Jason, who lives and works near Las Cruces, NM, made a special trip to Columbus this Monday to give his daughter, Katie, a full-fledged tour of the FASF, its facilities, and its sister (Columbus Historical Society – or “CHS”) organization’s well known Depot Museum, the First Aero’s 1916 Airfield and the historically rich Pancho Villa State Park’s outstanding Exhibit Hall.  While Katie reported that she had learned a bit about the infamous raid on Columbus in 1916 by the Mexican Revolutionary, Pancho Villa, she confessed to not knowing much of that tragedies’ details.  Katie is only 16, but already looking at colleges, because she is advanced in her classes at High School in Las Cruces.  While on this visit, the Columbus, NM Mayor, Philip Skinner and his wife, Diana, officially welcomed both of the visitors and congratulated Jason on his new position on the FASF Board of Trustees.

REMEMBER: To see any of these or other FASF photos from this website in full resolution, just click on them.

L to R above: Jason Adams and his daughter, Katie (behind him) absorbing a flood of interesting historical information from John Read, about both the Mexican Revolution and its leaders, one of whom was Pancho Villa, the instigator of the infamous Raid which gave birth to the greatest air power on earth.  John possesses a wealth of fascinating historical facts and details about the 1916 incident.  He explained how Villa had previously been a close ally of the United States, and also why he had felt betrayed by his former Ally, which betrayal Villa then used to justify his disastrous and deadly raid on the town of Columbus.  Many visitors to this exceptionally well endowed historical Exhibit Hall and State Park don’t realize some of those historical facts about what allegedly motivated Villa to see the U.S. as his enemy rather than the ally and friend it had once been.

 

This past weekend, the 314th Fighter Squadron at Holloman AFB (HAFB), New Mexico, graduated 17 young men into the front line ranks of the Air Force’s top fighter squadrons stationed all over the globe.  HAFB is adjacent to the famous White Sands Missile Range.

This past weekend, the 314th Fighter Squadron at Holloman AFB graduated the above 17 young men into the front ranks of the Air Force’s top fighter squadrons stationed in almost every corner of the world.  They are now fully qualified to fly “wing” in their newly assigned squadron positions.  For the past year these pilots have responded with gusto and enthusiasm to the 314th Squadron’s Battle Cry: “STRIKE!”

This story is posted here for two reasons:

1:  Because four of our active FASF members had a role in this 15-BBH graduation ceremony and, because each of them is also an active member of the El Paso, Texas, FLIGHT 24 of the U.S. Military Aviator Fraternity, the Daedalians (an organization formed by World War I pilots some years after the end of that conflict’s hostilities).  All four are also former USAF pilots and one of them, Roger Nichols, is the son of the Flight’s honored namesake, Major General Frank A. Nichols, a highly decorated Air Force pilot and ACE who flew combat throughout WWII and later served in high ranking command positions in both Korea and Vietnam.

2:  Because it has become a tradition that the Daedalian Flight 24, with its many FASF members, award an outstanding leadership achievement trophy to one of the top Student Pilots of each graduating class of the 314th Fighter Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base.

Furthermore, this graduation event provides an insight, by way of these posted photos and especially the short video, into our current USAF operations, particularly in respect to one of its vital defense training programs.  It is good to remember that the 1st Aero Squadron’s ubiquitous Jenny biplane was tested and proven as a stable enough aeroplane that it could be – and was – put into mass production in order to be used to train pilots for WWI. The First Aero’s Jenny  would be used to train more than 20,000 young men to become Army Air Service pilots, destined to fight – and too often perish – in the skies over Europe in WWI.

314th Fighter Squadron Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew “Finch” Caggiano, presents his Graduation Certificate to Captain “Pug” Ross, recipient of the Daedalian Leadership Award.    AF Photo.

Slowly but surely, your local volunteers have moved into and set up the first HQ Office ever possessed by the FASF.  Ric and Alma pose for shot showing some of the WWI Air Service Recruiting Posters we sell.  For higher resolution of this photo, just click on the image above.  This shot is thanks to FASF Member, Norma Gomez, who is Executive Director of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce – and owner of the commercial building in which the office is located.

The FASF sold out of all of its FASF T-Shirts, Patches and Decals and recruited many new members from across the country. However, our real success is probably best measured by how the First Aero Squadron presentation at the Pancho Villa State Park’s (“PVSP”) Camp Furlong Recreation Hall was a complete sell out – standing room only.

Because the Rec Hall so quickly filled up and exceeded its seating capacity, many visitors had to be turned away . . . and didn’t get to see or hear the FASF show.  (Not anticipating such a huge crowd, no audio speaker or closed circuit TV equipment had been installed outside of the presentation building.)

Please remember to click on any of these higher resolution photos to see them full size!

The surrounding atmosphere all around Columbus was colorfully festive, with the hundreds of horsemen and lady equestrians astride brightly decked out steeds from both Mexico and from the U.S. side of the border.  Folkloric dancers added their own vibrant cultural distinction to the celebratory thousands who gathered in – and almost overwhelmed tiny Columbus – to honor the heroes – as well as the 18 innocent American victims – of the infamous 1916 Pancho Villa massacre.

Meantime, surrounded by a few hundred fully uniformed 1916 era Infantry re-enactor members from all across the country, in addition to the appropriately uniformed present day members of the Army’s 13 Cavalry from nearby Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX, the FASF crew readied itself for its memorial presentation.  As previously, our own active FASF member and Chief Ranger at the Pancho Villa State Park (“PVSP”), John Read, helped bring the entire complex Centennial event at the Park to fruition.  As he has done so reliably before, John also took the time out to operate the projector and audio setup during the FASF presentation.

The FASF Show was appropriately kicked off with a special address by Helen Patton (at left), granddaughter of the renown General George S. Patton of WWII fame, who had already recently orchestrated, directed and performed in a big extravaganza in Europe, which had commemorated the 70^th Anniversary of WWII’s D-Day throughout Europe.  Ms. Patton was personally escorted into the Hall by Congressman Steve Pearce, who also guided her by the large contingent of 13^th Cavalry re-enactor Soldiers, who presented arms in her and her grandfather’s honor.   After this impressive honor reviewing ceremony, Ms. Patton, who lives in Europe, gave both an address to the crowded hall and even demonstrated her professional vocal talent with a specially written memorial song. She closed by reading a poignant message to those assembled from General “Black Jack” Pershing’s grandson’s widow.  Helen’s grandfather had served in Columbus 100 years ago as a junior officer under General Pershing, who you likely remember, lead the Punitive Expedition into Mexico from Columbus a century ago – and who first used airplanes, those of the First Aero Squadron, in active combat for the United States.

Next on the program (above and below photos) was an inspiring address by our local SW New Mexico Congressman, Steve Pearce, himself a Vietnam era Air Force pilot and active member of the FASF.  The Congressman opened his address by reading the bill he has authored and has presented before Congress to Memorialize the First Aero Squadron’s uniqueness in American History.  After this, he next presented the U.S. Flag he had arranged to have flown over the Capitol in Washington (see 3rd photo below on left), to the FASF president, Ric Lambart, who then took over (4th photo below on right) to present the FASF historical program.

Amazingly enough, we managed to successfully fit all of this activity into the scheduled gala opening presentation time that was set aside to kick off the crowded Park’s Centennial Events.

We humbly apologize to the many visitors who had to be turned away, but we assure you that there will soon be other opportunities to see and experience similar FASF presentations.  In fact, only a week after the Centennial Memorial extravaganza, we were called back to the state park for another repeat performance, one attended by a smaller, but very impressive group of 75 cross-country marathon bicyclists and their crew, all on their way from California’s Pacific Ocean to Florida’s Atlantic Coast.  As with the Centennial Program, we also had a number of these hardy bicyclists join the ranks as new FASF members. One even calling Great Britain his home!  As an expression of their gratitude to the FASF for having presented the First Aero show to them, the bicyclist group gave an engraved appreciation plaque, along with their group photo, to the FASF.

Our chief volunteer FASF Photographer for the event unfortunately experienced serious mechanical problems with his camera, which resulted in our only getting a few of his many photographs of the event that proved acceptable enough to publish.  This lack of usable photographs is what caused this story to be so tardy in finding its way to the FASF Website News.

We desperately sent out queries to many of the guests and distant FASF members who attended, to see if they had any usable photos for the story.  While it took quite a while to get them in, we did locate enough pictures to help illustrate this release.  For this kind of unexpected help we are forever grateful.  Some of our loyal members from as far away as Kansas came through with some truly fine photos.

You’ll find each photo’s contributor noted in the credited red initials by their shots. This is all detailed at the bottom of this story.

Although the sudden increase in tempo of the conflict in the Mideast prevented the planned participation in the Centennial Program by the Ft. Bliss Army Airfield’s proud Combat Aviation Brigade (“CAB”), it nevertheless exceeded our wildest expectations in terms of both attendance and success at spreading the historic message about the First Aero Squadron – – – and it helped us gain many new members – – – and in turn helped us raise more funds for FASF Airfield development goals.

FASF Photographer members and their name abbreviations, who contributed to this story are:

Florian L. Waitl, USNR, Military Historian, of Kansas City, Kansas (Name Abbreviation: (FW);

David Donchess, Dept. of Homeland Security’s Aviation Operations, of Deming, NM (DD);

Doc Edwards of Deming, NM (DE);

Also a big help was Peter Ibarbo, of Las Cruces, NM, Outreach Director for Congressman Steve Pearce  (PI).  It was Peter who provided this story’s lead photograph.

A surprise and early arriving attendee to the honor us at the FASF event was none other than the actual great grandson of Pancho Villa: Antonio Villa Alcazar, seen at left.  “Tony” lives and works as a Real Estate Developer in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, the sister city of El Paso, Texas.  Tony said he appreciated the bi-national cooperative philosophy and two-nation composition of the FASF Board of Trustees.  Accordingly, Tony volunteered to help the FASF meet its objectives.

Another fascinating guest at the event is seen below. Florian L. Waitl, was actually born and raised in Germany, but is a U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer and a professional military historian, who lives and works for the U.S. Army near Kansas City, Kansas.  When contacted to see if he had any photos we might use, Florian eagerly volunteered some of the fine pictures you’ve seen above.

IN APPRECIATION

The FASF deeply appreciates the many hard working people who helped make the entire Centennial Event program such a smashing success. While we can’t list everyone who volunteered to help bring this exciting program to so many new attendees and visitors, we would especially like to thank the following dedicated FASF members without whom this would surely not have taken place: John Read, Chief Ranger, who orchestrated all the activities and programs at the NM state park; Norma Gomez, Executive Director of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce who did so much to help plan the entire Centennial and helped guide all the numerous event planning sessions and the Cabalgata Committee; July McClure, Aerodrome Editor and indefatigable itinerant musician and entertainer; Congressman Steve Pearce and his aide, Peter Ibarbo;  Armando “Junior” Martinez (Who also so smoothly operated the projector for the FASF show for the following March 19th Bicyclist Event), and Martín Nuñez, both PVSP Rangers, whose help and support were indispensable; Dr. Kathleen Martín, 1st VP of the FASF Board whose help in planning was crucial; Alma Villezcas, FASF Treasurer, whose post event support and event attendance and videotaping was vital; David Donchess, who helped contribute some much needed photos of the event; Doc Edwards, whose photographic assistance was a great help; Florian Waitl, whose many good photos helped save the day and make this story printable; Bill Wallace III, FASF Trustee, who came all the way up from his ranch in Casas Grandes, Mexico, to proudly bring along his father; Mayor Philip Skinner, of Columbus, who helped plan many of the off Park Events; and last but not least; Bob Dunbar, whose help as Chief Volunteer for the PVSP Friends Group, enabled the Park’s Exhibition Hall to remain open and active during the Centennial festivities.  Bob’s work at selling so many FASF T Shirts and other memorabilia helped make the event such an outstanding financial success.

The following official program (below at end) will show what is planned – – – when and where.

We hope you will join us as we remember the immense importance of what took place in the small village of Columbus, New Mexico, one century ago.  Sit back and relax as we entertain you with the exciting depiction of the history that unfolded here in those pioneering days of early aviation – right where it all took place!  All about you will be re-enactors portraying the men and women who were here in this small border town one century ago.  Some of these costumed participants (including some FASF members) will be hailing from as far away as the East coast.

Take in the extravaganza of the huge and famous Mexican/American Cabalgata, where hundreds of riders and horses will converge on Columbus from deep in Mexico and from the United States.  Most of the day’s events have been organized and promoted by active FASF members such as John Read, Chief Park Ranger for the Pancho Villa State Park, who has put together a fascinating and multifaceted program; while Norma Gomez, Director of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce and it’s President; Roberto Gutierrez, along with July McClure; local actress, musician, owner of the Tumbleweed Theater and Editor of the FASF Aerodrome Newsletter, have all worked tirelessly to assemble an exciting and highly instructive historical cavalcade of events from which both adults and children will learn a great deal.

REMEMBER: THIS IS A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT!

The FASF will kick off the big event at old Camp Furlong, now known as the Pancho Villa State Park.  The FASF program will be opened by remarks from U. S. Congressman Steve Pearce, a former highly decorated U. S. Air Force pilot (in Vietnam), who will present an American Flag he had arranged to have flown over the U. S. Capitol on behalf of the First Aero Squadron Foundation to honor the 100th Anniversary of the birth of American Air Power.  The Congressman will also describe a special Memorial Bill he has introduced to honor of the FAS. 

Next the Granddaughter of World War II’s famous General George S. Patton will say a few commemorative words about the event.  The General was but a lowly Lieutenant when he was first chosen to be and Aide to General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing (above) here in Columbus during he Punitive Expedition. That was the very military campaign that witnessed the historic launching of American Air Power.

As you may know, the Punitive Expedition out of Columbus was under the command of this great WWI American Leader. Pershing subsequently led all American Troops in Europe during WWI, just as did General Dwight Eisenhower during World War II.

General George Patton’s (Right) granddaughter, Helen Patton (Left Below), an accomplished actress and vocalist, will present a memorial statement from Mrs. Sandra Pershing, the widow of General Pershing’s Grandson, Colonel John Pershing III, as a fitting launch for the day’s commemorative programs.

Ms. Patton led similar commemorative events in France during the 70th anniversary of the WWII invasion of Europe two years ago.  That French beachhead battle was the famous launching of the final campaign to defeat the Nazis, which took place on the bloody beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.  These ceremonial events, which Ms. Patton helped organize, were attended by most world leaders.  Even Russia’s Vladimir Putin came to pay his respects.

 Mrs. Patton (Left), a mother and housewife, as well as a performing artist, organized theater productions in Germany during the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s.  She invited youths from rival ethnic groups to Germany to participate in an artistic workshop. That led to the creation of a German-based foundation called the Patton Stiftung Sustainable Trust. Later she also founded the independent U.S.-based Patton Foundation. The two organizations co-organized the 70th D-Day Memorial Concerts. Patton entitled the concerts: “The Patton Concerts: Liberation & Reconciliation for Every Generation,” which signaled the theme of “forgiveness and cultural understanding,” a theme she hoped to achieve through her love of art and music.

Her grandfather’s charisma, course language, and famously inspiring leadership were memorably captured by George C. Scott in the 1970 multiple Academy Award winning film, “Patton,” including his famous, profanity-laden “Third Army speech” from 1944.  “Americans play to win all the time,” Patton told the U.S. 6th Armored Division. “The very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Battle is the most significant competition in which a man can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base.” The General was a deeply spiritual man who believed fervently in the principle of reincarnation, which has been suggested as one of the likely reasons for his seemingly fearless behavior during the heat of battle.

After Ms. Patton’s introduction at 10:00 AM, the Official First Aero Squadron’s film show will be presented along with a demonstration by the FASF 1916 Airfield Survey Team of Bill Madden, Fritz Wagoner, and Mark Drexler, showing the intensive forensic work they have done over the past three years to help plan the restoration of the historic airfield.

We hope to see you at the upcoming events listed below this coming Saturday, March 12, 2016.

In addition, if you are in or near Columbus on Wednesday, March 9th, the actual day of the infamous Villa raid in 1916, our sister historical organization, the Columbus Historical Society (“CHS”), is providing a Memorial  Service at their widely known Depot Museum directly across the road to the East of the Pancho Villa State Park.  Their program begins a 9:00 AM with the 1st Armored Division’s Brass Quintet and then actual memorial services led by local Village officials followed by a special commemorative speech by the CHS’s President, Richard Dean, the best known local expert on the history of what took place in Columbus a century ago.  Mr. Dean’s great grandfather was one of those innocent civilians who lost their life to the Villista raiders.  Also assisting at the CHS service will be Dr. Robert Bouilly, Historian at the U. S. Army Sergeant Major’s Academy at El Paso, Texas’ Fort Bliss.  Dr. Bouilly is also an expert on all the events surrounding the now century old raid by Pancho Villa – and its aftermath, the Punitive Expedition.

Please consider arriving early.  Thousands of visitors are expected to invade Columbus this weekend. Seating in the Pancho Villa State Park 1916 Recreation Hall, where the FASF show will be presented, is limited, so it will probably fill up before the show begins. Don’t be left outside, when the door is closed – for lack of seating!

Click here to see the entire Camp Furlong 2016 Schedule of Centennial events March 12, 2016

Congressman Pearce, an active FASF member, represents the NM Second District in which Columbus is located. The Congressman was a Jet Fighter Pilot in the Air Force and flew combat missions during the Vietnam War, where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and two Air Medals. His full biography was published in the book, “Just Fly the Plane, Stupid!” ♥

The Congressman and other dignitaries are planning to attend the Centennial.  The President of the El Paso Daedalian Flight 24 (A Fraternity of Military Aviators founded by World War I aviators), Charlie Overstreet and some of his fellow colleagues, all FASF members, are also planning to attend. The FASF has also been notified that other FASF members from the El Paso Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) will visit Columbus on the 12th, as well.  Bill Madden, FASF Airfield Site Chairman and some of his team will join Ric Lambart in making a special pictorial presentation at 10:00 AM in the Pancho Villa State Park Recreation Hall during the big celebratory event.  Please keep checking back on this FASF website to remain up to date.  Changes will be posted right here as they develop.

♥  Click on this link to purchase Congressman Pearce’s book on AMAZON.COM

 

First, for those of you not familiar with Benny Foulois, here is a sketch, with a few photos, of this extraordinary military Aviator, Army Pilot Number 1 and 1st CO of the FAS.  If you already know who this pioneer Army Aviator was, then you can skip down to the bottom of this page for the short story of a chance meeting between Foulois and Gen. Halloran, one of our newest FASF Advisors.

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Here, now, is the personal experience of our own former First Aero Squadron Commander, Major General Patrick Halloran (Left), when he actually had the chance privilege of meeting General Foulois:

“I had a very interesting experience as it relates to the history of the 1^st Provisional Aero Squadron. When I was a pilot in the 1^st Reconnaissance Squadron, in my SR-71 days, I was at Andrews AFB for some long forgotten reason and several of us were having dinner at the Officer’s Club. I had done a lot of research on the history of the squadron and those early flyers who were in it. As I looked across the dining room I saw an elderly gentleman, sitting by himself, just finishing his dinner. I did a double take and realized that it was General Benjamin Foulois, the original commander of the 1^st Provisional Aero Squadron. He had led his squadron to Columbus N.M. during the Mexican Expedition in 1916, operating under the leadership of General ”Black Jack” Pershing who was in pursuit of Pancho Villa in Mexico. It was the first “combat” assignment for the Army’s fledgling aviation arm. When I observed that he had finished his meal I went over to him and introduced myself and explained that I was now a pilot in the squadron he used to command. He seemed delighted that I had recognized him and was aware of his history. He expressed great interest in the historical connection we shared. He invited me to sit and have a coffee with him, which I quickly did. I wanted to talk to him about the early days flying Jennies but he wanted to talk about the SR-71. Regardless of the direction of the conversation, I was thrilled to be able to chat with such a gentleman who owned a very big piece of our military aviation history. He passed away less than a month later.

In view of my rather advanced age (87) I wonder how many folks are still around who would have had the good fortune to visit with General Foulois.“

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 * We have linked General Foulois’ book to AMAZON.COM’s order page in case you’d like the book.  In the not too distant future we hope to be selling books like General Foulois’ right here on your FASF Website!

 

So far the FASF “Buy an Acre Campaign” has proven more than worth the effort.  It has helped the FASF complete its first major step towards preserving the historic U.S. Army Airfield in Columbus, NM, the very location from which the United States launched its first sustained combat operations; the Airfield from which – and on which – the veritable Jennies evolved from the unstable, underpowered and dangerous first experimental J-2 models to the final better developed and much more proven JN-4 models.  This process, almost 100 years ago, involved the highly talented group of First Aero Squadron airmen, both Pilots and Ground Crews, who proved themselves able to innovate and perfect those initially dangerous flying machines.

Remember – every one of the first eight Jennies delivered to Columbus had crashed within two weeks of first being deployed.  We have to thank those early brave and intrepid airmen under, then Captain Bennie Foulois’ leadership, for not throwing in the towel.  If it weren’t for their indefatigable “can do” spirit, the rebirth of the American Civil Aviation Industry might not have also begun on that dusty airfield which the current mostly civilian FASF team have worked so hard to obtain – and preserve:  All in memory of the immensely significant achievement that took place in this tiny SW New Mexico town – and of the heroic pilots that made the accomplishment possible.

By 1917 that final JN-4 model Jenny proved a reliable and stable enough airplane to justify being put into mass production.  In the next few years over 8,000 of them were manufactured here and in Canada and they were used to train over 12,000 young new military aviators from both the Army and Navy, most of whom went over to fly in the dangerous skies over Europe in World War I.

So, more than three years into the “Buy an Acre Campaign,” and 9 long years since its founding, the First Aero Squadron Foundation (FASF) has finally obtained titles to all the land encompassing the historic 1916 Airfield just Southeast of downtown Columbus, NM, only about 30 miles South of Deming, NM, which sits astride the I-10 transcontinental Freeway. The project to buy the final 160 acres needed to make up the entire 220 acres of the famous airfield was finally closed this past week, as the titles to all the final acreage in the Airfield were turned over to three of the FASF’s Executive Officers at an informal ceremony in the Offices of the Luna County Abstract & Title Company, in Deming, NM, which had been chosen to handle the escrow proceedings for the Foundation and the land’s sellers.

On March 16, 1916, only one week after the fiery surprise raid on Columbus by Mexican rebel leader, Pancho Villa’s troops, which killed 18 innocent Americans and devastated the small town, 8 rickety and barely flyable and highly experimental U.S. Army “Jenny” biplanes took to the air from the same primitive desert airfield now safely back in the hands of the FASF.

Again, this soon to be centennial event signaled the first official launching of U. S. Military aircraft in sustained combat. The United States Army leaders in both Washington and in Columbus did not know if the new flying machines would even prove at all useful in their punitive mission against the Villistas, but it was decided that they must now be tested.

On the 12th of next month (March 12, 2016), the town of Columbus will celebrate that memorable aviation event, which helped make their town the Birthplace of American Air Power – the greatest airborne military juggernaut in today’s dangerous world.

Most of the efforts of the FASF since its inception 9 years ago have been directed toward acquiring the land necessary to protect and preserve for posterity the relatively small airfield that launched America’s first Aero Squadron into its first combat engagement.

For those of you readers not familiar with the FASF’s long-range goals, they include the construction of a replica of the 1916 Airfield Flight Line (where the Jennies were parked, serviced and stored out of the elements and inside their individual hangar tents) and then a specialized Museum dedicated to preserving and showing the airplanes that operated before World War II. Additionally, the FASF hopes to have some genuine replicas built of those early Jenny airplanes, and to fly them regularly around the local area, even possibly giving rides to visitors. It is also anticipated that the Museum (along with its Flight Line) will become active teaching facilities for the area’s young Elementary and High School students.

As did the acquisition of the First Aero Squadron Airfield, the next FASF projects will not appear in just a year or so, either, but will also take time – and a great deal more money. This is why the “Buy an Acre” Campaign will continue on into the near future, but will take on another name, now that the initial objective of the land acquisition has been achieved. More capital will be needed to further improve the Airfield and to design and build the Memorial Monument to honor both those young brave airmen who flew the Jennies from Columbus as well as those who helped raise the money to make this memorialization dream become a reality.

If you would like your name or that of a loved one, or someone else you’d like to honor in perpetuity on the prominent monument’s engraved plaque, then please help the Foundation by contributing at least $250 or more to help make the FIRST AERO SQUADRON MEMORIAL come to life. Your donations can be sent by making a check for $250 or more out to the FASF and by then mailing it to PO Box 1916, Columbus, NM 88029. Many local residents of both Columbus and Deming have helped get us this far, so please seriously think about joining them in this quest to help put Columbus and Deming even more substantially on the history and “To See” visitor maps of the United States!

Major General Patrick “Pat” J. Halloran has come on board.  Now the FASF has two previous FAS Commanding Officers (“COs”) amidst our elite Advisory group.  Colonel Chi Chi Rodriguez, another FAS CO came aboard just this past year.

Not only do these two USAF leaders know one another, but one of our own tireless volunteers, Bill Madden, also knows General Halloran.  Bill and the General know each other from their days at California’s fabled antique airfield, Flabob Airport, where you will find housed several famous race plane replicas actually piloted by General Halloran, who, while on active duty, was one of the small group of top aviators privileged to have flown the world’s fastest airplane, the renowned SR-71 “Blackbird,” seen below to the right in the beautiful painting by Kristin Hill, which depiction carries the autograph of General Halloran along with a few of the other fortunate pilots who flew the juggernaut speed machine.  At left is a younger Patrick Halloran standing proudly in front of his Blackbird.  In the larger color photo, further down below is seen the replicated 1930’s renowned racer called the de Havilland DH 88 “Comet”, which won many an International Air Race in its heyday. The link to the video for the de Havilland just above shows General Halloran flying the Comet at AirVenture 2009 at Oshkosh, WI.

(Pilots who flew this SR-71 Blackbird supersonic aircraft had to wear space suits in order to be able to survive in the event of sudden depressurization during an emergency.)   The Blackbird, as does the U-2 today, flew at the edge of space.  The Kristin Hill Blackbird painting is above on the right.

Major General Patrick Halloran entered the Air Force in 1949 from his home in Minnesota.  He received his wings and commission through the Aviation Cadet program in 1950. He spent his first 7 years flying F-84 “Thunderjet” fighters from bases in Georgia, Maine, Oklahoma, England, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Japan.  He also flew 100 combat missions in the F-84 over North Korea in 1952.  In 1956 he was selected in the first group of pilots to fly the new U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the Air Force. This U-2 ship, affectionately tagged the “Dragon Lady” is currently being flown by the FAS out of Beale Air Force Base North of Sacramento, CA.

The General flew from overseas operating locations for over 8 years, accumulating over 1600 hours in that extreme high-altitude spy plane.  He was then selected for the cadre of the new Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird aircraft that he flew for almost 8 years and in which he accumulated over 600 hours.  600 hours in a high-performance jet such as the Blackbird means that the General covered a staggering number of miles!  He was the wing commander when he left that program.  He flew missions over Cuba in the U-2 and over Viet Nam in both the U-2 and the SR-71.

His next 8 years were spent in command and staff positions in various headquarters, including the 3rd Air Division on Guam, the 15th AF in California, and Strategic Air Command in Nebraska.  His final assignment was in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the Pentagon.  He retired in 1983 as a Major General, with over 8,000 hours of flying time in the military and 34 years of service.

He has also long been active as a General Aviation pilot and has over 12,000 hours of total flying time.  He was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006. He lives in Colorado Springs, where he owns a Lancair experimental aircraft, and is still actively involved in the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).  The General is also an active member of the Falcon Flight 11 of the Daedalians in Colorado Springs.  The Daedalians are a fraternal order of active duty and former military officer aviators, which began in 1934 and whose charter members were U. S. Military pilots during World War I.

The Centennial New Year of 2016 found our Airfield Site Survey Team Captain, Bill Madden, once again busily running his tedious (by hand) magnetic screening of the old 1916 Aerodrome for more century old Curtiss Jenny artifacts. Normally Bill makes the long, almost two-hour drive (just one way), from Las Cruces, NM, to set up shop at the FASF Airfield in Columbus with at least one or more of his Commission’s other members. But, yesterday, when one of his crew unexpectedly had to visit his physician, commitment bound Bill came along, anyway. Once again our enthusiastic Team Leader carefully and studiously worked his way around his designated search patterns in quest of more physical evidence of the First Aero Squadron’s presence, some hundred years earlier on that sage brush seasoned historic high desert patch of sand.  Bill and Ric Lambart admired the fine condition of the FASF/COLAIR runway, which was again thanks to the friendly and courteous work of the local U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents under command of Colonel LeBlanc of Deming.  Not a weed to be seen anywhere on the 2,500 foot long smooth desert-surfaced runway!

After long hours and some additional successful artifact discoveries, Bill and Ric rendezvoused at FASF Member, Ivonne Romero’s internationally famous PINK STORE for some delicious nourishment just a few miles to the South of the FAS Airfield in nearby Palomas, Mexico.  This was Bill’s first visit to the well-known eatery establishment. After he had met Ivonne, and devoured his meal, he observed that the Store had quite an impressive and colorful collection of fine Mexican Art – – – and that his dinner had been truly fine Mexican cuisine!