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!

 

For the very first time in its 9 year history, your FASF has found a real world home office.  For more than six of those years the Foundation has been trying to locate a headquarters (“HQ”) office that it could call home right here in Columbus, NM.  At the beginning of the new year, we will be moving from various separate locations and consolidating our operational HQ into our new and very first home office.

We came close back in 2014, but the planned arrangement didn’t work out.  Then, in early 2015, one of our local business members, Roberto Gutierrez, who owns and operates the only grocery in town, offered to let us use as much of his old vacant San Jose Grocery facility as we’d like.  Mr. Gutierrez built a brand new facility right on the main East West highway (Route 9), just East of downtown, where the new San Jose Grocery and Lounge are now located.

Upon close inspection, however, we discovered that the old store facility would take too much expensive modification in order to be suitable for our administrative office.  It was much too large for our current needs, and would have required we erect costly new partition walls, refurbish the rest room and make other expensive repairs.  At this time we’d like to publicly acknowledge and graciously publicly  thank Mr. Gutierrez for his generous offer, which we were unfortunately unable to accept.

But our disappointment soon quickly changed, when another one of the Foundation’s local Business Supporters made us an offer of an office in her facility, which also houses the re-instituted old Columbus Chamber of Commerce.  Norma Gomez, who has single-handedly brought more grant and other construction monies into this small town than any other citizen, and who re-opened the defunct old Columbus Chamber of Commerce this past year, has generously gifted the Foundation with its very own office, right in her Chamber building.  The location is literally in the center of Columbus and directly across from both the Library, Post Office and very close to our bank, the First New Mexico Bank, which, along with the Library, is also a local business supporter.

So, thanks to Norma, for the first time in our existence, your Foundation now has an official Headquarters right in downtown Columbus!  As mentioned, until this time we have had to operate out of our Board members’ homes, with records scattered all over town and even up to Deming, NM, 30 miles to the North.  A very inefficient and unwieldly arrangement.  We hope this new start in Columbus will prove a good omen for the coming year of 2016 – the year of our big Centennial Celebration.  Pictured below is a photo of the new HQ Office, which is behind the window on the right side of the building.

This year’s Antique Car Show was once again a resounding success and, according to its promoter, FASF Member and State Park Chief, John Read, it had the biggest turn out in its history. Below are some of the photos taken by your Aerodrome Staff of the activities, FASF participants and show displays, which help show how involved in this annual Columbus Event your FASF membership is.  We were once again able to recruit more active members and volunteers at this local automobile show.

VINTAGE U. S. MILITARY CONVOY RESTS IN DEMING

Information From the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA)

Military Convoy retraces Bankhead Highway across U.S.

An Enterprise of the MVPA  –  Photos by the FASF Aerodrome Staff

In 1920 the US Army executed a motor convoy of various military vehicles across the country on the newly-formed Bankhead Highway. The Army was determined to further their understanding of the practicality of motorized transport and its place in the US Army. This Convoy was commanded by Col. John F. Franklin. The 1920 route began at the White House, in Washington, DC and ended at Balboa Park, in San Diego, CA – some 3,300 miles and 116 days later.

We’d like to point out that the first deployment of such motorized vehicles as replacements for the traditional horse driven cavalry, previously the standard transportation in the U. S. Army, was initiated out of Columbus, NM in 1916 – at the same time the U. S. Military also first deployed aircraft in a sustained combat circumstance, which is why Columbus has become known as the Birthplace of U. S. Air Power – but it might also be known as the birthplace or cradle of U. S. Mechanized Vehicles, as well! Many of the Convoy participants brought along their own sleeping arrangements by way of modern family sized tents mounted on flatbed trailers!

The Military Vehicle Preservation Association (www.MVPA.org) is conducting this 95th Anniversary Convoy with as many as 65 (not all will survive the entire journey!) Historic Military Vehicles (HMVs) that will retrace the original 1920 Transcontinental Motor Convoy route – along the Bankhead Highway.

The MVPA’s 2015 Bankhead Convoy (“BH-15”) launched from Washington, DC on Saturday, Sept. 19 and should arrive in San Diego, CA some 29 days later, on Saturday, Oct. 17. Quite a bit shorter a journey than was the case for the 119 days of the first convoy.

Historic Military Vehicles in the Convoy will range from WWI-era to those just released from the US Armed Forces inventories. Our privately owned HMVs include motor cycles, jeeps and large cargo trucks.  This 3,300 mile 29 day Convoy represents America’s longest veterans’ parade, honoring the service and sacrifice of veterans of all generations.

Thanks again to the tireless efforts of FASF Vice President Roy Mantei, the FASF is once again set up at the local recruiting table.  After his successful new member sign-up at the Deming Duck Races only weeks ago, the FASF gathered quite a few new local members.  Although the First Aero continues to gain new recruits from across the country and even abroad, there is an urgent need for more local area active members in order to staff the numerous local events in which the Foundation takes part or which they sponsor.  The SW New Mexico State Fair began with events on Thursday, October 8 and it runs through this coming Sunday, the 11th of October.  On Thursday, it was thanks solely to FASF member, Richard Orona, that our booth was set up, secured and manned.  Without his early help we’d have missed obtaining our prime spot in the Exhibition Hall.

Seen in the Aerodrome Staff photos below, all taken yesterday the 9th and today, Saturday, the 10th, you can see the FASF Booth on full display.  Although the event didn’t really pick up a full head of steam until today, Roy’s team had already managed to round up some interesting new local area members, some of whom have already volunteered to help in the FASF Mission.

Roy extends his enthusiastic invitation to one and all who happen to be near Deming and the State Fair Grounds, to stop by and visit at the FASF Booth in the Main Exhibit Hall.  The Booth will be fully staffed all the way through this coming Saturday, the 10th of October.

             In order to see any photo full size – just remember to simply click on the photo.

VP Roy Mantei and Archive Committee Chair, Richard Orona, are pictured in the Aerodrome staff photo above planning and organizing the new FASF archival project.

All news releases and other media stories about the Foundation since the beginning of the Foundation in 2007 are being meticulously organized and archived for eventual display in the FASF Museum and for use in various FASF promotional literature during the interim.

Roy and Richard are both U.S. Navy veterans, having served on active duty during the Vietnam era. Roy’s specialty was linguistics (Chinese) and Intelligence while Richard was a Crew Captain for heavy jet fighters on various Aircraft Carriers, including the USS Enterprise and USS Independence.

Roy said that the influx of new talented local members like Richard has been a blessing, since there is a great deal of detail work, such they are seen doing above and at the right, that needs to be done before the year’s end.

Roy reports that the new growth in our membership has been a great boost. He said he is still looking for more volunteers to help staff the upcoming NM State Fair FASF Booth. Several days are already fully staffed, but both Saturday and Sunday, the 10th and 11th of October, still have openings, so please contact Roy if you’d like to help at the Booth. You can reach Roy by calling the FASF local telephone: (575) 519-1100 Please give him a call if you can possibly help staff our Fair Booth.

It’s really fun!