Warbird Information Exchange

I am having an overwhelming feeling that I have seen Miss Dallas before. It must have been in some CAF books from the 80s when I was a kid. Man, I looked at those books every single day. I sure wish I knew what happened to them.

Wade can fill in the gaps on Vic France. I can tell you that
on his RAF uniform instead of the USA shoulder tab, his said TEXAS

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Don't touch my junk!!

Did Johnson ever fly a bubbletop P-47 in combat? The only pic I've ever seen of "Penrod & Sam" was the boxart on the old Otaki 1/48 P-47 kit. You should publish a book, Jack.

Dan

Several years ago I had the great good fortune of meeting fellow CAF member Don McMillan. Don over the years has worked on several restorations but the one that I think is the most interesting is the work he did on the Zeke that will soon hang in the new aviation museum on Ford Island Hawaii. When I met him it was at a workbench at the CAF hangar in Camarillo. The first thing I noticed about the man was his eyes. He is small in stature and in his eighties but his piercing blue eyes are young and bright. One day as we worked I asked him if he served in WWII. Don told me that yes he had been in the Navy and flew TBMs in the Pacific. It was some weeks later that another member mentioned to me that Don had served with distinction in the battle of Leyte Gulf. It turns out that the quiet little guy that I had been working with was the pilot of one of the TBMs that torpedoed and sunk the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku! For that action he was awarded the Navy Cross.

Unfortunately I don’t get to see Don much these days, age is taking its toll and he no longer has the energy to work on war birds. He does drop by every now and then and it is always a pleasure to see him. Don might be a little guy but he’s a big hero. For such a small frame he casts a big shadow.

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Check out our new website.
CAF SoCal Wing http://www.cafsocal.com/

Ahhhh, the CBI, the "Forgotten War"

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"There are old pilots and bold pilots but few old, bold pilots."

I've never bought into all the hype about how great Texas is, but I'll say this... Vic France was the freakin' MAN. Anybody who goes straight to the King of England seeking permission to wear cowboy boots as part of the formal uniform has to be cool.

The other story I remember about France is that according to Jim Goodson, he would play Artie Shaw's "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" over and over when they were roommates. That's one of my favorite swing songs, and every time I hear it, I think about Vic France driving Goody nuts.

Fantastic photos, Jack, thanks as always for posting them.

Lynn