This page is for me to write down my personal perceptions and observations of happenings or events that happen throughout the year! I just got home late yesterday afternoon from Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station where I spent the last four days standing beside my airplane and talking to so many interesting people who stopped by to chat! One thing that I'm always reminded of is just how we are all connected in one way or another. It it amazing to discover just what a small world we live in. Like the 6 degrees of separation that Keven Bacon is known for, it doesn't take long to find out how connected we all are! Of the dozens of people I talked to this past weekend, almost everyone has a wonderful story to tell. And many of those stories were actually tied or connected to events or people I know! It always amazes me how nice people are and how interested they seem to be concerning General Boyd's story. The reason I enjoy flying my T-34 to these Airshows is to show off the airplane, but more importantly is to share the story of our Vietnam era POWs in general and more specifically General Boyd's story.
As I recover from this past weekend, as it is physically demanding to stand on your feet for 3 days in a row, talking almost nonstop and usually in the hot Sun, by the time I get home, I'm sunburnt and can barely talk. I'm already looking forward to meeting more folks over at Seymour Johnson AFB for their upcoming airshow the 2-3 of May.
The Story of the Gray Eagle
When I made my offer to General Boyd to purchase his T-34, like a true gentleman, he stuck out his hand to shake on it. He walked over the his locker where he kept his log books for the aircraft and simply handed them to me. This is pretty rare for purchasing an aircraft. Usually, the logbooks are held until the check clears the bank! As we were talking about some specifics on the airplane, Gen Boyd pointed to his name on the canopy rail and said "this is your airplane now, so you can remove my name, Command Pilot Wings and his Air Force Cross medal". I politely declined. He also was pretty adimant that I not change the N number. Having known about the significance of that particular number, I again reassured him that those numbers will stay on this airplane for as long as it's in my possession. The only thing on the airplane that he insisted that I remove was the Gray Eagle decals on either side of the engine cowlings. I readily agreed to removing them, but I needed an explanation as to the significance of those stickers. He told me that the Gray Eagle Award goes to the most senior active duty rated pilot. Then he smiled at me and said "That's my award, not yours!". Yes Sir! They came off within a day or two of getting the T-34 back to its new home in Chester SC.