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Thanksgiving November 28th
Veteran’sDay 11.11.13
www.newsofkingspoint.com
November, 2013
MFST Sponsors Honor Flight
Local World War II Veteran Joins Comrades on DC Trip
Submitted by B. Frank Kepley, CAPT, USN, (Ret) Augustine C. (Gus) Fleischman, WWII US Army Signal Corps veteran, was recently invited to take one of the Honor Flights conducted by nonprofit organizations dedicated to transporting as many WWII veterans as possible to Washington D.C. to see the memorials of the respective war(s) in which they fought. Mr. Fleischman’s Honor Flight trip, which took place on October 8, 2013, was sponsored by the Military Family Support Trust (MFST). Brigadier Colin Howgill, RM (Ret), Chairman of the MFST, served as Mr. Fleischman’s guardian for the trip. All costs associated with the trip were paid for by MFST. Gus landed over the Normandy beaches on D-Day Plus Three. He served at St. Mer Eglise before moving down to Paris then into the Ardennes where he was at
At the D-Day wall WWII memorial with the battle honors for the Battle of the Bulge and Remagen on his right.
the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ during that awful winter weather when so many troops froze to death. After the Allies broke through the
German line, he pushed forward with his unit to the Remagen Bridge and then on to Leipzig. Fleischman’s military award
medal has a silver star representing the battles of Normandy, Northern France The Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe. After the conclusion of hostilities in Germany, Fleischman and a small number of others from his Signals unit, were ordered to the Pacific Theater. Gus took a freight train to Paris, then to Marseilles, where he boarded a ship bound for the Panama Canal and the Pacific. His ship was South of Hawaii when the first atom bomb was detonated. On arrival in Manila the local Japanese had not yet gotten the message that the war was over so their arrival was more exciting than anticipated. Gus said he was extremely grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Honor Flight. He encourages all World War 2 veterans to take advantage of this “extraordinary program.” Continued on Page 5
Former Blue Angel Pilot Rescues Local Luncheon Program Replacement Speaker Makes an Outstanding Impression
Major Fred Stankovich, USMC (ret.) stepped up to the plate and delivered a grand slam! He was the planned speaker for the November Silver Osprey Squadron meeting, but agreed to come a month early when the government shutdown prevented the scheduled U.S. Army Colonel from speaking. Major Stankovich was the #2 pilot of the 1979-1981 Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Team. Stankovich graduated from City College of New York with a mechanical engineering
Lt Fred Stankovich, 1979 Blue Angel Flight Team.
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degree. In 1970, he graduated Marine Corps Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. After OCS, Stankovich was assigned to flight training in Pensacola, and he earned his wings in November 1971. His first assignment was to VMA214 (the famed “Blacksheep Squadron”) at MCAS El Toro. He later completed “Top Gun” school and became a Top Gun instructor pilot. His next assignment was with the Blue Angels. When he completed his Blue Angel tour in 1981, Stankovich left active duty and became
an airline pilot. Between 1981 and 2012, Major Stankovich flew as Captain for People Express Airlines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines. He has over 13,000 airline pilot hours in the 737 and 777 aircraft. As a Marine, his 3,500 hours was mostly in the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, which he flew, both in his Marine squadrons and with the Blue Angels. His talk gave the luncheon group gathered at Freedom Plaza, a true insider’s look at the Blue Angels. Major Stankovich started his talk by explaining that the reason the Blue Angels were formed (in 1946 at NAS
1979 Blue Angels in front of Douglas A-4 Sky Hawk.
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Jacksonville) was to help recruit new members to Naval Aviation. Candidates for the Blue Angels are not recruited. They apply as individuals to be one of the eight pilots on the team. To become a new team member, they must be approved by all eight of the existing members. Candidates must have a minimum of 1,250 tactical jet flight hours and be carrier qualified. One slot is always reserved for a Marine aviator. The team usually flies in 70 air shows per year, but the current budget discussions in Washington, DC, have grounded the Blue Angels except for two hours per day to maintain proficiency. After his presentation Major Stankovich fielded questions from the audience. Asked if the aircraft used by the Blue Angels differed from the standard fleet versions, he said yes in some small but important ways. Because they are constantly flying so close together (the goal is no closer than 3 feet), the control stick is Continued on Page 6
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