If you missed our November luncheon meeting, you missed a wonderful event replete with fascinating topics, entertaining videos, incredible speakers, lots of interaction between members and guests ... and an excellent lunch prepared and served by the top notch team at the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia.
Carroll Adams, a Pan Am World Airways pilot, talked about an alleged act of air piracy by "renegade" Japanese Naval officers purported to have taken place 70 years ago. I say "purported" because neither the US government nor the Japanese government are willing to discuss the event.
One thing is known for certain - that Pan Am's Hawaii Clipper
disappeared while on a Pacific run, and according to witnesses, the passengers and aircrew wound up murdered and buried face down on Truk Island. The burial site was then covered over with a heavy layer of cement and the Japanese built a hospital over it which they used during their occupation. The huge Truk Lagoon became Imperial Japan's principal naval base in the South Pacific during World War II.
disappeared while on a Pacific run, and according to witnesses, the passengers and aircrew wound up murdered and buried face down on Truk Island. The burial site was then covered over with a heavy layer of cement and the Japanese built a hospital over it which they used during their occupation. The huge Truk Lagoon became Imperial Japan's principal naval base in the South Pacific during World War II.
We then watched a ten minute video which chronicled the history of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (The WASP) after which Gayle Reed (age 90) and Lorraine Rodgers (age 88), two WASP who ferried both fighters and bombers during World War II, shared some of their best stories about that action-packed period in world history.
We also had a lot of fun debunking a very popular YouTube video in which an aerobatic pilot "looses" a wing and manages to land his stricken plane safely. Ron David also showed another "spoof" video that had everyone laughing in the aisles.
In spite of the fact that the event was held a day earlier than usual, 58 reservations were received and 64 members and friends actually showed up. We had only one no-show.
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Mark Your Calendars For 2009
Here are the dates of our first five meetings during 2009: January 22nd, March 25th, May 28th, July 23rd, and September 24th. We will announce the date for our November, 2009 meeting in January.
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