Subject: Fw: Heather, my Dad and your Grandfather may have founded an
airline together in 1945
Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2015 14:45:47 -0600
From: Gaye Lyn
Reply-To: Gaye Lyn
Organization: Veterans Air Express
To: Buffy Noll
Buffy, hi.
How are you these days. All is well here. Spending more and more time
on Veterans Air. May have identified three more pilots – not their
families, but I think I’ve identified the right man from the list in
that Air Transport 1946 article – from service records with the same
name, right age, Air Cadet, born new jersey. My next step was
obituaries – sadly, sadly all three of them showed up! But I haven’t
found named children – so that’s my next quest…the BUFFY of their
lives. Here are the three airmen’s names:
Daniel T. Hyde, Air Corps Branch. Retired as Lt. Col in US Air Force.
Served in WWII, Korea & Vietnam! Born 1921 in Maryland. Enlisted at
Newark, NJ on 3/17/1942. Civilian occupation: airplane mechanics &
repairman. OOPS! Darn it!!! Maybe this ISN’T the right Dan Hyde. As
I was typing this, I realized, if he stayed in service, how could he
have flown for Veterans? Unless he re-enlisted for Korea and then
stayed in. The National Archives & Records Administration info I have
shows his Terms of Enlistment was 5 years, which means he wouldn’t have
joined our airline until 1947 if he stayed in full term. That’s kind of
late. As you’ll see in my next post later this week, the shut down date
of the airline is not surfacing – and I’ve got various dates from
various sources including your Dad’s comment on the film. Part of the
fun of it all.
Robert (Roland) Terwilliger, Aviation Cadet, Air Corps Branch. Born
1921 in NJ. Enlisted at Newark on 12/16/1941. Civilian occupation:
actors & actresses (the same occupation listed for my Dad!!)
Robert (Forman) Gries, Air Corps Branch. Born 1921 in NJ. Enlisted at
Newark on 5/15/1942. Civilian occupation: Insurance clerk
Any chance you recognize any of these names? Any luck finding your
Dad’s log book?
Below was one of my shot-in-the-dark emails. It bounced back. Is
Heather your niece? I’m just curious if I got the right family.
Smile.
Enjoy the weekend,
g.
Gaye Lyn
——————————————————————————–
From: Gaye Lyn
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 1:03 PM
Subject: Heather, my Dad and your Grandfather may have founded an
airline together in 1945
Hello, Heather.
This is not spam. I’m a real person – and NOT trying to sell you a
thing! I’m researching the airline (Veterans Air Express) that my
father, Saunie Gravely, founded in 1945. If my research is correct, you
are Heather Noll — and granddaughter to John Joseph Noll who helped
found my Dad’s airline and piloted one of two cargo flights to Warsaw.
They were based at Newark Airport. I discovered a wonderful feature
article in the Ocala Florida Star-Banner dated 9/28/1999, interviewing
your Granddad, in which he talks about the airline.
If I’m correct so far, then I also believe you are John P. Noll’s
daughter. If so, I would be soooooooooooooooo appreciative if you would
forward this email to him and ask him to contact me directly. I’d love
to hear what he knows and to ask if, when he was a kid, his Dad talked
about his adventures during that 1945 – 1947 timeframe…and if, by any
chance, he has any old photos or mementos from that time.
Within weeks after I was born (11/27/1945) one of the company DC-3s was
named GAYE LYN after me. I have a photo of the aircraft and magazine
article I will be happy to email if my research is correct and you and
your Dad are interest.
Heather, thank you. I found your email online, but it could be VERY
OLD. Here’s hoping my message reaches you.
g.
Gaye Lyn Gravely Pollitt
Researcher: Veterans Air Express/Veterans Airline
Founder: Saunie Gravely
Santa Fe, NM, USA