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2009 News Items
27
Apr 2009
- A couple of items today. 11
Nov 2009
- HAPPY VETERANS' DAY!
Here's sending a big THANK YOU to all the veterans out there,
especially to my fellow weather reconnaissance crew members and support
personnel. Just remember: "Y'all done good!"
 10 Nov 2009 - I received a sad note from Otha Spencer today. Otha lost Billie, his wife of 66 years, on 8 Oct 2009. Billie Spencer passed away due to a heart attack at the Hunt County Regional Hospital in Greenville, Texas. Her obituary can currently be found at this link. If anyone wants to contact Otha, his information is in the AWRA Membership Roster. For non-members, contact the Web Master for help. Email Web Master at: awra038@aol.com 26 Oct 2009 - Several Members have sent photos from the reunion to share. Follow the Reunion link above, or go directly here for Page 1 of photos, or here for Page 2. Keep checking back, we still have more to post. There are two pages so far, and I still have a batch from Dick Baker that will go up later this week. Please keep sending in those great full resolution shots from your collection. 19 Oct 2009 - The 2009 AWRA Reunion has wrapped up, and by all accounts was a great success. We were very fortunate to have many new faces as well as our core group of regulars. There were about 90 members, family, and guests gathered for the annual banguet on Saturday night. We welcomed two of our flag officers - M/Gen John Collens and B/Gen Bob Moeller - who had some great history to share, and I know we all were happy that they came. During the annual membership meeting, we elected John Hug to fill the vacant Vice President position. Congratulations, John. It was decided to hold our 2010 reunion in Portland, OR. Watch the reunion page in the coming months for more information. Pictures of this years reunion will appear on the site when you, the members, send them to me. Please send FULL RESOLUTION photos - not ones reduced for easy E-mail. 27 Sep 2009 - The AWRA Leadership Page has been updated to reflect current Directors, as well as a vacant Vice President position due to the passing of Roy Ladd on 25 Jun 2009. Roy was buried with full Military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, 25 Sep. Yes, you currently wait 3 months for burial at Arlington. We will be selecting a new Vice President at the AWRA General Membership meeting on 17 Oct 2009 in San Antonio, TX. To nominate a candidate, contact the AWRA President, Bob Tuttle. Follow the leadership link above. Any current AWRA member in good standing is eligible. On a sad note, we found out this weekend that Virgina (Ginny) Aldrich, wife of M/Gen Tom Aldrich, has passed away due to cancer. A memorial is planned in October, and we will provide details as we find them out. 19 July 2009 - We have very sad news today. Two of the true pioneers and leaders of weather reconnaissance have recently passed away. Colonel Roy E Ladd, one of our Association Vice Presidents, died in Ft Meyers Beach, FL on June 25th. Roy flew with the 54th/514th on Guam, 308th Group at Fairfield-Suisun, and the 513th/57th at Tinker and in Hawaii. He flew many of the early WB-29 penetrations of nuclear clouds from US tests in Nevada and the Pacific Test Ranges. His obituary can be seen here. Lt Col Aubrey D Taylor passed away on June 11th in Florida. Colonel Taylor was commander of the 374th/55th in the early 1950's. His obituary can be seen here. 9 Jun 2009 - The annual newsletter is FINALLY at the printer and should be in the mail in two days. If any member would like a preview, it is also in the MEMBERS ONLY area of this site. The online version has color photos. Go to http://www.awra.us/roster/ to dowload the newsletter. A user ID and password are required. If you don't have yours yet (and you are a member) contact the webmaster at: awra038@aol.com 21 May 2009 - Updated REUNION page posted, which includes the Registration Form for the 2009 Reunion of Members, to be held in San Antonio from 14 to 18 Oct. The registration fee has remained constant again this year at $70 per person, which includes the Welcome Social on Wednesday evening, the Annual Banquet on Saturday night, Hospitality all 5 days (from noon on the 14th to noon on the 18th) and administrative costs (nametags, info packs, posters, etc.) Follow the Reunion link or click on the Download Reunion Registration form link. 14
May 2009
- Revised AWRA Home Page posted.
This update fixes a few minor flaws, including how the page displayed
in some browsers. Also removed a few "dead" links, i.e. links to
pages that no longer exist, and fixed other links to reflect changes
made at their sites. For anyone watching their mail box for the
2009 newsletter, it should be showing up next week (we
hope).
12 May 2009 - I had a chance yesterday to visit the Kansas Aviation Museum (KAM), located next to McConnell AFB, in Wichita, KS. To see their web site follow this link: http://www.kansasaviationmuseum.org/ My motivation was to meet AWRA Life
Member John Dickerson and see the WB-47E that the museum acquired two
years ago. This aircraft (51-2387) had been located in
Oklahoma City since 1969 and was in danger of being
salvaged. KAM is in the process of refurbishing the
aircraft and getting it ready for display. KAM plans to leave it
in the weather reconnaissance configuration. The WEATHER flash is
missing from the vertical stabilizer, but hopefully that will be fixed
soon.
To facilitate the move from Oklahoma
City, the Wings and tail were cut off of 387. During my visit,
KAM lifted the fuselage onto some support platforms to make assembly
easier, and they were in the process of lifting the left wing into
position to be reattached.
During my visit, there was an added
treat. A Boeing 747 Dream Lifter landed and taxied into the huge
Boeing facility. This updated version of the Super Guppy concept
is used to deliver outsized pieces of the new 787 to the final assembly
plant in Everett, WA. I was told that the Boeing Wichita
plant provides fuselage sections.
In less than two hours, the Dream
Lifter was on her way to the next stop, and the left wing for 387 was
being positioned. I made several contacts during my visit and
hope to get more pictures as the assembly of 387 continues.
First of all, planning for the 2009 Reunion in San Antonio is going great. The dates are October 14-18, and information about the reunion and the host hotel can be found at the Reunion link above. We are looking forward to a big turnout, so please make your hotel reservations now. We are planning for a bus trip to Fredricksburg, TX on Thursday. This is a very nice old Hill Country, German heritage, town that hosts the National Museum of the Pacific War (formerly the Nimitz Museum.). There is lots of shopping and food along the downtown strip. On Friday morning, we will have a bus take us to Lackland AFB for a USAF Basic Training Graduation. We'll also see the aircraft around the parade grounds, including a WB-29 that is now displayed in WWII bomber colors, and take a short tour (by bus) of the Lackland training facilities. On Friday evening, Bernie and Rosalind Barris are hosting an Open House in their home. This was a big hit in 2005, and the Barris' are looking forward to seeing everyone there. And, of course, Saturday will feature the AWRA membership meeting and annual banquet. Did I mention that the reunion is in San Antonio with the world-famous River Walk and Alamo? Speaking of reunions, an E-mail from Peter Copeskey today included this great shot of four of our number getting together at Lee's Runway Bar and Grill in Tucson, AZ, this past weekend. Click on the Lee's link to see a recent news article about the establishment run by Lee and T.J. Smith.
30 Mar 2009 - We've had several new members join over the past months, and unfortunately lost some of our friends and colleagues as well. The online (PDF format) roster has been updated. Follow the "home" link above and go to the "Members Only" area to view the latest list.. 14 Feb 2009 - Cheating just a little bit, I'm using the date that the article was first posted. On Valentine's Day, I posted an article about the WB-47E. The link has been shared with several WB-47 vets for comment. I also posted the link on the AWRA Yahoo! Newsgroup, and on an E-mail group of AFTAC SEOs and Operations Officers. I've received good feedback so far, and incorporated several changes based on their input. We are now ready to go "live" with the link. To read the WB-47E article, follow this link. |
 One feature that was added during 2005 was an AWRA discussion forum in Yahoo! Groups. The group has been great for those of us currently participating. We need to get more folks involved. To join, follow this link. Click on the "Join This Group" tab and you will be asked to log in if you already have a Yahoo! account. If you are new to Yahoo!, it will walk you through the steps to set up your account. Please join us! The URL for our group is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AWRA/ |
| The AWRA
News
posts for past years are still available. They have been archived at the following locations: 2008 News can be found here 2007 News can be found here 2006 News can be found here 2005 News can be found here |