COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE

The

C MPASS
M ISSOURI W ING
See you at the Hangar Dance!

P.O. Box 637 St.Charles, MO 63302 St. Charles County Smartt Airport 636-250-4515 Fax 636-250-4515 www.cafmo.org

MISSOURI WING

E XECUTIVE S TAFF
WING LEADER Col. Patrick Kesler 28 Confederate Way St. Charles, MO 63303 636-928-5687 636-250-4515 Wing wingleader@cafmo.org ADJUTANT / PIO OFFICER Col. Rick Rea 6854 Ardale Drive St. Louis,MO 63123 314-960-4927 col.rickrea@charter.net EXECUTIVE OFFICER Col. Bob Lawrence 111 W. Essex Ave. Kirkwood, MO 63122 314-494-7529 cell 314-894-3200 x103 work FINANCE Col. Steve Gossett 4 Limerick Lane O'Fallon, MO 63366 636-474-9763 314-306-5021 OPERATIONS OFFICER Col.Craig O'Mara 1085 Graywolf Court Fairview Heights, IL 62208 618-632-6113 home 618-558-7211 cell craigo777@juno.com MAINTENANCE OFFICER Col. Pat Fenwick 6 Heather Drive St. Peters, MO 63376 636-441-2856 SAFETY OFFICER Col. Chris Herrmann 309 Clearwater Drive Belleville, IL 62220 618-233-4782

B25

AT

WHITEFISH, MONTANA

AUGUST 2012

August 2-7 Whitefish, MT Trip B-25 August 11 General Meeting - 1:30 pm August 17-19 Wing Over Halls, TN Airshow B-25, TBM, Px Aug. 23 - 26 Defender of Freedom, Offutt AFB B-25 August 31 - Sept. 3 Quad Cities Airshow B-25, TBM, PX Sept. 7-9 Little Rock AFB, AR TBM, Px Sept. 8 General Meeting - 1:30 pm

U PCOMING E VENTS
Sept. 22-23 Sept. 29 Sept. 30 Oct. 5-7 Oct. 12-13 Oct. 19-20 Oct. 27 Dec. 8

Sept. 15

Hangar Dance

Sept. 15-16

Scott AFB, IL B-25, LHFE rides, TBM, L-3, PX

Camdenton, MO B-25, LHFE Rides, L-3, PX STL Regional Airport (Alton, IL) Fly-In B-25, TBM, L3, PX Kansas City Chiefs Stadium Fly-By B25 Terre Haute, IN B-25, LHFE rides Clarksdale, Mississippi - B-25, LHFE Rides, PX Mt. Vernon, IL B-25, TBM, PX, LHFE Rides Smartt Field & Wing Open House, Pumpkin Drop Wing Christmas Party HO! HO! HO!

Saturday - August 11 - General Meeting - 1:30 pm

WING LEADER'S REPORT

With your help we can have a great Dance!

Sixty-seven years ago this month on August 15th, Japan surrendered to the Allies. The formal surrender ceremony occurred aboard the battleship MISSOURI anchored in Tokyo Bay on September 2nd. It lasted 23 minutes and was broadcast throughout the world. A few of our senior members were around back then and might possibly remember the joy that spread around the nation and free world. My older brother was born on August 18th, a couple weeks before the ceremony but doesnt remember much from that day. In fact, my oldest brother was born on September 3, 1944 and he cant recall much either they were both busy on the bottles. This was a very historic time in our nations history and worthy of reflection. Thats why we do what we do. We encourage people to discover, reflect on, and remember those most important times in our history. The events of WWII and that decade are amongst the most important and memorable. We offer artifacts, documents and actual aircraft and vehicles from that era and we should be very proud of our persistence and dedication in maintaining these physical links to history. Every now and then, we just need to slow down, remember why we spend all the volunteer hours and travel time to and from the Wing and thank each other for the hard work, emphasizing how really important our mission is. The summer is still here and things have been busy at Smartt Field. Our aircraft are flying well and our members are still busy despite the temperatures being in the century digits. Take a look at the upcoming schedule on the cover or check out the website calendar to see just how much the members have on their platter. Every dedicated visit to the hangars by all the working members is greatly appreciated and I am still in awe just how much has been accomplished and again at how much we will accomplish in the upcoming months. Thanks everyone for your efforts and results! Just one more month and its Hangar Dance Saturday. Last months COMPASS had a few short articles on some of the events that occur during the dance, so I hope you have an idea how you can help out by volunteering a little bit of your time. The Silent Auction can only be a success if we get a bunch of interesting, sellable items, so dont hesitate to donate that one special thing that has been lying around, taking up space in your garage, basement or attic. We need volunteers to run that auction and 50/50, so please review the membership mailing that you received and sign up for one of the groups. Oh, and dont forget to buy your tickets and invite your neighbors and relatives. Its our biggest event of the year and we really need everyone to participate. You can get tickets at the Wing, through the mail (costs stamp money), or through PayPal on our website. JUST DO IT now and start looking forward to a great day and evening of great tunes, fun, and camaraderie. The B-25 & TBM will be at Scott AFB during the day, but will head back to Smartt just before the dance and do an arrival fly-by too. Cant wait! Well, thats about all for now. Please get involved with the upcoming Dance support and I guarantee youll have a great time. Come on out and look at what all is happening in the hangars. Youll be amazed. Enjoy the days between now and Labor Day. Theyll go by rapidly and eventually the temps will cool down and the rain drops will return Enjoy the Summer, stay hydrated, and remember this! - With your help We can Keep Em Flying and have a great, rewarding time in life while doing so. Its always great to make new memories especially when they are associated with the memories of that Great Generation. Respectfully submitted, Col. Pat Kesler, Wing Leader

HANGAR DANCE UPDATE

Work on the September 15th, 2011 Hangar Dance is well underway. Flyers and letters should be hitting local and distant mailboxes as you read this. We still need all of you who helped last year to come out in force again and help make the dance another success. We still plan on having door prizes and a Silent Auction so please do everything you can to locate local (or distant) donors so we can have many high dollar items available. Some items could include tickets to a sporting event such as the Rams, Blues or Cardinals, a weekend at Branson or Lake of the Ozarks, Southwest Airline tickets or some other priceless item. Remember, in addition to our thanks, their name will be included on a Hangar Dance Supporters display board for all to see at the dance. Remember, tickets sales will be available through our website, www.cafmo.org, as well as through the mail and Wing. Our fearless Finance Officer has volunteered to handle the mail sales again, so be sure to address your requests to: CAF Hangar Dance 4 Limerick Lane OFallon, MO 63366 We do have many members that have been supervising/ ramrodding different aspects of the dance for decades and would like to pass the baton on to someone else. Please consider volunteering for one of the following Committees and being the member that assumes a little more responsibility just once a year for our biggest event. Its fun, you meet lots of nice people and you get to be the Commanding General for a couple days a year. Here is a list of the committees/committee heads, so please get in touch with the person in charge and volunteer to help out on at least one: Ticket Sales/$teve Gossett Food/Bob Lawrence Hangar Prep/Cleanup/Pat Kesler Stage-Lighting-Sound/Mike McEntee Parking/Lou Tacchi & John Eskew Drink Sales/John Coffey Silent Auction/??YOU?? Door Prizes/??YOU?? Table/Chairs setup/takedown/Everyone Please get involved this is the biggest Fund-Raising activity we have in 2012 - and it is always the most enjoyable. Volunteer to help out and email me or give me a call if you have any questions or suggestions. This is the one time of the year we need every members dedication and support. Pat Kesler

See you at the Hangar Dance!

UPCOMING PARADE FUN

Our next parade is the Forest Park Festival Parade on Saturday, September 1, 2012. Last year we made a hit with our new Jeep and live 50 Caliber machine gun. We had parade watchers diving for cover! This year we will have the same vehicles with the same armament. Perhaps we could make a Hangar Dance Poster for the Duce + 0.5. It would be a good time to advertise. I had also envisioned a group of Mo. Wing members riding the above truck with 1940s costumes and a record player (excuse me, a DVD player) playing big band music. I can dream cant I (a song from that era). Its going to be a lot of fun! As usual we will meet at 0730 at the Wing and proceed from there to Forest Park. See you there. Col. Nick Talarico Parade Chairman

r Dance! he Hanga t See you at

SAFETY

IS

EVERYONE'S JOB
Stopping by the Florist

EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT

Thanks to Daniel Livingstone for the great job on our benches and memorial. Your hard work will be enjoyed by everyone.

GONE WEST...

Delia Greer passed away on 23 July, 2012. Delia had been a member of the Ninety Nines for nearly 30 years and volunteered at Wings of Hope since 1999. She had participated in several missions to post-Katrina New Orleans, to Haiti and to Central and South America. Also at Wings of Hope she was the chief flight nurse of the Medical Air Transport that transports patients to medical facilities throughout the midwest. Last month at the Ninety Nines International Annual Conference Delia Greer had received the Ninety Nines Award for Humanitarian Service for her work with Wings of Hope. Delia was also a member of the Commemorative Air Force at St. Charles County Airport (Smartt Field) and the Gateway Chapter of Missouri Pilots Association. She will be missed at the Missouri Wing.

by Anonymous Pop Quiz.You are driving down the high way and your hood suddenly pops up. What do you do? First off, remain as calm as possible and dont panic. - Slow down as quickly as possible. - Make sure to check the rearview mirror before hitting the brakes. - Look in the space between the hood and the engine to see in front of you. Put your head out of the window and peer around the hood if this is not possible. - Head for the side of the road (use your turn signal) and pull completely off the road, out of the way of traffic. - Turn on the emergency flashers if necessary. - Check to make sure the hood is not warped or damaged after the incident. Do not attempt to drive again until the hood is down and latched or fastened. - You can tie the hood down with a rope if necessary. Here are some additional tips consider: - You can use the center line and/or lane markings to guide you. - You or passengers can look out the side windows to help as well. - Always check you hood mechanism is fully closed and latched after you have opened it. - Hood latch failure is not all that common. It is usually the result of failing to shut the hood properly. My wife recently came through a hood pop-up event unscathed by following the guidelines above. She was en-route to a friends house, driving on the highway at 65 MPH, when the hood suddenly opened. Now for the rest of the story.. For about a week, the windshield washer fluid low warning had been going off in her car. I bought a bottle of fluid, but it sat in the garage for about half that time. I never seemed to remember to put the fluid in when the car was at home. The day prior to the incident, my boys and I planned to do some general car maintenance in the afternoon. I was bound and determined to fill the washer fluid. When I parked the car in the morning, I popped the hood so I would remember in the afternoon. I also figured if I didnt get to it, the warning system would remind me the hood was open before driving again. Plans changed. And, Mr. Murphey showed up. I didnt get to the car that afternoon, I forgot to close and secure the hood, and my wife volunteered to short-notice baby sit for some friends the next day. At work the following day, I got a phone call from a slightly irate woman.. Thank goodness no one was hurt and the car was fine. This event was completely avoidable. And, it was completely my fault. What are the lessons you can learn from me? 1) Dont procrastinate on vehicle maintenance; 2) Communicate vehicle issues with other drivers; 3) Know your vehicle; and 4) Finish what you start. Lessons you can learn from my wife include: it is wise to check your vehicle before driving to ensure it is road-ready and to be prepared for the unexpected. So, now you know why Ill bestopping by the florist. NO July Meeting Minutes (cancelled for other activities)

COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE

MISSOURI WING P.O. Box 637 St. Charles, MO 63302-0637

AUGUST 2012
Do you have your Hangar Dance tickets? We've got ours!!! See you there!

Hangar Dance September 15, 2012

AVGAS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS... NEW PUMP INSTALLED ON FUEL SYSTEM

See you at the Hangar Dance!

BOMBER
GONE ON A LONG WEEKEND.

COLONELS

START

HANGAR DANCE

CLEANUP.

Tim McCluskey (2) Mary Racine (3) Marty Malinee (9) Joe Wotchko (9) Tom Kiely (9) August George Hohmann (11) Marilyn Feltham (13) Les Heikkila (24) John Marshall (25) Birthdays! Jim Lammert (26) Mark Statler (27) David Groen (28) Gary Budke (31) Compass Deadline: September Newsletter - Need info by August 23 October Newsletter - Need info by September 22