We're Baaaaaack ...
... from the 20th reunion of the 67th Naval Construction Battalion (WW II) veterans in Dayton, Ohio. It was a very good gathering of these guys (17 were in attendance). As I recall, there were 46 in attendance in all, the remainder of the crowd composed mostly of "kids" of the vets. There were a number of new attendees among the family members, and one new addition to the veteran ranks was a gentleman from Massachusetts, Joe Tripp Jr.
The sad thing was our digital camera decided to really screw up during the week. We got very few pictures from it, and are going to rely on the kindness of strangers for the remainder of the important pics, both group and informal. Here is the first pic we took with it, which was merely a scene of the Hospitality Suite.
Visible to the left is Clarence Cobb (Waco, TX) and his wife Betty, in the background. Clarence is still a Waco County Bailiff (known as "The Singing Bailiff").
Note the nice set-up of the bar area, with a beer tub on the floor, and two smaller tubs on the bar front that contained sodas and bottled waters. Barely visible on the right are the mixers/harder stuff section, also neatly arranged. I have no idea whose expertise that tapped.
While we arrived on Monday evening, to do whatever part we could to assist Janice's sister Susie, who had taken on the coordination and hosting of the event. She lives in Columbus, and she did a terrific job in all aspects of arranging the reunion. Major "kudos" to Susie!
It was a pretty laid-back week, with people arriving on various days and times. However, the "big tour" was on Thursday, of the National Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. There were a number of the 67th in attendance, as well as a great deal of nostalgia that day, since one of the prize exhibits is the B-29 "Bockscar". The 67th "Seabees" were responsible for building the runways from which "Enola Gay" and "Bockscar" took off on their historic missions; the 67th also built the bomb pits from which these two ships were loaded with their historic payloads.
Bomb pits were required for the B-29s, due to their low-slung underbellies, while on the ground. The B-29 had an approximate 5-foot ground clearance - quite a low slung plane for the size of it.
A mock-up of "Fat Man", the implosion-type device dropped on Nagasaki, was also on display. It is sometimes difficult to imagine the size of these devices versus their destructive power. Interestingly enough, a second version of "Little Boy" was also on display, and in the descriptive placard in front of it, I was amazed to learn that this second version of "Little Boy" was actually "live" prior to going on display. If I glow the next time you all see me, you'll know why.
As is my case, in a history museum such as this, I am almost never content to just "look".
Shhhhhh ... don't tell anyone ... but I have to "touch" the exhibits that are possible to touch. I even stole a touch once of a porthole hatch brought up from HMS Titanic. Again, ssshhhhhhhhhhh!
This visit allowed me to touch not only "Bockscar", "Fat Man" (couldn't reach "Little Boy", but I touched another version at the Smithsonian in DC), but also another Me-262 "Schwalbe" and another Me-163 "Komet". One "coup" of the day, however, was the very rare example of the Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-4 air-to-air wire-guided missile, which had been placed all-too-close to the railings. The number of intact Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-4 missiles to have survived World War II is estimated at 4, after the 1945 Allied bombing of the BMW rocket motor factory in Stargard, Germany. Approximately 1200-1300 X-4 airframes had been finished at Ruhrstahl's factory in Brackwede by early 1945. These airframes would have received their engines from the Stargard factory.
Other fascinating "touches" of the day included the Douglas VC-54C and Douglas VC-118 used by President Harry Truman, and the Lockheed VC-121E "Constellation" of Dwight Eisenhower, used as his "Air Force One" before that term came into vogue. While we also got a touch on the Kennedy/Johnson/Nixon "Air Force One" plane, the real character of a vintage aircraft came through on the planes of Truman and Eisenhower. How many other planes do you know that sport wood interiors?
Well, that's just a "quick" update. Sorry so boring ... I'll be back at another date with more. LOL
The sad thing was our digital camera decided to really screw up during the week. We got very few pictures from it, and are going to rely on the kindness of strangers for the remainder of the important pics, both group and informal. Here is the first pic we took with it, which was merely a scene of the Hospitality Suite.
Visible to the left is Clarence Cobb (Waco, TX) and his wife Betty, in the background. Clarence is still a Waco County Bailiff (known as "The Singing Bailiff").
Note the nice set-up of the bar area, with a beer tub on the floor, and two smaller tubs on the bar front that contained sodas and bottled waters. Barely visible on the right are the mixers/harder stuff section, also neatly arranged. I have no idea whose expertise that tapped.
While we arrived on Monday evening, to do whatever part we could to assist Janice's sister Susie, who had taken on the coordination and hosting of the event. She lives in Columbus, and she did a terrific job in all aspects of arranging the reunion. Major "kudos" to Susie!
It was a pretty laid-back week, with people arriving on various days and times. However, the "big tour" was on Thursday, of the National Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. There were a number of the 67th in attendance, as well as a great deal of nostalgia that day, since one of the prize exhibits is the B-29 "Bockscar". The 67th "Seabees" were responsible for building the runways from which "Enola Gay" and "Bockscar" took off on their historic missions; the 67th also built the bomb pits from which these two ships were loaded with their historic payloads.
Bomb pits were required for the B-29s, due to their low-slung underbellies, while on the ground. The B-29 had an approximate 5-foot ground clearance - quite a low slung plane for the size of it.
A mock-up of "Fat Man", the implosion-type device dropped on Nagasaki, was also on display. It is sometimes difficult to imagine the size of these devices versus their destructive power. Interestingly enough, a second version of "Little Boy" was also on display, and in the descriptive placard in front of it, I was amazed to learn that this second version of "Little Boy" was actually "live" prior to going on display. If I glow the next time you all see me, you'll know why.As is my case, in a history museum such as this, I am almost never content to just "look".
Shhhhhh ... don't tell anyone ... but I have to "touch" the exhibits that are possible to touch. I even stole a touch once of a porthole hatch brought up from HMS Titanic. Again, ssshhhhhhhhhhh!
This visit allowed me to touch not only "Bockscar", "Fat Man" (couldn't reach "Little Boy", but I touched another version at the Smithsonian in DC), but also another Me-262 "Schwalbe" and another Me-163 "Komet". One "coup" of the day, however, was the very rare example of the Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-4 air-to-air wire-guided missile, which had been placed all-too-close to the railings. The number of intact Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-4 missiles to have survived World War II is estimated at 4, after the 1945 Allied bombing of the BMW rocket motor factory in Stargard, Germany. Approximately 1200-1300 X-4 airframes had been finished at Ruhrstahl's factory in Brackwede by early 1945. These airframes would have received their engines from the Stargard factory.
Other fascinating "touches" of the day included the Douglas VC-54C and Douglas VC-118 used by President Harry Truman, and the Lockheed VC-121E "Constellation" of Dwight Eisenhower, used as his "Air Force One" before that term came into vogue. While we also got a touch on the Kennedy/Johnson/Nixon "Air Force One" plane, the real character of a vintage aircraft came through on the planes of Truman and Eisenhower. How many other planes do you know that sport wood interiors?
Well, that's just a "quick" update. Sorry so boring ... I'll be back at another date with more. LOL
posted by Lee at
9/26/2005 10:28:00 PM
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