My Parents 
My Parents
This section is dedicated to my parents. They are great parents and excellent role models. My father and mother raised my two brothers and myself in a typical American family tradition, but did it extraordinarily well. They did an excellent job of providing for our needs, even during a couple of times when my father was unemployed. My mother and father were always there for us. I don't really remember any hard times because they handled things so well. Since they were born right before the depression, they endured several historical events (Great Depression, World War II, Cuban missile Crisis, etc.) that I hope I never have to endure.
My father was in the 11th Army in World War II. He was a paratrooper and was part of the American Forces that occupied Japan after the bombs were dropped. As a teenager, he endured many hardships that today's American teenagers would never even think about having to endure.
After the war he began his flight training. The following flight training pages show pictures of the types of planes in which he conducted most of his flight training. War years: 1945. Flight training 1946-47, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951.
He obtained a job as instructor pilot with Hawthorne Aviation at Spence Field (Moultrie, GA) in 1951. He met my mother in Moultrie. She was a telephone operator before they met. She told me that she couldn't listen in to his phone conversations then because he spoke French to his family! They got married in 1952 and have been married for 46 years!
While at Spence Field, my father flew the following aircraft- North American AT-6, North American T-28 Trojan, Beech T-34 Mentor, Lockheed T-33 (F-80), and the Cessna T-37.
Interesting tidbit: The man my father worked for at Hawthorne Aviation was named Beverly "Bevo" Howard. After Mr. Howard left Hawthorne Aviation, he became a stunt pilot and performed at various air shows. We saw him perform at a Ft. Rucker air show in the early 70's. Bevo Howard was killed in a plane crash a couple of years later while attempting to perform a stunt. The accident investigation team discovered that his plane had run out of fuel. His plane, a Bueker Jungmeister, was later repaired and his now in the Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institute. A figure resembling "Bevo" is in the cockpit.
In 1959, the demand for Air Force pilots decreased due to the end of the Korean War. The Air Force closed Spence Field and my father found employment at Ft. Rucker, Alabama as a flight instructor for the Army. He flew the Cessna L-19 Birddog from 1961 - 1963 (imagine going from a jet to a small plane!), the De Havillian U-6 Beaver from 1963 - 1964, the Bell H-13 Sioux from 1965 - 1968, the Hughes TH-55 Osage in 1972, and the Bell UH1B and UH-1H Huey from 1969 - 1984.
I have learned very much from my parents and appreciate them more and more each day. With all of the dysfunctional families I hear about today, I thank God for the family I was raised in. My mother always had three cooked meals a day for us. She never worked outside the home until we were in Jr. High and High School. My father was also there for us. There was always enough work around the house to keep him busy. They both can do anything. My mother is an excellent flower gardener, cook and interior decorator and my father is an excellent handy-man, inventor, and instructor. What would I change if I had to do it all over again? I would show more appreciation!
