"Once a Thunderbird, always a Thunderbird." While Dave and I each shared a career in the Air Force with Dave starting his career as a backseater in the F4; neither of us were actually a Thunderbird. However, our good friend Charlie, who we were stationed with at McConnell AFB, Kansas was the Chaplain to the Thunderbirds and invited us to Las Vegas November 14-18 to attend the reunion. This was our second year attending; they meet every two years.
How it all began. In 1947, while the jet age was still in its infancy, military aviation was hurtled into the future with the creation of the U.S. Air Force as a separate service. Just 6 years later, on May 25, 1953, the Air Force's official air demonstration team, designated the 3600th Air Demonstration Unit, was activated at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The name "Thunderbirds" was soon adopted by the unit, influenced in part by the strong Indian culture and folklore of the southwestern United States where Luke is located. Indian legend speaks of the Thunderbird with great fear and respect. To some it was a giant eagle... others envisioned a hawk. When it took to the skies, the earth trembled from the thunder of its great wings. From its eyes shot bolts of lightning. Nothing in nature could challenge the bird of thunder, the story said, and no man could stand against its might. The story of the Thunderbird was repeated, voice by voice, across the generations, until at last, it assumed the immortality of legend. A more appropriate name couldn't have been selected, as it is with the same commanding presence the Thunderbirds took to the skies.Seven officers and 22 enlisted personnel were selected for the first demonstration team; most were handpicked from the cadre at Luke. Maj. Dick Catledge, a training squadron commander at Luke, was chosen as the team's leader. Twins Bill and Buck Patillo were selected and would fly left and right wing, respectively. The Patillos, both captains, were ideal choices as both had been with the "SkyBlazers," a USAF/Europe demonstration team, for the past 3 years. For the difficult position of slot, the position sandwiched between both wingmen and behind the leader, Capt. Bob Kanaga, an instructor at Luke, was selected. The spare pilot would be Capt. Bob McCormick. Like the Patillo brothers, he also had demonstration team experience, having flown right wing with the "Sabre Dancers," a predecessor to the Thunderbirds. 1st Lt. Aubry Brown would serve as maintenance officer for the team. He, with his senior enlisted man, MSgt. Earl Young, selected 21 enlisted men to help maintain the team's aircraft. Capt. Bill Brock was the final officer selected for the team serving as the information services officer and team narrator. From these humble beginnings and this group of men, the Air Force Thunderbird legend was born.
This year's program was held at the Southpoint Hotel & Casino. http://www.southpointcasino.com We arrived on Wednesday evening so that we could golf in the tournament on Thursday out at Nellis AFB. That afternoon the Thunderbirds practiced for their airshow which was on Saturday. The theme of this year's reunion was "Shaken Not Stirred" a James Bond martini party. We golfed Saturday out at Silverstone Golf Club and enjoyed the festivities at the hotel each evening. We had a 6:00 am flight out of Las Vegas back to San Antonio on Sunday.
Our next trip is out to CA for Thanksgiving and amazingly, we are home the entire month of December! Check back in January to read more about our international travels as we're headed to Aruba!
Happy holidays.....
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