Met Robert Chambers son, Bruce. 25 May 2016

Meet Bruce.  Son of Robert Chambers

Veterans Air DC-3 Chief Pilot.  I did.

Wednesday May 25th Lambertville, NJ.
Landmark Lambertville Station on the Deleware River, border between NJ and PA. Site of meeting between 1945 Veterans Air Express "offspring."
Lambertville Station, perfect backdrop for New Jersey meet-and-greet with Bruce Chambers, Bob’s son. Photo credit: Lambertville Station website.

After two hours, engrossed in conversation, sorting through  files and papers, photos and press clippings scrambled on a restaurant table, I realized my red notebook remained without one single note. What’s worse, thirty minutes after we parted, it crushingly dawned on me — I took no photos of Bruce Chambers.  And had not captured our first face-to-face meeting for posterity on the website!  (Yuk!  I hate providing evidence one more time that I am certainly no Lois Lane, Girl Reporter.)

But any photo we might have taken that day couldn’t compete with this capture of Father and son together.

Robert Chambers, Veterans Air DC-3 Chief Pilot in 1945, relaxes many years later with son, Bruce.
Robert Chambers with his second son, Bruce.

Reunion of our Dads’ shared adventure.

The event?  Bruce drove from just outside Philadelphia to this delightful New Jersey river town to meet me halfway. The shaded veranda of  Lambertville Station offered a lovely backdrop for getting to know each other beyond our three or four phone conversations and numerous email exchanges. Several wait staff dropped by the table to ask if we were having a reunion. We both laugh and said “Of sorts, yes.” And so it was. A reunion of a segment of our Dads lives, today cobbling together their stories looking back from 70 years later.

Divulge. Embellish. Confirm.

This researcher’s dream!

To my complete delight, “goodies” saved over the years by both Bob Chambers and his wife, Janet, filled the folders.  I can only imagine the grin on my face as item after item revealed first-time, embellishing or confirming information.

Bruce had gone through the contents of the file with Bob just a year before his father’s passing in 2015. Bob admitted to Bruce he wasn’t sure how it was or why it was that he possessed some of these items.  Yes, the DC-3 crew training and flight documents are understandable. But other documents pertain to shareholders, stock offerings and ambitious growth plans, not part of Bob’s daily responsibilities.

Whatever the reason, the documents provide fresh insights into Veterans Air Express.  Having the pleasure of “special delivery” from Bruce, now also a member of the Veterans Air family, made it perfect.

Bruce, thank you for meeting me half way!  And later for all the time and care you put into making me copies of these valuable documents.

Dear Reader, I’ve posted many of the great press photos already – here.  And I will share the above-mentioned data in two Posts that are already being Drafted.

Gaye Lyn


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