WELCOME TO THE VETERAN’S HANGAR

Guests are invited to the Veteran’s Hangar to visit with war veterans and real heroes from different wars.  Each year the show is honored to host veterans wanting to share their first-hand experiences with others.  Those with children are encouraged to take advantage of this unique opportunity to make a personal connection with the ones who did the work that led to America’s success and preserved our freedom. No matter your age, come by and learn why we are all in debt to those who fought for us and how our military has kept us and the world safe.

At the Wings Over Camarillo Veteran’s Hangar, you can come to talk to four WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam veteran pilots, aircrew, mechanics, as well as other war-time specialties. Many of whom are listed below.

All of these veterans served in combat and risked their lives for the country.

 

Col Joe Peterburs: He enlisted in the Army Air Corps November 30, 1942, at age 19, and was selected for pilot training in April 1944, commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant. Joe trained on the P-51 and was shipped out to England in November. He was assigned to the 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, where he provided long-range escort protection for B-17 bombers conducting raids over Germany. During his 49th and last aerial WW II mission on April 10, 1945, while defending a group of B-17 bombers, he attacked a Luftwaffe ME-262 jet fighter, landing rounds in the ME-262 wing before it disappeared into a cloud. Attacking a nearby enemy airfield, damaging five enemy aircraft, he was hit by ground fire. He bailed out and was captured and forced to march to Stalag III at Luckenwalde. He escaped one night and met up with a Soviet tank unit and fought with them before being reunited with American forces. Joe continued his military service after WWII, participating in Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War in Europe. He retired in 1979 after 36 years of service.

https://youtu.be/omVx6K8nkzo             https://youtu.be/wNixkLruqQ0
www.americansinwartime.org/explore/voices-of-freedom/joe-peterburs

 

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Bill Glaspie grew up in Arizona and joined the Army in 1943. He was assigned to the 468th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, Battery D, where he trained as a Canoneer for the M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage (MGMC). The M16 MGMC is a Half-track equipped with four .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in an M45 Quadmount, capable of 2,300 RPM; it was nicknamed the “Meat Chopper” by the Germans. Bill and his unit came ashore at Normandy days after D-Day and fought across France and Belgium. He then fought in the Battle of the Bulge, with its extreme cold; this battle sustained the highest casualty count of all battles in WWII.  Two of his brothers also fought in the same battle with different units.  The 468^th provided critical anti-aircraft defense for the U.S.Third Army and fought across the Siegfried Line and the Rhine River. Bill Glaspie lives in Bakersfield, California.

www.kget.com/spotlight/spotlight-in-the-golden-empire/

 

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SSgt Jack Moran enlisted in the Army at 17  and completed basic training as an Infantryman at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 347th Infantry Regiment, 87th Infantry Division. His unit landed in France two months after D-Day and experienced its first significant battle in the Saar Valley at the border of France and Germany. His unit suffered 96 killed and 113 wounded in the first six days, including his best friend and squad leader, whose duties he assumed.  He then fought in the Battle of the Bulge, surrounded by German forces for a week in the bitter cold.  He led his squad across the Siegfried Line and Rhine River; during the latter, two of eight soldiers were killed in the small boat they paddled across the river when the German soldiers opened fire. Jack bore witness to the German Concentration Camp atrocities, arriving at Buchenwald the day after it was liberated by American forces. Jack Moran lives in Thousand Oaks, California.

www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/concert/featured-stories/jack-moran-story/

 

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RM1 Bill Dillon: Bill Dillon was just 17 when he signed up for military service. Serving on the attack submarine USS Sailfish, he and fellow submariners often wouldn’t know if a fired torpedo hit its target until days later. They relied heavily on radar, a new technology at the time that the Japanese didn’t yet have; Bill was one of the first operators trained on the operation of the radar system. Life on a WWII submarine was different from infantry work; there were no opportunities to make phone calls or send letters home because there was no ‘leave’. The sub only came to land if it ran out of fuel, food, or ammunition.  In his four-year tenure aboard the Sailfish, he and his crewmates sank or damaged 21 Japanese ships including the Japanese light aircraft carrier Chūyō, which Bill was tracking via radar.  Sailfish rescued 12 American pilots who had been shot down during the Battle of Formosa. He received two Bronze Stars, one with valor. Bill Dillon lives in Topanga, California.

www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/veterans-voices-william-dillon/

 

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Combat Veterans (fought, flew or stationed in a war zone)

John Trotti: USMC F-4 Pilot Vietnam, author from Ventura County (Saturday only)
Ed Reynolds: USAF VC-47(DC-3) Navigator/Sr Intel Advisor to South Vietnam; Aerial Refueling
Bob Donovan:  USAF 1966-1970, Crash Rescue for 56th Special Ops Wing in Thailand
Robert Yenney: USN Vietnam, author of several novels from Ventura County
Micheal Sugar: Army Vietnam 1966-68; Sgt MP/Combat Photographer; Bin Hoa; Phước Vĩnh.
Ron Jones: USN submarine nuclear propulsion operator in the western Pacific during Vietnam.

Veterans

Bob Eisenhart: US Army Security Agency Berlin/History of the A-bomb delivery system.
Fred Kaplan: USN Seabee – Construction Battalion 1962-65 Guam and Okinawa.
Chuck Mathews: USAF airfield engineering/surveyor to support B-36 and B-52 testing.
Megan Martine and Sarah Fasig: both USMC veterans celebrating 1940s “Pin-ups for Vets.”
Stan Israel: USAF 1967-71 F-4C Phantom Crew Chief, Japan & Korea during Pueblo incident.

Veterans and Aviation Heritage and Support Groups

H.E.R.O.E.S & The Tuskegee Legacy and Beyond Project
Black Sheep Exhibition Squadron www.blacksheepsquadron.org
Buffalo Soldiers – 25^th Infantry Bicycle Corps.
American Aviation Historical Society  www.aahs-online.org
Ventura Veterans Center www.va.gov/ventura-vet-center/
Wings Over Wendy’s  www.wingsoverwendys.com

WWII Veteran history through Sons and Daughters

Judy Lamppu: Daughter of Army Caverly/Chaplain; Discovery of a parent’s service
Tom Maiden: Son of WWII B-17 pilot (Saturday only)
David Timmerman: Son of USAAF WWII 15th AF gunner who was POW 1943-45
Gary Zirland: Son of Ventura County 8^th AF  B-24 gunner (Sunday only)

 

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Please enjoy some videos of our decorated veterans below.

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