Keep them all in your hearts...

Our prayers and wishes go out to the Gene Sullivan family. 
Gene died unexpectedly this past week.  There will be a visitation Wednesday (3/21) evening
from 5 - 8 at the Emerson Funeral home at 703 Brookside in Redlands.  The funeral service will be on
Thursday (3/22) at 11 AM at the Holy Name of Jesus (formerly Sacred Heart) Catholic church
 at 115 West Olive in Redlands. 

Col. Blackie Reed, one of our most ardent supporters,
 hard worker, all-around nice guy,
passed away Sunday, May 15th, 2005.
We have lost a dear man,
who gave his all on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day,
a true patriot who loved his country.

Here are some photos of Blackie
from the past few years.
He was always helping out the Inland Empire Wing...

Always a dustpan or a broom in hand	Hey Blackie - you're supposed to hang that thing up, not play with it!
You can never have too many hands!	Mr. Atlas
Horsing around with the Zust's at Air Show	Blackie and Kyle Zust selling toys at our PX
Good buddies - Art Seidler and Blackie	Kim, Blackie and Ed find the chow
Helping cook the steaks with Gene	Always time to chat with friends
A well-deserved ride in the L-4	Telling his D-Day story - there wasn't a dry eye in the room that evening

 
Col. Lyle Page
Passed Away Feb. 14, 2005

 

Art Seidler and Lyle tending bar at a IEW Meeting

Lyle's family..... wife, Louise; sons, Dennis and Dwight, and their wives, Judy and Chris;
his granddaughters, Betsy, Tori, Alex, Jennifer, and Kristin; and his great grandsons,
Cole and Chance, thank you for your love, friendship, and support of Col. Lyle Warren Page. 
 In lieu of flowers, the family would be honored if Lyle's memory is memorialized with donations to
The Inland Empire Wing.   Please send donations to
Col. Dave Mihelich,  CAF Hangar, 6936 Flight Rd.  Riverside, CA   92504
 

The following photos were taken at the Memorial Service for Lyle

 

Our Friend and Leader
written by Col. Don Helms
 

Lyle Page was one of the co-founders of the Inland Empire Sqn. / Wing.  He was born on June19,1922.  Lyle entered the Army Air Corp. in 1942 and was selected for pilot training at Visalia field.  It was there he met his life long friend, Art Seidler.  Art completed his training and went on to fly B25s in the Pacific theater.

Lyle's training was cut short, when he flew his PT 22 into a chicken coop.  Lyle remembers that it wasn't his fault, since the farmer had built the coop too high on his ranch.  Lyle was given the opportunity to continue flight training, if he paid $3,500 for the totaled airplane ... he put in for a transfer to aircrew training.
 
As fate and the good Lord would have it, Lyle did realize his goal. On one of his 33 missions  (he was a member of the "Lucky Bastards" Club-25 missions) in a B17 over Germany as a top turret gunner, he found, after his plane was badly shot up with both the pilot and co-pilot  severely injured, that he was the only man on board who could fly.  He took control, flew it home, and landed safely.  He remembered that he needed a change of underwear afterward.  This story alone is enough to inspire  respect for Lyle's bravery and courage under fire; but this wasn't the last time he was called upon to save the crew of his B17. He left his gun turret and flew the ship home on several other occasions when the pilots were disabled.
 
When Lyle received a summons from his Base Commander, he thought his USAAC days were up.  When confronted regarding his unauthorized PIC of a B17, Lyle, being the man he was, admitted to his self-authorized transfer in duty on the flights in question. The incredulous Base Commander immediately directed Sgt. Page to fly him on a demonstration flight in a B17 to see if Lyle was being truthful.  After takeoff and a perfect three-point landing, the astonished Commander gave Lyle official authorization to fly the B17 whenever necessary.
 
At the end of the war, after Lyle was separated from the service, he returned home to marry lovely Louise, with whom he had had one date before the war.
 
After joining the CAF and subsequently becoming the first leader of the Inland Empire Sqn., Lyle participated in numerous CAF activities and air shows. He loved it all, but nothing would brighten him  more than the sound and sight of a B17 flying over. On many occasions, Lyle climbed up into the Sentimental Journey and Texas Raider whenever they were around the shows. You could just see his mind and heart drift back to the old days. He never talked much about it, but you could tell he was both proud and sad. He had done his duty, but lost some good friends in that old airplane. He would never admit it, but there are brave men whose lives were saved by Lyle's courage and moral strength during his trips through purgatory over Germany.
 
Lyle never mentioned it, but we knew deep down inside that after 50 years without riding in  that old bomber, he would dearly love to go up one more time.  At the end of the day, on a hot, grueling afternoon at the Riverside CAF Air Show, the airplane commander of the Arizona Wing's B17 " Sentimental Journey" walked up to Lyle and said, " Col. Page, I heard you did some time in one of these old Fortresses in the big war."

"Yep" Lyle replied, " 'bout 400 hours over the Nazis."

"Col., we'd be proud if you'd help us take this ole bird down to San Diego for the next show."
 
You know...... when you join the CAF, you secretly hope that some day you'll get a chance to go up in one of the great planes of yesterday that won WWII.  Lyle had gotten that wish.  He was even invited by Col. Chuck Wentworth to fly the TBM to Santa Monica and meet President George H. W. Bush who flew a TBM in the Pacific.  Lyle was proud.
 
But, when he was invited to ride in the B17, the old girl he loved before Louise, the old girl that took him safely to hell and back 33 times, his emotions were overwhelming.
 
So off they went with Louise in the nose and Lyle on the flight deck. Then the magic happened. The pilot turned to Lyle and said, " Take her sir, she's all yours."

With his fingers around the yoke, with the smells, the vibrations, and the sounds of the roaring engines, one can only imaging the exhilaration, the  fear, the joy, the sadness, the pride, and the satisfaction that coursed through his mind. Fifty years evaporated from his mind, and he was there all over again. The carnage of combat nightmares soon was replaced by the good memories:  the camaraderie with men whose lives depended on you doing your job as your's depended on them doing their's; the relief of the wheels touching down, home safely again in England; the silence without flack exploding around you; the adrenaline rush as you spin your turret to meet a ME109 blazing toward you.  It was real again....then it was gone. You did your job, and your heart was at peace.
 
Lyle Page was a true and great American. He gave to his country as a young man and kept giving to the memory of those who flew and fought for freedom.
                                                                                                       Gone West.............
                                                                                                        February 14, 2005