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Previous Mail Calls: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011,

2012 Mail Call

2012 starts on a sad note - Fred Blum, retired Col. and AC-119 Stinger Navigator, passed away Saturday, January 14th in San Antonio, TX following an injury in October during a trip to Europe. There will be a Memorial Service at the Air Force Village Two at 1330 on January 21st, and a Military Internment at Ft Sam, 1345 on January 27th.  Mac MacIsaac and the association, will try to provide more info as it becomes available. If anyone thinks they’ll be able to attend the memorial Service or Military Internment, please contact Wayne Laessig at Qadvocate@sbcglobal.net and we’ll make sure Mac knows.
Please keep Dodie and all their family in your prayers.

Another brother makes his final flight - In the early morning hours of January 9, 2012 Retired SMSgt Frank Zemanick, 63, answered God's call to come home. Frank retired after 25 years in the Air Force; he was Gunner on our AC-119K Stingers as well as AC-130 Spectres. The last few years he drove a school bus for St. Mary's School. He was a member of Knights Council 4444.
Frank was interred with full Military Honors January 16, with a Mass at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Fort Walton Beach, Florida; several of our AC-119 members attended.
Frank was very involved with the Knights of Columbus. If you would like to make a donation in Frank's name, donations may be made to the Knights of Columbus, 205 Carol Ave, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32540 (Phone # 850-243-4444).
He is survived by his beloved wife, Sandi, Son, John (Lindie), 4 granddaughters, brothers, Pete, John (Eileen), Tom (Betty), Ed (Mary), step daughters, JoAnn & Judy Hutchison, Shan Shepherd, Phyllis Spence Milonas, stepson, Richard Spence and several nieces and nephews. Please remember Frank, his wife Sandi, and their family in your prayers.

Update on Member Frank Bartlett - We received a brief update that Frank is stable and doing better. He has a severe head laceration and is black and blue. Having an aneurysm means more tests need to be done. Keep Frank and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank You. I just saw my grandfather Mahlon D. Henness listed on your Last Flight page and I want to say thank you. It really means a lot to me. He was always my hero and inspiration.
 
David Bukowski
Service Writer
AAA Arizona

Member Frank Bartlett needs your prayers and thoughts - Karen Graves informs us, via Shirley Bartlett, that Frank had a bad fall 6 days ago and has a large laceration on his head. Frank is black & blue but he had no brain trauma. In doing a CT scan of his head they diagnosed a large aneurysm of the brain. So that is the main concern at this time. More tests will be done on Monday. Please keep Frank and Shirley in your prayers and thoughts and we will pass on information as we receive it.
1/8/2012

Need Help moving C-119 to museum in Cresson, Tx - Jan 4, 2012 - There is a group in Texas, who are attempting to move a C-119 from just southwest of Fort Worth, at the Pate Museum of Transportation to another museum. They are looking for guidance, and a few strong backs with this upcoming move.
The C-119 that is the last remaining piece of the Pate Museum and needs to be moved 16 miles from where it currently sits, to the "new" Granbury Veterans Museum where it is slated for renovation. The problem lies in the fact that the project had reached a stand still. The guys that have been working on it are a very small group of veterans that are up in years. It is going from a non-profit museum to a non-profit museum, so I'm sure you can see the funding/manpower problem inherent in that. I personally have a history with the Pate, and while I am in the military and have a varied range of mechanical and electrical experience, I am not well versed in aviation. I was asked to help because the powers that be know I will do everything I can. If you live in the DFW area, or are close enough to want to make the drive, I am going to start organizing weekend work trips starting sometime in mid-January. I know as far as Texas goes, these are our coldest months, but this project can't be abandoned now, cause I have a feeling thats where it will end.
Texas Department of transportation has offered us a permit to tow it down the highway to where its going on its own wheels without a trailer.... however.... all 6 tires are not only flat, but cracked and in some places shredded. I got hold of some guys in Alaska who still fly one of these babies, and they graciously offered to lend us wheels and tires, but we have to cover the shipping there and back. I should have mentioned this next very important fact earlier... I am not asking for nor will I accept your money. The Granbury Veterans Museum has a spot on their site for donations if thats what you want to do, and it will be appreciated. What I'm looking for is a like-minded group of people willing to volunteer their time and/or resources (i.e. tools, equipment, etc.) to help tackle this project. I know times are tough for everyone, and I'm not expecting a giant group of people to come rolling in and save the day. More so than anything else, I grew up loving this museum, and this plane, and I now have the chance to work with and touch the very thing I idolized as a child, and I'm hoping some of you will be as excited as I am to have the chance to hands-on work on this piece of history too.
Feel free to drop me a line as a message or reply to this post. Step one will probably just be getting everyone involved out there one weekend in January to spit ball ideas about how we can make this work. If interested Please visit: http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=43767

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