WELCOME TO THE WORLD WAR II WARBIRD GROUP

I wanted to let you know about a very special event going on at Stockton Field this Wednesday May 28^th through Friday the 30^th. The Collings Foundation is bringing in their beautiful bombers and one new little friend. Around noon on Wednesday the Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24J Liberator and North American B-25J Mitchell bombers will be escorted by their newest addition; the 1943 North American P-51C Mustang.

The aircraft should arrive around noon on Wednesday the 28^th of May and will be here until Friday around noon.

The aircraft will be open to the public for tours. You can also go flying on the bombers and the Mustang as they will be available for rides. There will be an admission fee to get in but WWII veterans are always welcome at no charge. More information about the Collings Foundation, and to sign up for rides, can be found at their web site at: http://collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm . The aircraft will be on display at Atlantic Aviation’s beautiful facility located at 6364 Lindbergh St Stockton, CA 95206. We would like to give the kind folks at Atlantic Aviation a hearty thanks for allowing us to use their wonderful facility.

On Thursday the 29^th of May the Stockton Field Aviation Museum and the WWII Warbird group are hosting a special event. There will be WWII re enactors from Arizona and Reno helping to recreate an authentic atmosphere around the bombers. WWII veterans will also be there to share their stories with you.

Several WWII veterans will also participate in a special flight to recreate a WWII bombing mission in the B-24J Liberator. We will have original WWII gunners manning the guns, a radio operator manning the radios and a WWII B-24 pilot at the same crew positions that they flew in 60+ years ago. This is a great opportunity for them to re live some memories and do just what they did back in WWII.

Come on out and see history come alive once again at this special event and please tell all of your friends as well.

If you, or a friend, would like to be placed on our e-mail list to be informed about upcoming events, just send an e-mail to me at: list@twinbeech.com

THE WWII WARBIRD GROUP IS A GATHERING OF AVIATION ENTHUSIASTS THAT GET TOGETHER EVERY OTHER MONTH AND SHARE STORIES AND EXPERIENCES ABOUT WWII AND OTHER AVIATION TOPICS.

THE MEETINGS ARE HELD AT THE STOCKTON FIELD AVIATION MUSEUMS HANGAR AT STOCKTON AIRPORT IN CALIFORNIA. THE MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC (MEMBERSHIP NOT REQUIRED) AND FEATURE A GUEST SPEAKER WHO FLEW IN ANY OF THE MILITARY SERVICES DURING OUR NATION'S CONFLICTS FROM WWII TO PRESENT DAY.

MEMBERSHIP IS OPEN TO ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE AN INTEREST IN MILITARY AVIATION REGARDLESS OF THEIR MILITARY SERVICE, NATIONALITY OR GENDER. YOU ALL ARE WELCOME SO PLEASE COME OUT AND JOIN US FOR AN INTERESTING AND ENTERTAINING EVENING.

WE ALSO HAVE SPECIAL EVENTS SUCH AS BAR-B-Q'S AND THE OCCASIONAL AIRSHOW OR OPEN HOUSE.

IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING OR JOINING THIS GREAT GROUP PLEASE SEND THEM OUR WAY.

THE WORLD WAR TWO WARBIRD GROUP MEETS BI-MONTHLY (JANUARY, MARCH, MAY, JULY, SEPTEMBER, AND NOVEMBER) ON THE FOURTH WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH AT THE STOCKTON FIELD AVIATION MUSEUMS HANGAR AT 7PM.

REMEMBER THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BA A MEMBER TO ATTEND THE MEETINGS SO GRAB A FRIEND AND COME ON OUT.

THE MEETINGS ARE HELD IN THE STOCKTON FIELD AVIATION MUSEUM HANGAR LOCATED AT 7432 C.E. DIXON STREET STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA USA

FROM HIGHWAY 99 NORTH TAKE THE FRENCH CAMP EXIT AND HEAD WEST. TURN RIGHT OR NORTH ON AIRPORT WAY. TURN RIGHT ON STIMSON (AT THE NATIONAL GUARD) AND FOLLOW IT TO THE END WHERE YOU WILL SEE THE BLUE MUSEUM HANGAR ON YOUR LEFT. THE ENTRY DOOR IS ON THE BACK OF THAT HANGAR.

FROM HIGHWAY 99 SOUTH TAKE THE ARCH ROAD EXIT AND HEAD WEST TO AIRPORT WAY (WATCH OUT FOR AND FOLLOW THE DETOUR SIGNS POSSIBLE DETOUR). TURN LEFT OR SOUTH ON AIRPORT WAY AND THEN TURN LEFT INTO THE MAIN AIRPORT ENTRANCE ON C.E. DIXON. FOLLOW C.E. DIXON SOUTH UNTIL YOU SEE THE BLUE MUSEUM HANGAR ON THE LEFT. THE ADDRESS IS 7432 C.E. DIXON STREET. THE DOOR IS ON THE PARKING LOT SIDE OF THE HANGAR

FROM HIGHWAY 5 NORTH OR SOUTH TAKE THE FRENCH CAMP EXIT AND HEAD EAST FOR A FEW MILES. TURN LEFT OR NORTH ON AIRPORT WAY. TURN RIGHT ON STIMSON (AT THE NATIONAL GUARD) AND FOLLOW IT TO THE END. ON THE LEFT YOU WILL SEE THE BLUE MUSEUM HANGAR ON THE LEFT. THE ENTRY DOOR IS ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE HANGAR NEAR THE PARKING LOT.

The stories of 15 Central California flyers in World War Two are told in this book. Paper back, 138 pages, 8 x 11 inches. Compiled and edited by John V. Schippers, published 2002 by the WW II Warbird Group, Inc.

Quotes from stories in "THE WAY IT WAS, Memoirs of Flyers in WW II, Vol. 2"

Quote from Ed Ah Tye, B-17 top turret gunner, 8th AF: "Before our first mission (it was to Berlin!) the officer at orientation said, 'If you get shot down over France, mix with the civilians and wait to be picked up by patriots who will try to smuggle you back to England. Also act mute so you speech won't give you away.' I was the only Oriental on base and asked the officer in charge; Since I am a Chinese-American, what should I do if I'm shot down and won't blend in with the Frenchmen? The officer shook his head and answered, 'Don't get shot down.'

Quote from Bill Behrns, P-38 pilot, CBI: "I rolled over and rolled out on the target coming down with throttle wide open. Apparently I was looking right down the barrel of an ack-ack gun. All of sudden, BOOM! -- the whole airplane jumped and everything went dead."

Quote from Bill Gaines, B-17 pilot, 8th AF: "One of the other tough missions we had was bombing Munich Greens airfield with frag bombs.

....we got beat up pretty bad and had to make another forced landing. On that one I left the plane in Brussels. The two outboard engines were shot out and we landed with the two inboard engines. Fighter planes escorted me almost all the way in or I wouldn't be here talking."

Copies of "THE WAY IT WAS, Memoirs of Flyers in WW II Vol. 2" can be purchased for $13.00 which includes tax, from John Schippers by e-mailing him at:

jvschippers@juno.com

TO ALL OF OUR COUNTRY'S VETERANS, WE HERE AT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT WOULD LIKE TO SAY:

THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID FOR OUR COUNTRY!