. on page 14

Winter 2016

13th BOMB SQUADRON REUNION 2016

Bill & Ellen Hamann

Ronald Jarrett & Norma Deaorick

Howard Johnson, daughter Sheila, son Scott & Judy

Bob & Carole Koehne

Tom & Anne Marie Miller 16

cont. on page 17

Winter 2016

13th BOMB SQUADRON REUNION 2016

Bill Morse & James Stewart

Jean & Norris Olson

Myrtle & Bob Parks

Diane & Ron Silvia

Dave & Carole Sykes

Oscar & Oscar & Godzilla 17

Winter 2016

Former 13th Commander Visits Whitman AFB

by Gerry Kersey

Left to Right, Lt Col Matt Newell Commander of the 13th Bomb Squadron, Rob Fortney, Retired Col. Alvin R. Fortney, Brig Gen Paul W. Tibbets IV and Dorothy Fortney at Whiteman AFB.

I have had a most interesting and memorial trip this past few weeks. I thought you might be interested.

As part of my 95th birthday celebration this past May, my daughter presented me with membership in EAA and special tickets to Air Venture 2016 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. That in itself was great. I started planning the driving trip -- we were not going to fly and rent a car, because everything triples in price during the week of Air Venture. As I got into it, I saw that our route took us near Whiteman AFB in Nob Noster, MO. I always like to stay at Air Force lodging when possible, so I gave them a call and was able to make a reservation. When they confirmed my reservation by e-mail they asked if there was anything else they could do for me. I remembered that the 13th was now a squadron of B-2s and located at Whiteman. I replied that it would be nice if I could meet the current commander of the 13th to pay my respects, since I had commanded that squadron when I was in Korea 1951-52. I thought nothing more about it. I did mention it to my son Rob, who lives in Savannah, GA. He said that would make a good story (an old and new squadron commanders meeting) for the Base paper. I laughed and thought no more about it. A week or so later, my son called me back and said I had an appointment with B/G Paul Tibbets, the Wing Commander, at 0945 the morning after we arrived (July 26th). I was really floored! Rob had contacted the public affairs people at Whiteman and they were thrilled at the possibilities of a good story. Rob thought about it as well and decided he wanted to get into the act. So he flew from Savannah to Kansas City, rented a carand drove to Whiteman to meet us. The PA people made arrangements for him to get

onto the base and be with us. Us, by the way, was Dorothy and me. We arrived at Wing headquarters on time and were met by several people, none of whom we knew. We were escorted to the Commander's conference room outside his office. It was all laid out with place cards, water, coffee and note pads. In addition to the PA person, her name is Jennifer Greene, was Lt Col Matt Newell, the Wing Sgt Major, at least one photographer and a couple other0folks. Before we could sit down, Gen Tibbets came in to greet us. After all introductions, we sat down to talk. We talked and told stories for forty-five minutes before we adjourned to Gen Tibbets' office. He explained about his commanders coin and then presented each of us with one. More pictures were taken and we finally left. But that wasn't all. We climbed into a bus and were driven to the flight line and then to a hanger where there sat a B-2 in all its glory. After some more pictures and a briefing about the plane we toured it completely. Oh, yes, Rob and I were allowed to climb up into the cockpit for a look see. Amazing!! And there was still more. Next we were taken to the 13th headquarters. Certainly different than what we had at K-8. Hanging on a wall is the flag we had flying over our building at K-8. The same one we unfurled as I taxied in to the F-86 fighter base at Suwon (K-13?) in May, 1952. The room was all set up as a TV studio with cameras and lights.

I was interviewed for at least 15 minutes. The next event was scheduled to watch a couple B-2s take off. Because of some communication misunderstanding, -- we missed that.

Nevertheless, it was a memorable morning and we continued our trip feeling very special. The squadron is in good hands.

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Upholding the Legacy!

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The Legend of Pappy Gun

by Major Garland J. Robinson

This story was at the request of Julie Gunn Bonanno concerning her father's activity in the Southwest Pacific during WWII. Her father was Col. Paul I. "Pappy" Gunn of the 3rd Attack Group. For some background the 3rd Attack Group was one of the early Air Corps units. They participated in World War I. The 3rd was based out of Fort Crockett, Galveston, Texas, where they patrolled the seacoast, the Rio Grande River and Mexican border. The 3rd participated in the Red & Blue maneuvers in Louisiana, North Carolina and Tennessee just before WWII. The A-20 Havoc was designed with a bombardier in the nose operating a Norden bomb sight, but the A-20 did not have an auto pilot. This was a problem because usually the auto pilot takes over control of the aircraft so that the bombardier can operate his bomb sight. I was assigned to the 3rd Attack Group around Christmas 1941 and when I arrived at Savannah I found them packing up, crating their equipment and the men being assigned to bring the squadron and group headquarters up to strength.

In early January 1942, we were put on a troop train and sent west to Oakland, CA. There we waited for the troop ship. We boarded the troop ship in late January. We didn't know where we were going because the secrecy of troop movements, so we took our winter clothes thinking we were going to the Aleutians.

We soon discovered that we were heading in a southwestern direction. We experienced one attack by a submarine and we witnessed our destroyers going into action with their depth charges and resuming their positions after a time with their flag at half mast. This indicated that they scored a hit on an enemy submarine.

Our convoy arrived at Brisbane on February 25th after 26 days at sea. The trip up the Brisbane River was slow. The Australian people were waving at us as we made our way up the river. At debarkation we were ordered to tents at the Ascot Race Track in the inner circle and stayed there a week. We were glad to get our feet on dry land.

We were loaded onto an old narrow gauge Australian railroad for the 800 mile trip northward to Townsville. The 3rd Attack was then put on trucks and taken inland to a former gold mining town called Charters Towers that was essentially a ghost town.

The Australians were building a landing strip for aircraft nearby and we waited there for the arrival of aircraft when the strip was completed in March.

The 27th Bomb Group was formed out of the 3rd Attack Group in Savannah and shipped to the Philippines. We thought the Japanese had destroyed the ground echelon and their aircraft.

There were 3 squadrons of A-24's which was the Army version of the Navy's SBD-2 Dive Bomber, but the A-24's were rerouted to Brisbane, Australia and a number of them were assigned to the 8th Squadron. The 8th squadron had 20

flown A-24's at Savannah and had trained the 27th Group. The 8th Squadron was the first unit in the 3rd Attack to enter combat; flying from Australia to Port Moresby. There they received supplies and flew across the mountains and tried to engage the Japanese, which was tragic because the A-24 was not a fighter aircraft and they were practically without fighter cover. They were intercepted

by Japanese Zeros and many of them were shot down. We lost many fine crews and aircraft.

In early April a group of B-25's consigned to the Dutch were standing idle at Brisbane. The Dutch had been overrun by the Japanese in the East Indies and these B-25's never entered into combat. They were still equipped with 650 gal. bomb bay ferrying tanks for the flight to Australia. I was told they had Dutch insignia and instrumentation. The 3rd Group had a number of crews out of the 27th Group who were eager for action. When command got permission to take possession of the B-25's, these men were ferried to Brisbane and flew the B-25's back to Charters Towers. The 13th Squadron flew B-25's on the first missions out of Port Moresby against the Japanese particularly against Gasmata around the first week in April.

By April 10th, word was that something big was afoot. This was a planned mission of B-25's to the Philippines. Made possible because of two factors, the B-25s still had 650 gallon bomb bay fuel tanks and "Pappy" Gunn was assigned to the 3rd Group.

Pappy had been Operations Manager for Philippine Air Lines; he had escaped the Philippines helping to ferry Americans to Australia including members of McArthur's staff. "Gunn was a mechanical genius", to quote General Kenney, and we were to find place for him. He was 10 or 15 years older than the rest of us so we called him "Pappy". He had served in the Navy as a pilot, and was familiar gunnery. After the Royce mission to the Philippines led by General Royce, the 3rd Group needed to engage the Japanese in New Guinea.

The B-25's were divided between the 13th and 90th squadrons.

In late spring and early summer the B-25's staged out of Port Moresby and engaged the Japanese with tragic results. They were at this time level bombing and the Japanese were picking them up on radar and intercepting them. By this time the Navy had succeeded in turning back the Japanese naval expeditions to capture Port Moresby and possibly Australia at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway. The Japanese were determined to take Port Moresby. They began moving supplies and men to the north coast of New Guinea with the intent of marching over the mountains. Meanwhile, the A-20's that the 3rd Group had used for maneuvers in Louisiana and North Carolina, were arriving in Brisbane.

The A-20 was not suited for jungle warfare. The aircraft had four 30 caliber guns mounted in the nose. General Kenney the former Commander of the 3rd Attack Group, ordered Pappy to modify them to make them into a better fighting machine. cont. on page 21

Winter 2016

The Legend of Pappy Gunn Pappy Gunn began to implement his ideas by removing the bombardier and installing four 50 caliber guns in addition to the four 30's. This made eight guns firing forward. He developed a bomb bay fuel tank that held 250 gal. and a honeycomb style bomb rack to hold parachute fragmentation bombs.

The modifications were directed by Pappy Gunn and the first modified A-20's began to appear with the 3rd Group at Charters Towers in July 1942.

Pappy flew to Charters Towers many times for different reasons usually flying an A-20. I flew with him on some of these flights. He directed me in the development of a bombing range outside of Charters Towers where we cleared trees and made it possible for the crews to dive their airplanes down very low to the ground to practice strafing and bombing. With this practice and the development of the aircraft, by August a formidable number of A-20's were available.

Meanwhile, the 89th Squadron had little to do with the war except one effort of maintaining B-17's in Townsville for the 19th Bomb Squadron. The 19th evacuated out of the Philippines, but had to leave their ground crews up there. The flight crews were driving these B-17's without adequate maintance. The 89th was able to fill that bill during the early months. They soon received the modified A-20's at the end of August. The 89th was ready to make a showing and eager for action.

On August 29th, thirteen A-20's made a flight to Port Moresby, their ground crews having already been shipped up by barge.

This was the first American bomb squadron to be permanently based in New Guinea. The 3rd Group was setting up temporary bases for our squadrons of B-25's and A-24's. These squadrons were always able to evacuate back to Charters Towers, but when the 89th Squadron went into New Guinea there was no going back.

On August 31st, they made their first strike to Lae where they caught some fighters on the ground and destroyed them. In the month of September they flew 300 sorties, an outstanding number of sorties in the war. It had not been thought possible that the 89th Squadron could accomplish a feat like this, but it was made possible by the eagerness of the men and the leadership of Donald P. Hall, the Squadron Commander. Hall led nearly every flight and his experience, leadership and all around savvy made it possible for him to establish these records with almost no losses due to combat. The combat losses during these several months from the Port Moresby air base, known as Three Mile or Kila Kila Air Strip, could be count on one hand.

The senior squadrons of the 3rd Group, having been engaged in level bombing action up to now were pulled back to Charters Towers. They rested and rebuilt leaving the 89th Squadron to do most of the work in the Fall of 1942.

The pace of the bombing by the 89th did not cease. They carried it to the Japanese troops in the jungles, the battle of Buna, the Kokoda Trail, and bombed the shipping and what aircraft appeared on the Buna strip as well as the Lae strip and the Salamaua strip. All these were under attack by the 89th Squadron with excellent results.

During the Summer of '42, Pappy Gunn decided that the

B-25's needed more guns and persuaded command to let him experiment with modifications. Again dispensing with the bombardier, he mounted four 50's in the nose and four more 50's on the exterior of the fuselage in pods. These experiments resulted in loosening up the rivets in the skin of the B-25.

Protective measures had to be taken. To accomplished this, he glued a layer of 1/4" thick rubber, that he overlayed with a veneer of aluminum. The whole shebang was held on with additional rivets. This arrested the concussion so the original skin could withstand the stress.

He made several trips back to the States. One I remember in particular was to affirm to General Arnold that he wasn't damaging the original aircraft. The engineers at the North American Factory weren't happy with the modifications because they bordered on defying the laws of gravity and balance. But Pappy wasn't one to worry about things like that and fortunately his ideas were successful. He succeeded in making the A-20's and B-25's into formidable fighting machines.

The 89th Squadron with their A-20's and the 90th Squadron with their B-25's were particularly fruitful in the destruction of the Japanese convoys in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, destroying a 22 ship convoy in which none escaped. The tactic of skip bombing and strafing with those multiple machine guns was totally effective. These were not the only aircraft that participated, B-17's, Australian Bo Fighters, and P-38's were also engaged. The 89th and 90th Squadrons were remarkably effective with low altitude skip bombing. This occurred in March of '43 and during 1943 the 3rd Attack Group B-25's consistently hit Rabaul Harbor and other points of military value in the area. The battles on Guadalcanal were so strategic that Rabaul Harbor was under heavy attack by our aircraft in order to disrupt its function and supply.

The 3rd Group moved out of Port Moresby to Dobodura just across the mountains. They eventually had other bases moving up the north coast of New Guinea, at Nadzab somewhat off the Markham River and Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea.

I want to pause here a moment and drop back to April and the B-25's. Command wanted to send a mission to the Philippines and because of the bomb bay fuel tanks and Pappy Gunn, this was possible About ten B-25's took off on the night of April 10th from Charters Towers. This was a secret mission. The ground crews were not informed about the mission. All we were told was that something big was happening. The ten B-25's took off and fueled up at various places in Australia finally embarking from Darwin then headed north for the Philippines. Because of Pappy's knowledge of supplies and locations of strips, all the B-25's got in. There were three B-17's in this mission that operated from other bases. General Royce himself flew in one of the B-17's. The mission to the Philippines was to destroy supply stations and shipping. Hit them for a few days and get out.

On one of the missions, they removed the bomb bay tanks and hid them somewhere under the bushes. A Japanese plane strafed the field and punctured Pappy's tank such that it was unusable .

Pappy told me about him and his crew wiring some temporary 21

cont. on page 22

Winter 2016

The Legend of Pappy Gunn tanks in the form of several 55 gallon drums, to replace the bomb bay tank. He had a transfer pump aboard which would transfer this fuel to the main tanks. It had to be hand pumped but in this way he got back to Australia a few days later than the others. This is typical of his ingenuity. He would find a way to manage.

I cannot explain the basis of the warm friendship between Pappy and myself, but we were very close. In the early days in New Guinea there at Three Mile strip, he always slept in my tent. We had a good growing rapport. Later on the other side of the mountains up the coast, I was pulled back into the Group Headquarters and living in the Group Commander's quarters.

There we had a special place for Pappy when he visited the Group. He knew where he would stay and always with the Group Commander and I continually with him and listening to his stories and helped anyway I could to get the information he needed. Possibly the friendship grew out of something I did back at Charters Towers before we went to New Guinea.

When he was first assigned there to the 3rd Group. I was the Group materiel officer. I didn't have a whole lot to do one day, the Group Commander, John Davies, and I were taking a shower and the water was so cold, just like ice water and he asked me, "Robbie, can't you do something about this?" I said, Charters Towers was an ex-gold mining town and I observed a lot of old rusty mining equipment lying around the little town.

So I went there with a truck and was able to pick up a big old water tank. It had holes in it, but we patched it up. With this tank and a fire pit under it, we were able to warm up water.

The water line coming in to that tank was about 200 pounds pressure, there was no way that tank could stand pressure like that. I had to rig a pressure regulator. I conceived taking the hydraulic pressure accumulator tank from an A-20 and adapting its diaphragm action to move the stem (with threads turned off) of a 2 inch pipe gate valve, so that the water flow was admitted or cut off according to demand. The differential in pressure was accomplished through a see-saw frame by trial and error, something like an adult on a see-saw adjusting to the point where he or she balances a child. The contraption worked, almost. Trouble was, the valve leaked such that pressure built up on the tank. I solved this by allowing one hydrant to leak accordingly, bleeding off the excess pressure. When Pappy saw this, he bought some materials out of his own pocket, which included a 55 gallon steel drum atop a 40 foot pole, containing a simple float valve found in a toilet. He laughed and kidded me about that from then on; about my particular brand of water heater. We had a lot of fun with things like that.

I should give a mention of some of the people who worked closely with Pappy on the gun modification programs. In particular he was impressed with the North American field representative named Jack Fox. Jack was just a faithful little worker. Faithful to his company and faithful to the war effort.

He was able to help Pappy with certain concerns about the B-25. It was his job to pacify the engineers at North American in his weekly reports about what we were doing to their B-25's.

Another man who was very instrumental was Gen. Bob Ruegg who was out of the 27th Group and his effort in Brisbane, I

think particularly with the A-20's installation was most fruitful.

And then there was Capt. Tom R. Thompkins who was Pappy's man Friday in Brisbane.

Pappy's man Friday number two was Jack Evans. He was the crew Chief who accompanied him on almost all his flights including the B-25G, the one with the cannon in it. Jack Evans was the cannoneer. Jack, I'm told, eventually lost his life in Europe. He took flight training and was flying a fighter in Europe. But Pappy didn't go anywhere without Jack Evans.

Jack was a Master Sergeant and I think he made the flight to the Philippines and helped wire up those gas drums in the bomb bay, although his name is not shown in the special orders #28 of the 3rd Attack Group.

My experience with Pappy ended in Hollandia when I was shipped home, but he stayed with the Group and went on to the Philippines. He was severely injured in the Philippines by a phosphorus bomb which burned one hand pretty badly. He was again active in Philippine Air Lines and eventually formed his own air line and he was so engaged flying some representative of the Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company over in the Philippines on an inspection trip when he was killed. All aboard were killed in a crash of one of the airplanes.

We can credit Pappy Gunn with "in the field" development and modification of the A-20's and B-25's. In the case of the A-20's all modification was done on an old A-20A. With the new A-20G, the guns mounted in the nose at the factory were the result of the experiment, and the success of the modification of the A-20A by Pappy and of course the B-25 with the eight guns well preceded the development by the factory of the B-25H. The B-25 with the 3rd Attack Group was the world's most prolific bomber. There were more produced than any other bomber and also the B-25H was the most heavily armed bomber of the war.

No airplane was as exciting to Pappy as the B-25G. This is the one with the 75mm cannon in the nose.

Pappy Gunn with his Navy flying background was like a child with a new toy with this airplane. He thought that everybody should pay attention to how to win the war with this airplane.

With the younger pilots, he tried to instruct how to lob shells into the Japanese bunkers. They had a lot of difficulty with this and to my observation he failed. He could not impart his enthusiasm for this airplane to the younger men whereas he could get a high number of shells into a bunker or a ship or whatever the target was, with one pass, the new men simply either lacked experience or could not do this. I heard him say one time that when you're flying, you are a part of the air and what he meant by that was you could do anything like a fly.

You could land upside down on the ceiling if you wanted to.

Well, this was alien to the training of our new men and these kind of stories do not endear Pappy to some of the new men because they border on exaggeration and he just was like an old football player trying to coach some kids on the sand lot talking out of his experience that the kids couldn't visualize what could be done. He tried his best to teach the men to fly that B-25G as effectively as he could fly it, but they lacked his drive and determination, there was after all only one Pappy Gunn.

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Winter 2016

The Hot SEAT

Deaths Not Previously Reported As of November 2016

Rest In Peace

Eugene V. Yennie October 9, 2016 Navigator 1951-52 Austin C. Ayotte March 23, 2016 Pilot 1952 John E. Kollar January 27, 2015 Pilot 1950 Harley E. Sullivan June 11, 2016 Navigator 1953-54 Peter S. Hemme May 31, 2015 Armament 1953 Gerald R. Howatt June 7, 2016 1951-52 To report the passing of 13th Bomb Squadron members, please contact: James R. (Bob) Parks, 3219 Tavern Oaks St., San Antonio, TX, 78247 or email bob-parks@satx.rr.com

Editor's Comments It's a Wrap Don Henderson, Editor Well this wraps up my 3rd year as Editor of the INVADER. Not just that, but it's a wrap on the first 100 years! As we enter into the 100th year of the 13th Squadron in 2017, I want to say what an honor it is to be a part of this. The INVADER is certainly one of the more fun projects I do throughout the year. It's never easy, but it's something I enjoy and with anything in life, it's a learning process. I hope I'm getting better at it. Reading and editing the articles and making them fit is always a challenge, but I'm always up for a challenge.

I hope you enjoyed the article on Pappy Gunn. He was always one of my personal heroes of WWII. His "can do" attitude and his deadly determination to defeat the Japanese, helped make the 3rd Attack Group a force to be reckoned with. Lessons he taught, tactics he developed and innovations that he incorporated into the B-25 Mitchell and the A-20 Havocs helped lead to the development of the Douglas A/B-26 Invader that was flown so effectively by the 13th Bomb Squadron in the Korean War. I was really sorry that I wasn't able to attend the reunion in San Diego, it sounds like a good time was had by all. I certainly don't want to miss, and all of you should make every effort to attend, the 2017 reunion at Whiteman AFB to celebrate the 100th Anniversay of the 13th Squadron. The 13th in all its many transformations from a fighter/pursuit squadron, to attack squadron, to bomb squadron, can surely say, "Been there, done that!". 2017 at Whiteman will be an historic moment. I wonder if Major Kirby had any idea when he sellected 13 for the squadron, that it would still be flying 100 years later? God willing, I'll see you all at Whiteman AFB for the 100th!

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13th Bomb Squadron Association

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Bob Parks 3219 Tavern Oaks St. San Antonio, TX 78247-3080 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Lt Col Rob Forney at the helm of the B-26 Invader, "7th Chadwick" at K-8, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of South Korea.