Warbird Information Exchange

From unionleader.com
Remembering Pease: A Granite State hero for all time

Monday, May. 22, 2006

CHANGING the name of Pease International Airport was a sensible move. At some point, the Pease Development Authority's board might be tempted to change the authority's name as well. Some marketing consultant could easily make an economic case for it. We would like to think that the authority would always keep the Pease name. It is important that the people of New Hampshire never forget it.

Last week the PDA voted 5-1 to replace Pease with Portsmouth in the airport's name. The lone "no" voter, Strafford County PDA representative Anthony McManus, complained that the new name was "provincial," saying "We're missing an opportunity to sell this as a regional or statewide project."

On the contrary, the new name represents an attempt to make the airport a bigger regional player. As with Manchester-Boston Airport, having a name that denotes a readily known location is important.

That said, it was a shame to see the old Pease name go. Harl Pease Jr. was one of New Hampshire's great war heroes.

On Aug. 7, 1942, the Army Air Corps' 19th Bombardment Group, stationed in Australia, was scheduled for a bombing mission over Japanese-occupied New Guinea. Pease had flown all the previous day and was not scheduled to go on the mission. Besides, there was no plane for him to use. But he found a broken down B-17 that was rated as unserviceable for combat and took it. Pease was going on about three hours' sleep.

He and a volunteer crew managed to get the crippled aircraft to its target and shoot down several Japanese fighters along the way. They bombed the Japanese base and turned for home, but their plane could not outrun the enemy fighters and was shot down. Pease was captured and executed. For his heroism, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Now the airport that bore his name for nearly 49 years, first as an Air Force base then as an airport, has dropped it. The development authority retains the Pease name, as it always must. New Hampshire should never forget Harl Pease Jr., one of the greatest heroes this state has ever seen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well at least they didn't rename it after some politcian. It still stinks though!
Just My 2 Cents
Robbie

_________________
Fly Fast Make Noise!

Here is my 2 pennies, and it may offend some.

I think it is the biggest load of political bullcrap to have all these war hero's disgraced this way.

You dont see countries like Japan, changing the name of things because American's might be offended by a monument or an airport because of the attack on Pearl Harbor do you?

This is HISTORY folks, this happened, just like slavery, just like Jewish people were killed in the camps. If offends one person, that in my sole opionon should be the opportunity for someone to learn from the history, not try to cover it up by renaming things and sweeping it under the rug.

Next thing you know people are going to complain about the Declaration of Independence because a slaver owner wrote it.

Come on people, we all learn from mistakes, some it takes more time than others, but lets not HIDE everything from everyone, just because someone has a hair up their tushy.

B.S.!!! What's next O'HARE?

Tim

_________________
-Bill
B-17E 41-2595 "Desert Rat" Restoration Team

BRIGADIER GENERAL ROBIN OLDS, Osh 2005




It is because of guys like this, we can proudly name our airports and other things after, as they protected our freedom!

General Olds is rated a triple ace, having shot down a total of 17 enemy aircraft during World War II and the Vietnam War. He began his combat flying in a P-38 Lightning named "Scat 1" during World War II, and at the end of the war he was flying "Scat VII," a P-51 Mustang, and was credited with 107 combat missions and 24.5 victories, 13 aircraft shot down and 11 1/2 aircraft destroyed on the ground.

So because he shot down all those planes defending the world from the Nazi regime, we cant name anything after him, if he passes away?

I am still boiling, can you tell

With all the brooha going on about Swamp Ghost I've been doing a bit of
web digging this morn and found this nice Aussie site.
A page for Harl Pease, a bio, the story of Pease's groundlooping his B-17
'cause it had no brakes...leading to another MacArthur boneheaded comment
and (in)action...Harlon Pease and his crew were heroic men in desperate days
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/harlpease.htm

19th Bomb Group photos, I believe the proper tag should be, SUSIQUE pronounced Suzy-Q
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/usaaf/leenclark.htm

19th BG early war history in Australia , previous pages would have lead you here...
http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/19thbg.htm

_________________
He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Here is a silver lining. A tribute to an AVG Flying Tiger
http://forums.flyingtigersavg.com/ubb/F ... 01579.html

Tim

[Next thing you know people are going to complain about the Declaration of Independence because a slaver owner wrote it. ]

Mr. Krumrei, just in case there happen to be any lunatics lurking, please don't give them any ideas!

Let the lunatics (aka Democrates, liberals and other illegal alien lovers) complain, and maybe get some dumb-ass ideas about changing things.

As has been said before . . ,

"Those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it".

When the time comes, and it's coming sooner than some people think, those of us that can will see to it that they pay for their stupidity.

At least they didn't sell it to a Dot Com company "Now landing at Red Bull Airport"

What burns my tushy is they name aircraft carriers after presidents! What did they do in the name of personal sacrafice?

are USN aircraft carriers named after Presidents??

I always thought they were named after TV show spaceships???


"beam me up scotty"

regards

Mark P

_________________
20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"

The USS Truman, USS Ragan, USS J.F. Kennedy

I find it very sad that they are going to rename Pease. But I also think it is a sign of the times I was taking about that will some HAG members in the Memphis Belle yesterday; folks just don't care about it anymore.

Tim

_________________
www.tailhookstudio.com

Maybe I'm missing some context here, but if I read the original story right, Paul's objections to the renaming of the airport are totally off base. There is no suggestion that the airport is being renamed because anyone is offended by Pease's name or war service. It is just that having the airport named after a person, no matter who that person is, is not as effective in marketing the airport as associating the name of a community with the airport. The original topic heading's reference to the primacy of the "almighty dollar" is correct, but this has nothing to do with political correctness as far as I can make out.

There has never been a time when the U.S. leaders or general public was prouder of its war heroes than right now. I bet that the naming of things (schools, parks, etc.) after war heroes is at or near an all-time high. You guys are fighting a pacifist movement that is in full retreat and in this case appears to be imaginary. This is just one instance where the commercial needs of a community took precedence, and the action was taken with full regrets.

August

And what makes anybody think that changing the name of an airport will be the determining factor in people using it or not? It's not the name that counts, it's what benefits the customers.

San Bernardino, out in California, got their hands on the old Norton A.F.B. They changed the name to San Bernardino International, or some such stupid name, and they still can't make it pay for itself.

So, just because some P.C. ass holes don't like the name of some old military airfield and change it to suit their little fanatical minds doesn't mean they're going to have people lining up to use the place.