Roadrunners

Roadunners. The Arizona Roadrunners had an active spring. Joe Foss brought his unique blend of history and humor to the February meeting, regaling the spillover ANA crowd with two hours of recollections about his aviation career from Pensacola to Guadalcanal to South Dakota. The all time top Marine fighter ace described combat in WWII, his political career ("When I was inaugurated as governor I sold the state's light twin if there was any flying to be done, I was gonna do it in an Air Guard P-51), and the adventures of establishing the American Football League. Throughout, he stressed the role of his Christian faith in carrying him through war, reocvery from crippling illness and everyday life.

In March Barrett Tillman elaborated upon his expose' in the April issue of Naval History Magazine, with coauthor Henry Sakaida, of then-Congressman Lyndon Johnson's Silver Star, awarded during WWII. Tillman and Sakida conclusively proved it was falsely awarded for a nonexistant combat episode. Johnson, a tempoary reserve LCDR, had volunteered to ride in a B-26 raid on Lae, New Guinea in June 1942 but his plane aborted 80 miles short of target.

(Barrett Tillman)

Copyright Association of Naval Aviation Summer 2001
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