Page 11 - DFCS News Magazine Winter 2012

Bruce Whitman, Jack Jacobs, Chuck Sweeney
Distinguished Flying Cross Society Member receives the Highest Medal of Distinc- tion from French Government.
Jack Hubbard, Major, USAF (ret), was designated a Knight in the Order in the Legion of Honor. He received the medal May 11, 2012 from French Consul General Gael de Mai- sonneuve (L) and Rear Admiral Patrick Martin, French Navy (R).
Jack flew with the 306th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, stationed near Bedford England. The losses were very heavy and Jack was awarded a DFC and 4 Air Medals after just 24 missions. He lives in Fort Myers Florida and is a member of the Southwest Chapter of the DFC Society.
by J. Bruce Huffman
The Wings Club, at its Manhattan luncheon on September 19th, honored all recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross by presenting a plaque, in their honor, to the Distin- guished Flying Cross Society. Accepting, on behalf of all DFC recipients, was the Society’s President & CEO Chuck Sweeny. Presenting the plaque was Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and MSNBC Military Affairs commentator Col. Jack Jacobs.
Col. Jacobs, in his introductory remarks, mentioned that he held those airmen that flew and supported those on the ground “in awe’ which was high praise indeed, coming from a Medal of Honor recipient. In his acceptance remarks, President Sweeny thanked the Wings Club for the honor and paid tribute to the thousands of DFC recipients he was humbled to represent.
For those that may not be familiar with the Wings Club, it was born in New York City on May 15, 1942, in the early days of World War II, when a number of America’s aviation leaders decided to band together to find a suitable meet-
ing place where they could gather to help chart the future course of aeronautics.
Specifically, The Wings Club was founded to:
Maintain a non-profit aviation meeting place in New York City to promote the advancement and development of aeronautics.
Provide a center for discussion of matters pertaining to aviation.
Provide members services and facilities to aid them in their aeronautical activities.
Led by The Wings Club’s first President, Caleb S. Bragg, prominent civil and military aviation leaders- including Eddie Rickenbacker and Juan Trippe - were named to the first board of directors.
To establish the club’s leadership in civil and military aviation a number of honorary members were elected, including: General Hap Arnold, the commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces; L. Welch Pogue, chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board;
Dr. Jerome Hunsaker, chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics; and Fiorello LaGuardia, the aviation-minded mayor of New York.
Further information on the event is available at:
http://www.wingsclub.org/photo-albums/2012-09-Sep-Luncheon/index.html
DFC Recipients and Dignitaries at the Boeing sponsored table
Greg MacNeil, Dr. Barry Lanman, Bruce Huffman, Chuck Sweeney, Bruce Whitman, Larry Liss, Tom Harnisher, Lewis Watt, Jack Jacobs (Lucien White was missing from the photo)
DFC Society Plaque
Page 11 The Distinguished Flying Cross News