Three for the Show

Comprising some 13,000 members across more than seventy units, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly the Confederate Air Force, is a Dallas, Texas-based non-profit dedicated to the preservation and display of historical aircraft. The organization operates the world’s largest fleet of airworthy warbirds.

In late-June 2023, the Commemorative Air Force made public the names of its 2024 CAF Hall of Fame inductees.

Nominated by their peers for outstanding and protracted contributions to the CAF, 2024’s CAF Hall of Fame inductees are:

Elaine Webb: Introduced to the CAF by her parents, Mrs. Webb found herself swiftly enamored of the notion of restoring historic aircraft to airworthiness. She became a CAF member in 1982 and joined the organization’s Marshalling Detachment, a role in which she was granted unprecedented access to warbirds. Mrs. Webb’s zeal for preserving history encompasses not only aircraft, but the men and women by which subject machines were built, flown, and maintained. Mrs. Webb and her husband, Howard, have been active Dallas Fort Worth Wing members for many years. Currently, Mrs. Webb oversees the wing’s museum and the collection of aviation artifacts therein.

Mike Burke: Mr. Burke earned his pilot certificate in 1970 and promptly joined the CAF as a member of the organization’s Gulf Coast Wing. In 1972, following in the footsteps of his father, Eddie Burke, Mike became a pilot with TORA—the CAF’s recreation of the Japanese 07 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor—and has since remained an active participant in the group. As the pilot of Zero 115 for over forty years, as well as an instructor, check-pilot, safety-officer, and TORA lead, Mr. Burke has performed at hundreds of airshows and mentored innumerable CAF pilots. In addition to his warbird exploits, Mr. Burke, for two decades, has dutifully served on the CAF’s Standards and Evaluation Committees.

Donna Blalack: Since entering the CAF’s employ in 1992, Ms. Blalack has held staff positions in membership, administration, and human resources. In each role, she competently performed her assigned tasks, often volunteering to perform beyond such for purpose of promoting the CAF’s mission. Ms. Blalack was among the first to be granted the title of CAF Colonel, and has proudly maintained such for 15-years. So strong is Ms. Blalack’s passion for the CAF’s mission that she was named ambassador when the organization undertook national outreach efforts to have National CAF representation at U.S. airshows.

The 2024 CAF Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Banquet is to be held Saturday, 02 March at the CAF National Airbase in Dallas, Texas.

The CAF Hall of Fame was established in 2010 to honor members who’ve made exceptional contributions to the organization’s success and worldwide impact. Inductees into the CAF Hall of Fame will have held CAF membership for at least 15-years and be active members at time of their induction (or death, if posthumously inducted). Past Inductees include: Enola Gay captain and USAF Brigadier General Paul Tibbets Jr.; WWII bomber-pilot legend Marvin Lee “Lefty” Gardner; Air Force Association charter member Oliver “Ollie” Crawford; United States Marine Corps WWII fighter ace Archie Donahue; U.S. Army Air Corps B-17, F-86, F-89, pilot Charles L. “Chuck” Francis; and U.S. Army Air Corps B-29 bombardier and American singer and television host Tennessee Ernie Ford.

FMI: https://commemorativeairforce.org/home