Page 2 - DFCS News Magazine Summer 2014

We are fast approaching our 2014 Conven- tion at the very beautiful Sheraton Sand Key Resort, Clearwater Beach, Florida. The dates are Sunday, 21 September through Thurs- day, 25 September. The Convention Committee, the Tampa Bay Chapter and The Reunion Brat (Convention Coordinator) have arranged a great fun- illed event. Details, schedules and applica- tion forms are in this issue and on our website. This year we are honoring our members who fought in Korea, also known as “The Forgotten War”. I hope you will join us, as it should be a
memorable occasion and a chance to meet new friends and renew old bonds.
We are pleased to advise you the United States Senate has passed Senate companion Bill (S. 59) of Rep. Calvert’s Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act! This means that the bill can be pre- sented to the President for signature. Congratulations to Jim Champlin who was the prime mover for both the “DFC Memorial” and the bills to get national recognition. Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen including those members who sent letters to their Senator. We have more details in this issue. It is our hope this na- tional recognition will increase our membership but, as I always mention; membership is primarily increased by personal interaction between our members and other DFC recipients.
Recently, I made several presentations and sold a number of books. As a result of these presentations, I have recruited new members. You may not think so, but peo- ple are really inter- ested in hearing your stories and, they always open up a dialog. Wearing your DFCS polo shirts and baseball caps when you attend any avia- tion event also offers opportunities to re- cruit fellow DFC re- cipients. I attended one Saturday at
March Field Air Museum and recruited two members. The Speaker at the presentation will enter his father posthumously (Gary Powers of U-2 fame) and another member of the audience plans to join. You just don’t know when the shirt and/or hat will attract attention.
Some of our chapters are inactive due to lack of members willing to help. In order to stay active, or reactivate our DFC Society chapters, we need members to volunteer. If you are in an active chapter, please volunteer so the workload can be spread out. If you are in an inactive chapter or willing to organize a new chapter, please contact John Appel at jappel@dfcsociety.org
We are closer to obtaining a sponsor for the DFC Society Documen- tary, but it is not complete yet. It seems like every step forward in- volves two steps to the side, but we are optimistic that we are on the right track. We believe that 45 North Communications is absolutely the right company to produce it.
As with all military organizations, we are losing too many of our
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WWII members, and we recently lost one of our irst board members, Jack Mates. Jack was a mentor to many of us, and there is an article in this issue about him. His legacy will continue on as his family re- quested that donations be made to the DFC Society Scholarship fund in lieu of lowers. Several students will receive scholarships because of this wonderful gesture. We also had another member request friends and relatives to make donations to the DFC Scholarship Fund instead of sending birthday gifts that he didn’t need or would ever use. It would be great if more members told their family members their desire to have this done. It is always a tough subject to bring up, but including the DFC Society in your will or trust would help our Society immensely, especially the scholarship fund. I’m just tossing something out for you to consider.
I believe the future of the DFC Society looks great but, as always, we need the help of our members. I would ask you to please keep re- cruiting new members and support us as we keep moving forward.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our beautiful and very compel- ling book “On Heroic Wings: Stories of the Distinguished Flying Cross”. Once again, consider adding this book to your personal collec- tion or donating a copy to your local library, Aviation Museum, or ROTC/JROTC unit. It also makes a great gift for any aviation or histo- ry buff.
Once again, thank you for being members who continue to support the DFC Society and, I hope to see many of you at the convention in Clearwater Beach.
Chuck Sweeney President & CEO
Members and guests of the Wilbur Wright Na on’s Capital Re- gion Chapter made a weekend visit to Norfolk, Virginia, where they were honored by a special tour of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). The tour featured the flight deck, opera ons, and ready rooms of the carrier. All were impressed with the carrier itself and especially the enthusiasm and dedica on of the young men and wom- en who make things work onboard.
The next day several of us were special guests of the Military Avia on Museum in Virginia Beach. The museum is home to one of the largest private collec ons of WWI and WWII era military aircra in the world. Each has been beau fully restored to its prior military condi on, using original parts whenever possible. Most of the planes are airworthy and flown at the museum during flight demonstra ons and at air shows throughout the year.
In front of the USS Roosevelt: L to R Guest Don Cruse, Members Eric Richstein, Sheldon Goldberg, Henry Schwartz, Rick Roll, Roy Hodges