Page 15 - DFCS News Magazine Summer 2015

Honors cont’d
guished Alumnus, USAF Test Pilot School, Ed- wards Air Force Base in 1994.
Now San Diego has found a way to honor Car- denas. At the Veterans Memorial Center and Mu- seum in Balboa Park, a sculptured bust of him in leather jacket, ight helmet and goggles sits on a raised pedestal beside the B-24 Monument.
“This came about,” said VMC director Will Hays, who has been there since 1989, “a er the new Na onal Cemetery at Miramar was opened. Gen- eral Cardenas was the driving force in that e ort. The POW statue at the cemetery was created by Richard Becker. The American Ex-POW group, which includes Frank Burger and Ralph Kling, thought of doing a bust of the general for the museum. The VMC provided a tax-free basis.” A call for dona ons went out to the public, veter- an’s organiza ons and businesses. The Air Force Associa on, the Ex-POWs, World War II bomber associa ons and other organiza ons contributed to the endeavor. “We raised several thousand dollars,” Hays said with evident pride. Designed by the talented San Diego Sculpture Richard Becker in stainless steel on a granite pedestal, the bust stands nearly six feet tall. The pedestal bears engravings of four of General Cardenas’s most signi cant avia on feats, including the YB-49 tests and the Sound Barrier project.
In an interview with Richard Becker, I learned what mo vated him in this project. “I met with General Cardenas and he told me about his Air Force experiences. I was cap vated and knew this would be the chance of a life me.” Cardenas showed the sculptor his aircra models, photos, uniforms and a life me of military memorabilia. “His World War II jackets and helmets were in impeccable shape,” Becker said.
Becker chose to model Cardenas from that era. “He had several photos, but one showed him in pro le. That was the basis for my sculpture. His wife and son helped to cri que the model and get every detail just right, especially the eyes.”
Becker is fond of working with stainless steel. “I
Volume 15, Issue 2 - Summer
love that material,” he said. “It seemed appropriate for this bust as is was a very revolu onary material in World War II, and General Cardenas had own some of the most radical new planes of that era. I have to say he was one of my favorite subjects, and I’m proud that my work will teach future genera ons about the men who served.”
The rst unveiling was on August 10, 2014. Museum visitors were able to view the bust indoors, but on June 6, 2015, the 71st Anniversary of D-Day, it was o cially unveiled to the public beside the magni cent B-24 Monument outside the museum. “Denny Sco- ville, a local a orney and supporter of the VMC was the Master of Ceremonies,” Hays commented. Denny received his DFC in Vietnam in 1969 and is also a proud member of The DFC Society. “He did a great job and it was very well a ended by the media and local dignitaries.” General Cardenas made a short speech to the hundreds of a endees, rela ng stories about his ying and career. I was present at the event, and was again struck by the man’s quiet dignity and humility.
Asked about the bust’s future, Hays said, “We origi- nally planned to have it moved to Miramar. But Gen- eral Cardenas remarked that he really liked it by the B -24. A er all, the bust has him in World War II ight gear and he ew B-24s in combat.”
The bust is a las ng tribute to a man who gave his all to his adopted country in peace and war, in the sky and on the ground, in and out of uniform. What Rob- ert Cardenas did
for the future was to make a di erence. In a way that is his most enduring legacy.
The Dis nguished Flying Cross Soci- ety is honored to have him among our ranks, and even more, to call him a friend.
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