Memo To: All The Labor Day Celebrants

Heard from John Aymen who said "Hi" to all.  John has been fighting a cancer which left him very weak so it was necessary for him to spend some time in the hospital to recuperate.  After a months stay where he picked up some energy he learned to get around in a wheel chair and then reached the point where he could use a walker.  He is now home using the walker to help him navigate.  One thing for sure is that he is now down to a playing weight of 166 lbs.

Heard from Jim Lewis and Mary Jane who send their best regards to all.  They have been plagued with very unusual hot weather, in fact they are now calling it a heat spell.  This caused them to stay home and learn how to play the air conditioner.

Several of the children planned a big surprise for Jim in Minneapolis on his birthday and they finally made it up there.  They had to available for an early Saturday A.M. trip and made that schedule.

They were picked up on Saturday A.M. at 0730 and off to the Flying Cloud airport in Eden Prairie.  They took a shuttle bus and immediately fell into a mob of people and throngs of planes.  Signs were hanging that said that this was one of the biggest air expos outside of Oshkosh, WI.

They just followed their children who seemed to know what they were going to do.  They came to a B-17 which was being checked out by various guys so they followed suit.

Walking on they came across a B-25J  -  Miss Mitchell.  Jim immediately took over and told the children all about it.  His son Bryan had disappeared but came back with a clip board and paper attached.  He told his Dad that he would have to sign this paper because they wouldn't take him up in the plane unless he signed.  He looked strangely at his son and suddenly it hit him, that he was going to fly in the plane for his birthday.  WOW!!!

He got in line and waited for ½ hour and was boarded, 5 passengers at a time.  The boys said that Jim scrambled up there like a 25 year old, he was really pumped and away they went.  While they were airborne, the skies blackened so it looked like midnight and every body was ushered into the Executive Hanger.  They had 50mph winds and lots of rain.  When Miss Mitchell landed a golf cart took them as passengers to the Executive Hanger as well.  Jim said that there were two things different about the plane now, there was no P-Tube and the 50 caliber machine gun was a lot heavier than it used to be.  It was very noisy as well.  He thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the flight and relived a lot of memories.  The announcer said that this was one of the few places the plane would be other than Oshkosh.

All of the Lewis family then went out for a great lunch and a couple of cocktails.  After another day of family get-togethers Jim and Mary Jane left for the long drive home - it was a super week end they both said.

Doc Protheroe sends his regards to all.  He sent along a newspaper clipping about the heat at Parris Island.  Twenty five recruits were treated for heat related health issues as the temperatures approached 100 degrees with a heat index reaching 119 degrees.  The recruits were sent to various medical facilities, both naval and civilian.  It was necessary for the Base to call for a "black flag" which halted all nonessential physical activities.  Cool Room schedules are in operation from the third Monday in April through the third Monday in October and the hours of operation are from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM daily.

He also sent along some information re: the U.S. Mint unveiling a Marine Dollar to honor the 230^th anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps-the first time the government has struck a commemorative coin to salute a branch of the military.  This new silver dollar featured on one side the famous photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima and on the other side the official Marine Corps emblem of an eagle, globe and anchor and the Marine motto, "Semper Fidelis" - Always Faithful.

It maybe still possible to place an order for one of these silver dollars by calling: 1-800-872-6468.

Prices are: $35.00 for a proof silver dollar or $33.00 for a un-circulated silver dollar, plus shipping and handling charges of $4.95. 

The front of the coin will be the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima and back will have a Marine Corps emblem.  Comes in a small plastic case.

Foster Cummings says hello and regards to all.  They have been combating very bad weather, rain, humidity and the like.  He hopes that some thing changes soon so that it is easier to go outside and check the plantation.  They had an opportunity to go up to New Hampshire and go out to dinner with John and Doris Siergiewicz.  All is well them and John said that he really enjoyed the party that his family had for them up on the farm.

Ed Alling says hello and regards to all.  His weather report for the area was extremely hot and humid for the past several weeks which makes him look forward to September.  He limited his fishing expeditions this season which meant that his small Boston Whaler wasn't getting much of a work out so he gave it to one of his boys.  He hopes that action didn't mean he was getting too old.

Walt Gravello sends his regards to all.  All continues well in Rhode Island.  He attended the

VJ Ceremonies which is still being celebrated and is something he has been doing for several years.  He noticed that the attendees are dwindling and it is understandable since the age is creeping up on WWII Veterans. 

This year there was a tendency to refer to the event as Victory Day, leaving out the "J" for some reason, possibly to limit the remembrance to the actual events in the Pacific.

Nick Bozic sends his regards to all.  He said that he is still hanging in there and moving.

Randy and Roberta Clow send their best to all hands.  Both are in good health and enjoying it. Things are in good shape and they are busy with improvements to their property.  It's a lot of work Randy said but rewarding.

Wayne and Quen Youngren send greetings to all and hope that your summers have been great.    They both wish everyone a great summer and fall.  Quen dislocated her right shoulder and had to have rotator cuff surgery.  She is doing great now but still has to limit her physical activities.  Wayne is doing very well after some medical problems and has received a clean bill of health now

George Bartlett sends his best to all.  He reported that he attended the EAA Flyin Air Show at Oshkosh spending a week there with "Panchito" the B-25 aircraft.  It is a terrific air show and they estimated that this year 350,00 people were in attendance.  It was a long week for him but he did manage to see a lot of air planes.  All one could see when he looked any where around the airport was airplanes.  Then there were hundreds of acres with parked cars also and people taking the shuttle to the show.  He said if you have not been there put it on your list to go and if you have been there put it on your list to go back.

He did meet one Marine who had been in PBJ'S and he wasn't sure where he had been or what he did.  He was on Emirau but did not know when. 

George sent along a picture of "Panchito" with himself and one of his ski friends from Aspen, John McFarland standing in front.

Received a letter from a Vietnam  era Marine (Eric Sperger) who is interested in Marine PBJ squadrons.  He had just started to read "A Drop In The Bucket" by Robert F. Reed, M.D.  In talking to Robert Reed he found out that he was a M/Sgt and served in VMB 612 as a Navigator.  This book is 219 pages long with easy to read large print and many photos some of which maybe familiar to 613'ers.   The book costs $15.80 including transportation/postage direct from the author who will even sign it for you.  The ordering address is below:              

Robert F. Reed

1128 Barrington

Mishawaka, IN 46545

VMB 613 had the following message engraved on a brick at the site of the National Museum of the Marine Corps:

VMB 613

IN MEMORY OF

THE PONAPE MISSION 

This will be one of many bricks which will line the winding pathways to rally points in Semper Fidelis Memorial Park, overlooking the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia.

Members visiting the National Museum will have the opportunity to view it along with taking a picture or two of it.

Many thanks to George Comer from the members of VMB 613 for bringing this opportunity for a brick engraving to our attention.

Robert Yanacek did some more research on PBJs and found reference to the fact that during WWII the Navy experimented with launching and recovering a PBJ1H from the deck of a carrier.  The Navy did one launch and 2 landings with a PBJ with an arresting hook aboard the USS Shangri-La.  Although this was successful the Navy scrapped the idea.  Below is a link to a model maker who built an excellent model of what this looked like:  http://www.percongrp.com/pelikan/aircraft/pbj_ms.htm