Silver Birds

Cheryl: The puppies had a rough time last evening because we had lots of very determined thunder followed by an equally loud downpour. Peanut jumped in the bathtub while Cleo snuggled up between Frank and me on the couch. Both of them were panting as if they’d run the race of their lives. This went on for over an hour, so they were both worn out today. That worked out well for us since today was our day at Wright Patterson Air Base and the Air Force Museum, while the puppies kept each other company in the trailer.

The museum is off base, but we signed up to ride a bus over to the base and spend an hour looking at test planes and presidential planes. The security to get on base was well executed. We all had to show ID and they gave us wrist bands with numbers on them. They also wrote down our names and addresses. We were counted when we got on the bus and counted when we got back on the bus after touring the two big hangers on base. Each time we had to show our number wrist band and be checked off the master list. I thought the whole process was very efficient.

Frank will tell you all about the “rare birds” he loved seeing. I enjoyed the Disney display and learned that Disney created insignias for the military during WWII. Then, I loved watching some of the Bob Hope USO shows and seeing pictures of the celebrities who served like Clark Gable and Glen Miller. I felt especially privileged to climb aboard the Air Force One plane on which Jackie Kennedy stood beside Lyndon Johnson as he was sworn in as President after John Kennedy was assassinated. I can’t imagine how she felt standing next to a man she didn’t admire (to say the least), while knowing her husband lay dead in the cargo hold below her. I didn’t know that President Kennedy had his presidential plane painted blue rather than the traditional white. He wanted it to be distinctive, and it certainly is.

We also walked through the Columbine II that served while Dwight Eisenhower was president. His wife named the plane after the state flower of Colorado, her adopted home state. I’m so glad we’re preserving all this history for our descendants. I was struck by the number of wars Frank and I have lived to witness: born at the end of WWII, then Korea, Vietnam, Iraq-twice, and Afghanistan. I’m sure I’ve left our some conflicts as well. Yet, we’ve been for the most part bystanders as our little worlds have been kept safe and free by those who served. God bless them all!

Frank: Airplane overload. Way too much to absorb! It would take days (or maybe a lifetime) to fully appreciate the width and breadth of this magnificent collection of aircraft. My favorites are two aircraft at opposite ends of the size spectrum but linked together by necessity. The larger is the B-36, a huge 6 prop, 4 jet strategic nuclear bomber behemoth capable of flying 6000 miles unrefueled (no in-flight refueling capability). The smaller is the XF-85 Goblin a sub-miniature fighter designed to be attached to the B-36 and dropped (and retrieved) in flight. Its job was to fend off any enemy fighters that might endanger the bomber.

See
http://air-and-space.com/peacemkr.htm
and
http://air-and-space.com/goblins.htm
for some info on the two planes.

It’s 10PM and I turned into a pumpkin about an hour ago so I will post photos tomorrow. I think.

Camp On!
Frank, Cheryl, Peanut & Cleo