Page 7 - Aerotech News and Review, May 14, 2021

High Desert Hangar Stories
‘Querer es poder’

How three notable Hispanic Airmen made their way

by Bob Alvis tracked when he visited an Army Air on the U.S. Air Force Officer Training
special to Aerotech News Corps training field. He was hooked, School, but that also failed. After get-
and made up his mind that being a pilot ting married and having a child, she
The recent observance of Cinco is all he would settle for. On July 29, accepted a job in Panama with the De-
de Mayo, combined with the various 1943, Hector was the only Latino of partment of Defense. At the age of 26,
“heritage months’’ that start off our 97 graduating cadets to receive those a chance meeting with a recruiter saw
new year, got me thinking about the silver wings that day. her apply for the U.S. Air Force Of-
many Hispanic aviators who, over the Many times Hector distinguished ficer Candidate School. When she was
course of their lifetimes, proved to himself in combat and earned the re- asked to list three jobs she wanted, she
be exceptional Airmen. As people of spect of all those who flew with him. responded pilot, pilot and pilot.
color, they often had obstacles to over- After the war, he went on to fly during In January 1980, she entered pilot
come, especially in those early years the Berlin Airlift, making 127 flights to
when minorities found it hard to chase the city locked down by the Russians. training. Upon graduation at Laughlin
their dreams of becoming pilots, espe- Hector went on to work for NASA, the Air Force Base, Texas, the Air Force
cially military pilots. White House and the FAA. assigned her as a pilot instructor, where
Three pilots really stand out to me she became the first female Northrop
as legendary, proving that the skills T-38 Talon UPT flight instructor. A sub-
needed to be an Airman had nothing to sequent assignment took her to Ran-
do with skin color, sex or where they dolph Air Force Base, Texas, where she
came from — it came down to a burn- became the first female T-38 instructor
ing passion to be a pilot, and never giv- pilot.
ing up on that quest. In 1987 she resigned her commis-
Courtesy photograph sion and entered the Air Force Re-
Lt. Gen. Elwood “Pete” Quesada serves, serving until 2003 and attaining
the rank of lieutenant colonel. In June
those in leadership had in his ability Graduating from high school at the
when flying an aircraft. age of 16, she attended the University 1988, American Airlines hired her and
After the war the general went on of Puerto Rico where she tried to join she subsequently became the first La-
to many challenging commands and the ROTC program. She was denied, as tina airline captain in the United States,
became frustrated with the Pentagon, flying 727s, 757s and 767s. Custodio
which was putting all its funding into they did not accept women at the time. flew for 20 years for American Air-
the Strategic Air Command and let- After college, she then turned her focus lines and retired as a captain with
ting the Tactical Air Command die a
slow death. So he moved on and retired
Courtesy photograph early, only to be vindicated when the
Lt. Gen. Elwood “Pete” Quesada
Korean War broke out and the need for
fighter operations in the air resurfaced.
During his civilian career, which in-
Gen. Elwood Richard “Pete” Que- cluded serving as the first administrator
sada was the son of a Spanish busi- of the Federal Aviation Administration,
nessman, and attended Maryland and he formed many of the regulations that
Georgetown Universities. In 1924 made air travel for commercial airline
Courtesy photograph he enlisted in the Regular Army, but passengers safe and more efficient, by
Lt. Col. Hector Santa Anna soon became a flying cadet when the being a champion for many of the hard-
aviation bug got him. By the time he core rules that improved air travel.
left military service in 1951, he was a Olga Custodio, nee Nevarez, dem-
Lt. Col. Hector Santa Anna was a three-star general and served in both onstrated perseverance and determina-
B-17 pilot in World War II. He flew his the Army Air Corps and the U.S. Air tion in her ambition to become a pi-
flying fortress, the Umbriago, on 35 Force. lot. This Puerto Rican-born girl, after
missions over Germany. He was one of Quesada first really stepped into many tries and never settling for less,
just a handful of Latino pilots to fly in the limelight as a member of a flight finally found the path that put her in the Courtesy photograph
crew in 1929 that remained in the air cockpit as the very first Latino military
for more than 150 hours, breaking all woman to pilot supersonic aircraft in U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Olga Custodio
endurance records at the time while the military.
demonstrating the new concept of re-
fueling in mid-air, with hoses dropped more than 11,000 hours.
down from other aircraft. Custodio is very humble about all
During World War II, he flew many this. She downplays her firsts, saying,
combat missions and was in command “Everything I did was for me and my
of some pretty important outfits, like family.
the 12th Fighter Command and the 9th ”I was not out to prove anything. I
Tactical Air Command. He flew com- didn’t even know I was the first Latina
bat missions, and his pilots called him military pilot until I had my first female
“Pete” and the “Pilots General.” He student at pilot training.” She was the
was proficient in the P-38, P-47 and first Latina to graduate from the U.S.
the P-51. He helped to lead D-Day air Air Force Academy.
Courtesy photograph operations over Europe and took a very
Lt. Col. Hector Santa Anna active role in the air operations plan- Custodio’s mantra is “Querer es pod-
ning for the invasion of Normandy. As er” which loosely translates to “Where
there’s a will, there’s a way.” Looking
a matter of fact, on D-Day plus one he
combat in World War II. A descendant moved his command to Omaha Beach, at all three of these Hispanic Airmen, I
of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna of to direct fighter sorties in support of pretty much think that Custodio’s man-
Alamo fame, Hector was born in 1923 the advancing tanks and infantry. Gen. tra would fit them all very nicely.
in a small mining town in Arizona. Dwight D. Eisenhower would only fly Courtesy photograph Until next time, Bob out …
Moving to California in 1940 to earn over the battlefields with Quesada at U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Olga Custodio
money for college, he was soon side- the controls. That is how much faith

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