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Volume
22 – Number | Johnstown, Pa. | March
2006 |
President:
William Burns | Vice
President: Lou Foreback | (814) 479-4873 |
112
Rosemary Lane | Secretary: Robert Rutledge | (814)
255-1598 |
Johnstown, Pa. 15905 | Treasurer: James Kirkstadt | (814) 255-6622 |
(814) 255-1598 | Newsletter: Bob Rutledge | (814)
255-4819 |
Next
Meeting: Date: March 10, 2006 Time: 6:00
p.m.
Place: Johnstown-John
Murtha Airport Community Room
Dinner: 5:00 p.m. Sassy’s Airport
Restaurant solarium
Please contact Bill Burns, Jim Kirkstadt or Bob Rutledge by
March 8th
if you are planning to have dinner.
From
the Editor
This
meeting is dedicated to a presentation by Col. James Moschgat, an Air Force active
duty officer who plans to write a scholarly article about Buzz Wagner’s exploits
after he returned from the Pacific. The main focus of the article
will be his disappearance on 29 Nov 42, the search for his missing aircraft, and the mishap that took his life.
To that end, he has been to the AF Museum, the Smithsonian, the National
Archives, the Cambria County Library, and the USAF Historical Research Agency.
He has also corresponded with at least a dozen people who served with or
for Buzz Wagner in the Philippines and Australia, including one gentleman in Reno,
NV who was Wagner’s administrative clerk with the 17th
Fighter Squadron. He hoped to have
much of his research completed by the end of 2005 and then shoot for publication
in November 2006 to correspond with the 64th anniversary of Wagner’s
disappearance in Florida. Col Moschgat hopes to locate Wagner’s crash site
in Florida. The site has been lost to history, but he has managed
to narrow the location to about a 3-square-mile area on the Eglin AFB range complex.
He made at least a dozen trips to the area with
a metal detector last fall, but came up empty handed each time. When he
finds the site, he proposes that we place a memorial marker on the site. If
the Buzz Wagner AFA Chapter would pick up the cost, Col. Moschgat will work out
the details with Eglin AFB officials.
Finally,
during his research he was able to track down Buzz Wagner’s last surviving direct
relative, his nephew, an AF colonel who retired in 1990. Col. Moschgat recently
met with him to discuss the project and he was very impressed with what was accomplished.
He threw his full support behind the efforts and vowed to back Col.
Moschgat up in any way possible. More importantly, he gave the Col. all
of Buzz Wagner’s remaining personal effects, including reports, letters, newspaper
clippings, citations, high school and college yearbooks, photo albums, and the
like. With that information in hand, Col. Moschgat is contemplating going
beyond a simple magazine article and writing a full biography on Johnstown’s most famous pilot. Of course, time will tell
on that score. Share this informative presentation with family and friends. Bring them along!!
Chapter
Activities
With time permitting, we will conduct a business session to plan some
activities for the coming year. First and
foremost will be the Junior ROTC awards ceremonies, which normally take place
in late April, and Early May. We have not
yet been notified by detachment s in the Ligonier Valley School District and the Marion Center School District as to the date and time of
their annual awards ceremonies. As in past years, the chapter we be represented
and make the approiate AFA award presentation to the selected cadet. Suggestions for any other activities are always
welcome. We will discuss how we can support
the local Air National Guard unit and if we would like to try another picnic for
them sometime during the summer months. Armed forces Day and Memorial Day activities
are approaching and we will discuss what participation the chapter will have at
that time. It is hopeful that we will be able to renew our connection with the
local CAP unit to support our common goals.
State
and Region Workshop
Chapter Secretary and Pennsylvania State President Bob Rutledge will be
attending the annual North East Region Workshop, which will be combined with the
quarterly Pennsylvania State meeting on March 10-12, 2006. The meetings
will be held at the Nichols Village Resort in Clarks Summit Pa. Bob regrets that he will miss this chapter meeting,
and hopes that all in attendance find Col. Moschgat’s presentation very informative.
Welcome
To New Members
It
is a pleasure to welcome new or re-affiliated members to the Buzz Wagner Chapter.
Those members are: Thomas Murphy, Dennis
Berezansky, Alan Lehman, Lawrence Hileman, Paul Keck, and Georgean Seese.
Thank You!
A special thanks to those of
you that have renewed your membership for another year.
