Ten 1945-46 Veterans Air crew families located since April 2015
Actually, so far, I’ve been in contact with ten families of Veterans who joined Veterans Air and I’ve met three of our crew members. You may recall my first “road trip” was in August (2015) to Florida to meet Pilot and Operations man Jack Stettner and all of Jack’s “kids,” Ellen, Al and Scott.1 On the same trip, I reveled in anecdotes from the spirited Marilyn Gries,2 sadly the widow of Robert Gries, VAE General Manager. All the families have wonderfully (if not suspiciously, at first) greeted and welcomed me.
Here’s my List, in the order of my finding them: Bernard Shmanske, John Noll, Charles Eason, Robert Gries, Jack Stettner, John Greenleaf, Frederick Foster, Richard Broughton, Thomas Cowart, and Edward Martz.
Duration of the company pales compared to the size of its accomplishments!
I’m so honored. So delighted. So touched. I promise I appreciate to my core the reality of being in their company and/or talking to their families. I kept and keep saying to myself, “These men knew my Dad, crewed for him, helped him found the air line.” All of them, not just the three I’ve met, all of them brought invaluable aviation experience to this endeavor, yes. And now I’m witnessing as well, repeatedly, first hand, the character and spirit they all brought. The “real stuff” that materialized Saunie’s dream. The duration of the company’s existence is of little consequence compared to the accomplishment that it existed at all!