Page 10 - Aerotech News and Review – March 2024

BJORKMAN, from 1
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Air Force Test 􏰄enter E􏰅ecutive 􏰆irector, 􏰆r. Eileen B􏰃ork􏰇an, poses on the 􏰈F-􏰉􏰄 at Edwards AFB, 􏰄alif., in 1􏰊􏰋􏰋. 􏰆uring B􏰃ork􏰇an’s nearly 􏰌0-year 􏰇ilitary career, she served as a flight test engineer, instructor, test squadron commander and as the data processing branch chief, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, July 198 7 - August 198 9
plishments throughout her career, whether at Holloman, U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, or even a squadron at the Pentagon, Bjorkman said the thing she will take away most were the people along the way.
“It’s really all about people, right? I’ve been talking about projects and things, but looking back on all the people that I’ve had the opportunity to mentor over the years and help get into Test Pilot School or go off to Air Command and Staff College or just give them some good career advice,” she said. “Being able to help that generation behind me because there were people that helped me along, and being able to pass that along has been very important to me; To be able to have had an impact on at least a few people’s lives.”
As Bjorkman retires, her colleagues, friends, and family celebrate the legacy of a trailblazer
HONOR, from 2
came in high and fast. Too high, and too fast, sometimes called “coming in hot.” Barthe was belted into the radar operator’s cubby hole with only a tiny port hole for visibility. He could see the deck flashing past as the ungainly, single􏰀engine
propeller aircraft swooped beyond tail hooks to arrest the landing.
He could hear and feel the nine tons of steel and aluminum of the AD4 Sky- raider tearing through the safety net, and through the port hole, Fred could see “The Island,” which is, in effect, the enormous control tower for an aircraft carrier.
The aircraft, with a will of its own, was swerving.
“We are going over the side,” the 20􏰀year􏰀old Navy air crewman recalled,
vividly as yesterday, the events of nearly 70 years gone by.
At the last possible instant, with the aircraft nose buried in the deck, he heard
the “Hot Papa,” an aircraft carrier deck chief getting his hatch open.
“I’m OK. Check on the pilot,” Fred said, clambering out of the up-ended crate.
He wanted to kiss the pilot, because they were on the deck, not in the drink.
“It was a combat mission,” Fred remembers. “We were covering evacuation of
Nationalist Troops from China in the vicinity of Quemoy.”
The man is about more than his hat. And what he told the “Hot Papa” on the
Yorktown sums up Fred’s approach to life. Make sure the other guy gets helped. Spend enough time in community civics and you grasp the reason that unsung
heroes are unsung is because they are not singing their own praises.
So, volunteers from most of the active veteran service organizations turned out for a 90th birthday bash the night after Valentine’s Day. Non􏰀profit volunteers whoshowedupcamefromVets4 Veteransserviceorganization,andCoffee4 Vets, which hosts Barthe’s weekly recruitment pitch for Honor Flights. Also Pointman
of the Antelope Valley, and the Antelope Valley Vietnam Memorial Committee. Many of the veterans he sponsored turned out, including Bertell who chairs the
Antelope Valley Vietnam Memorial Committee.
“We 􏰃ust love Fred,” Carol Rice, Secretary of Vets􏰉Veterans said. “He 􏰃ust turns
up anywhere and everywhere and helps out without having to be asked. He’s a wonderful man.”
If there’s a veteran to help, 􏰂arthe, a retired Coast Guard Reserve lieutenant commander, is likely to be there. Ten years ago he was volunteer driving a van for Disabled American Veterans. He didn’t consider himself to be a disabled vet, but Navy aviation will crash your hearing, even if you don’t crash. Crash landing on an aircraft carrier in a rough sea is trauma defined. In wartime, it is combat trauma.
And it looks like at the age of 90, he is 􏰃ust about to be approved for some veterans benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. At 90, with his combat airtime 70 years behind, it is not too late yet.
Editor’s note: Dennis Anderson is an Army veteran and licensed clinical social worker at High Desert Medical Group who is Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s rep- resentative on the Los Angeles County Veterans Advisory Commission. He works on veteran and community public health initiatives.
whose career exemplifies resilience, dedication, and a commitment to advancing aerospace tech- nology.
In retirement Bjorkman has no intentions of pursuing a full-time job. Her primary focus is on building an airplane, a long􏰀standing aspiration that retirement will finally allow her to fulfill. Ad- ditionally, she plans to invest time in nonprofit and professional organizations, particularly those with a historical focus. Volunteer work in her local community in E verett, Wash., where she will be relocating, is also on her agenda. Bjorkman is open to embracing opportunities as they arise, maintaining her flexible and adaptive approach to life.
The entire Test 􏰁nterprise wishes Dr. 􏰁ileen A. 􏰂􏰃orkman a well􏰀deserved and fulfilling retire- ment, confident that her impact will resonate in the aerospace community for years to come.
A collage of photos, courtesy of Fred Barthe, showing his air crew, airplane, and his late wife, Marilyn.
Courtesy Photo
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