State Aviation Hall of Honor Induction October 23
The Oregon Aviation Hall of Honor
will salute five Oregon aviators on Sunday, October 23, at the
Evergreen Aviation Museum (The Captain Michael King Smith
Educational Institute) in McMinnville, OR.
The Third Annual induction ceremony will take place from 1 PM to
3 PM at the Museum; admission is $15 for members and $20 for
non-members.
(Higher levels of sponsorship are available to those of a
philanthropic bent). Desserts and beverages will be served.
The Museum is best known as the
resting place of the incredible Hughes
HK-1 Hercules flying boat, and it's only fitting that the keynote
speaker should have a connection to Howard Hughes. Tony Blackman,
Chief Test Pilot at Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Woodford Airfield, is
a pilot that flew with Hughes. In fact, he's the last pilot to fly
with the reclusive aviator.
The honorees are:
- Col. Terry Bernhardt
A decorated Vietnam veteran, with two Distinguished Flying
Crosses, Bernhardt later commanded the Oregon Air National Guard's
142nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron before his retirement in
1996.
- Lt. Col. (Ret.) Ray Costello
Costello's military career saw him participate in World War II, the
Berlin Airlift, Korea, and the Vietnam War, but he then served the
Oregon Department of Aviation, and then again served AOPA for years
-- earning the nickname Mr Oregon General Aviation.
- Rev. Jake DeShazer
DeShazer was a B-25 bombardier in the Doolittle Raid on
Tokyo, Japan.
He endured privation and torture as a prisoner, and his prison
memoir led to the Christian conversion of Mitsuo Fuchida, leader of
the Pearl Harbor Raid. DeShazer and Fuchida both became ministers
and lifelong friends.
- Maj. Dean Johnson (posthumous honoree)
Johnson is another warrior who is being honored for his peaceful
pursuits. After serving in WWII as a Marine dive-bomber pilot, he
became an early exponent of the helicopter, telling disbelieving
people in 1950 that one day helicopters would -- well, all the
things that helicopters do.
- Lt. Tom Maloney
Maloney is a World War Two naval aviator whose decorations
include two Navy Crosses (very unusual) and the DFC; he survived
almost 100 strikes on the enemy in 1943 to 1945, and a ditching off
Okinawa.
Previous honorees include the world-famous, such as Marine Medal
of Honor recipient Brigadier General Marion Carl, the
should-be-world-famous, like Tuskeegee Airman Major Robert Deitz,
and the locally famous, like flight instructor Norman "Swede"
Ralston. The five new inductees will bring the number of honorees
to 19.
To be honored by inclusion in this august company, one should be
a native of Oregon or someone associated strongly with the state
who has made extraordinary contributions of some kind either to, or
through, aviation, in war or in peace.
The event is co-sponsored by the
Oregon Department of Aviation and the Museum, and the Museum has
designated Michael Burrill, Sr, a Contributing Sponsor.
If any of our Pacific Northwest readers plans to attend, please
note that they want an RSVP by Tuesday, Oct. 18, to (503) 434-4185
or email to lyndell.baker@sprucegoose.org
.
Tell 'em Aero-News sent you.
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