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Minsi III – David McCampbell – Ace of Aces video

 Courtesy of the US Naval Institute

“Ace of Aces” is the dramatic David McCampbell story, complemented by stunning vintage World War II film footage and punctuated with Captain McCampbell’s own words, recorded for the U.S. Naval Institute’s Oral History program. In this professionally produced video, McCampbell’s candor makes the story of the U.S. Navy’s all-time top fighter ace come alive, from his boyhood and early naval career to his 34 career kills and earning the Medal of Honor for his valor at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. So climb into the cockpit with this extraordinary naval aviator for a memorable flight back in time.

 

2020-06-02T20:56:44-07:00June 2nd, 2020|News|
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Memorial Day 2020

For those who are curious, Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

At the Commemorative Air Force, we celebrate this day, and every day, by working toward fulfilling our mission: To educate, inspire and honor through flight and exposition.

Please enjoy this sample of videos from times past and remember those who died while serving in the US military.

 

 

2020-07-04T15:04:06-07:00May 25th, 2020|News|
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Lt. Col. (US Army Reserve, Retired) Sam A. Sachs

Every once in a while we come find a great story about a great person – here is one of those.  Please send a birthday card for his 105th birthday!

 

Dear Everyone,

On 26 March 1915, Sam A. Sachs, the oldest of three children, was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He has had quite a storied life and now lives in Lakewood, CA. His plans for his 105th birthday party were shattered with the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. So, instead of birthday bash, Sam is asking for birthday cards! He especially was delighted and surprised recently when the Sultans’ Car Club, Long Beach, CA, had a parade of their vintage vehicles to honor him and his birthday.

So, you know a bit about WWII Lt. Col. (US Army Reserve, Retired) Sam A. Sachs, the following information about him is from various Internet articles:

In 1931, and while still in high school, Sam joined ROTC. In Oct 1940, at age 25, he registered for the Draft.  Later, he was called to fight in WWII. As a 1st Lt., Sam first went to Fort Benning, Georgia. Later, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne, 325th Glider Infantry to pilot gliders, affectionately known as Flying Coffins. On 6 June 1944, the 30-year old officer flew an unarmed glider carrying eight troops, machine guns and ammo, through anti-aircraft artillery fire, for their D-Day landing at Normandy, France. Upon landing the glider on a farm about two to three miles from Utah Beach (the farthest west of the five landings), Sam found only one bullet hole in the glider’s fuselage. Until the war’s end in 1945, Sam served as Company Commander in Casablanca, Morocco, Africa, Naples, Italy (see 1943 Naples picture) and other locations. He was also part of a group which helped liberate prisoners from a German concentration camp.

In 1946, Sam met Ida, bride of 58-years (she passed in 2005). Then, Sam attended the University of Southern California, where he obtained his teaching credential. He taught in several southern California schools, with his first teaching assignment at Wilmington High School. He then taught at Compton Junior High School, Roosevelt Adult School (east LA) and from 1955 to 1982, he taught at Huntington Park High School. 

After Sam served with the US Army Reserves for 32-years, he retired as a Lt. Col. In 2017, Sam was honored by the 63rd California Assembly District, as the Lakewood, CA Veteran of the Year. On 6 June 2019, 75-years after helping liberate France from Nazi Germany’s grip, Christophe Lemoine, Consul General of France – Los Angeles, presented Lt. Col. Sachs with the French Legion of Honor. He also said, that by decree of French President Emmanuel Macron, Sam was appointed a Chevalier (Knight).

Should you want to send a birthday card to our WWII Hero and Veteran, his address is:

Lt. Col. (US Army Reserve, Retired) Sam A. Sachs

c/o Mom and Dad’s Manor House

4340 Conquista Avenue

Lakewood, CA 90713

Let’s shower Sam Sachs, a WWII Veteran who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today, with a lot of birthday cards, so he has an absolutely spectacular birthday! Also, we notified the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1874 in Grand Forks, ND, where Sam was born, about his upcoming birthday. They intend to let all the North Dakota VFWs know, so they can honor Sam, too! Maybe you can even pass this letter on to others who can send the message out to more people?!    

 

Anne Constantin Birge and Ray Birge
Lincoln, CA

 

       The Wounded Warrior Project – The greatest casualty is being forgotten.

 

2020-05-09T14:23:17-07:00May 9th, 2020|News|
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Canceled – Spy Pilot The U-2 Presentation

**This event has been cancelled – please watch for  a re-scheduled date

 

 

Come enjoy the next presentation on Saturday, March 28, 11am to 2pm.  Based on the book:  Spy Pilot by Francis Gary Powers Jr., and Keith Dunnavant.

 

Spy Pilot by Francis Gary Powers Jr.

Here is the write up of the book as it appears on Amazon:

Based on newly available information, the son of famed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers presents the facts and dispels misinformation about the Cold War espionage program that turned his father into a Cold War icon..

One of the most talked-about events of the Cold War was the downing of the American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. The event was recently depicted in the Steven Spielberg movie Bridge of Spies. Powers was captured by the KGB, subjected to a televised show trial, and imprisoned, all of which created an international incident. Soviet authorities eventually released him in exchange for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. On his return to the United States, Powers was exonerated of any wrongdoing while imprisoned in Russia, yet, due to bad press and the government’s unwillingness to heartily defend Powers, a cloud of controversy lingered until his untimely death in 1977.

Now his son, Francis Gary Powers Jr. and acclaimed historian Keith Dunnavant have written this new account of Powers’s life based on personal files that had never been previously available. Delving into old audio tapes, letters his father wrote and received while imprisoned in the Soviet Union, the transcript of his father’s debriefing by the CIA, other recently declassified documents about the U-2 program, and interviews with the spy pilot’s contemporaries, Powers and Dunnavant set the record straight. The result is a fascinating piece of Cold War history. This is also a book about a son’s journey to understand his father, pursuing justice and a measure of peace.

Almost sixty years after the fact, this will be the definitive account of one of the most important events of the Cold War.

2020-03-13T19:26:34-07:00January 11th, 2020|News|
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2020 Airshows Cancelled

Look for the 2021 schedule soon.  Updated as of September 10, 2020

Unfortunately, due to the safety concerns for the public due to COVID, all of the airshows scheduled for 2020 have been cancelled.

Please look for the 2021 Airshow schedule due out soon.

 

Mar 12-15 MCAS Yuma Airshow: Cancelled

Mar 13-15 NAF El Centro Airshow: Cancelled

Mar 20-22 LUKE AFB Airshow: Cancelled

March 20-22 LA County Airshow: Cancelled

Mar 26-29 March Field Air Expo: Cancelled

May 1-3 Planes of Fame Airshow: Cancelled

May 7-11 Beale AFB Airshow: Cancelled

May 29-31 HGR 24 Airfest: Cancelled

June 27-28 Hill AFB, UT: Cancelled

July 25-26 Ellsworth AFB, SD:  Cancelled

Aug 8 Heber City CAF: Cancelled

Aug 15-16 Camarillo Airshow, Cancelled

Sept 18-20 Great Pacific Airshow: Cancelled

Sept 26-27 MCAS Miramar: Cancelled

Oct 2-3 Prescott, AZ: Cancelled

Oct 3-4 CCA Sacramento: Cancelled

Oct 3-4 PT Mugu Airshow:  Cancelled

Oct 3-4 Minden, NV: Cancelled

Oct 9-11 Edwards AFB: Cancelled

Oct 17-18 Santa Maria: Cancelled

Nov 7-8 SBD Fest: Cancelled

 

2020-11-28T18:50:39-07:00April 17th, 2019|News|
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Air & Space Article

We thought you’d enjoy reading a current article about Camarillo Airport (CMA) on the current edition of Air & Space Magazine at airspacemag.com – The Commemorative Air Force Southern California Wing is featured front and center, and we think that’s great! 

Here is an excerpt:

“Flying into Camarillo, as I do often in my 55-year-old Piper Cherokee, is like touching down at Disneyland—if Disneyland were wholly dedicated to general aviation. It’s not uncommon to find yourself cleared to land behind a restored World War II fighter, a home-built kitplane, a multi-million-dollar executive jet, a Cessna trainer with a young student behind the yoke, or some vaguely confused guy driving a Beech Bonanza who sounds over the radio like he’s never talked to air traffic control in his life.

Any aviation-minded person who questions the existence of nirvana on Earth has never spent a day at Camarillo (CMA).”

Read more at:   www.airspacemag.com

2019-12-10T20:31:10-07:00November 22nd, 2019|News|
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CONTACT

Phone – (805) 482-0064
Fax – (805) 482-0348
Public Information Officers – Pat Brown & Lucien Pillai (805) 300-4580
455 Aviation Drive Camarillo, CA 93010
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