SQUADRON-235
The Death Angels. We are a
small band of Marines all of whom served in one
or more of the following Marine Corps Aviation
Squadrons: VMSB-235, VMF-235, VMF(AW)-235,
VMFA-235. Our members, while in these squadrons,
flew, crewed or serviced & maintained the
SDB, F4U, F9F, FJ, F8, F4, or FA18 aircraft
during the period from 01 JAN 1943 to 14 JUN
1996.
We are an "At Large"
Squadron of the Marine Corps Aviation
Association and we gather each year in
conjunction with the MCAA Annual Symposium. Our
first reunion took place in Pensacola in 1989.
We continue to meet each fall at the site of the
MCAA Symposium.
=============================================
EDITOR'S
NOTES
As anticipation of our up
coming gathering grows we all need to firm up
our September travel plans. Each of us also
needs to contact a few old squadron mates from
our youth and encourage them to join us in
Washington.
As much as we all enjoy
seeing our Marine friends each fall it is always
an especially pleasant surprise when one appears
on the scene that we haven't seen in many years.
One phone call may be all someone needs to help
him make the decision to attend. Dig out the old
address book or just look in your copy of the
Squadron-235 roster and see how many Marines you
come up with that haven't attended MCAA in many
years. Contact a few and test your persuasive
skills. If you get just one it will be well
worth the effort. All of us will benefit. See
you in September.
Once again. Our officers
& staff are:
Tom O'Rorke •
President-for-Life & RNR Editor (acting)
Jim Strawn •
Secretary/Treasurer
Hondo Ondrick
• Vice President & Social
Chairman
Vince Falzarano
• Vice President & Asst. Social
Chairman
Tom Elser •
Email Manager
All of us are reachable
via email, snail mail &
telephone.
=============================================
WASHINGTON
HERE WE COME
All signs point to a grand
turnout in Washington. If you haven't made your
September room reservations you need to get a
move on. The Crystal Gateway Marriott is an
excellent facility and all MCAA events will take
place in the hotel. You may recall from 1995
that the hotel connects underground to the Metro
and to an extensive underground shopping and
dining complex.
Once again the Death
Angels will be ensconced in the Presidential
Suite. The room served us well in '95 and we are
looking forward to it doing so again in 2000.
The bar will be well
stocked with the finest beverages Vince and
Hondo can find on sale at Wallmart. Jim and Tom
however may slip in a little of the good stuff.
If you still have preferences along these lines
pass them along. No promises however.
Those of you who are not
current (paid up) members of MCAA, we encourage
you to send in your check prior to the
gathering. The MCAA staff and the local folks do
a lot of hard work putting these symposiums
together each year and they need support from
all hands. On the money subject, are you current
with Jim Strawn on your 235 annual dues? At only
10 bucks a year it is one of the few remaining
bargains still out there. Ante up. One more
money matter. By paying your Ready Room dues
prior to the end of August you can get by for
just $25. That includes you and a friend. Once
September rolls around it will cost you $35.
Early payment also enhances your Treasurer's
enjoyment of the weekend.
============================================
BOOK
REVIEWS
Talent is
in our midst and we only just discovered it.
John
Fischer,
who drove the F8 while with VMF-235, also logged
a few hours in the famous SNB. JJ has recently
had his first book published and he named it
after that famous 2MJ (two motor job), the "Bug
Smasher." You can order a copy through
Amazon.com for $12.95 plus shipping or perhaps
pick up a copy at your local Barnes & Noble.
JJ weaves a tale of semi-fiction centered around
his SNB-5 experiences circa 1950 and Korea.
Great job JJ. JJ is on our EMail Roster
(jfisch22@aol.com)
if you want to reach him.
More
reading material. Richard
M. Thoreson,
Lt. Col. USMC (Ret.), while not a former Death
Angel, has written an excellent tale about a
VMSB pilot and a VMF pilot and their saga in the
early days of WWII. The story is based on 60
actual letters written by one of the aviators to
his family in Iowa. An excellent read that you
can buy through Amazon.com or even better, order
the 235 special directly from "Swede" Thoreson.
Send him $12.95 total (S&H included) to 1407 W.
Camino de le Oca, Green Valley, AZ 85614.
Swede's email is: rthor@rconnect.com.
=============================================
VMF235.COM
UPGRADES
Great
strides have been made since the Squadron's
first appearance on the world wide web in
January of this year. It is not that your web
masters are smarter now than they were in
January, it's just a trial and error thing.
Something like: If at first you don't succeed,
try, try... you get the idea.
The
original home page has been jazzed up slightly
with the addition of BREAKING NEWS. Any thing
that comes to our attention from obits to party
schedules will be found here. Everyone is
encouraged to contribute. We have to get the
info in order to publish it. Whether on the web
or in the Red Nose Review, we have to have the
information and you are our source.
The Yellow
Sheet editor tells me that they are inundated
with sea stories and tales of all types. So many
that they can't include them all. How about you
creative types sending us a few of
those.
Another
addition to the Home Page is the table of page
updates. You can see at a glance if anything has
been added since your last visit.
Observant
types will have noticed the addition of LINKS in
the left menu bar and the banner for the Top 25
Marine Corps Web Sites. Check both of these out.
LINKS will steer you to some excellent sites.
You may have already found many of them but if
not, take a look.
The Top 25
Marine Corps Web Sites conducts its voting by
the number of times their banner on a given
Marine Corps site is hit. Each look casts a vote
for us. But be careful not to cheat. You can't
pad the voting by repeated clicking on the
banner, Doing so will get you a cheating
warning. A one hour wait between hits is
required.
We have
ensconced the past issue of the Red Nose Review
on the Archives page. Here you will also find
past BREAKING NEWS items. Current or
"in-progress" RNRs will of course, be on the RNR
page.
The
Snapshots page originally showed only one or two
photos. Thanks to the thumbnails installed by
Tom Elser, we now have multiple photos with room
for more when we get them.
The same
thumbnails used on the Snapshot page were
clearly ideal for the Aircraft pages. The long
loading times for photos is shortened
dramatically by using the snapshots. All we need
now are more A/C photos...and we are beginning
to get them. See THANKS CONTRIBUTORS, this
page.
=============================================
BAR
BILL, CLIP & MAIL TO:
James
E. Strawn, 4633 Bruce Road, Chester, VA
23831
Jim: Here
is my $25 check for Squadron-235 Readyroom dues
in D.C. this September. I don't want to have to
pay $35 at the door. I understand that this
payment entitles my guest (1) and me to all of
the beer, booze and wine that the two of us can
drink while on the premises. You, Tom, Hondo,
Vince or Billy will affix a Squadron Readyroom
Sticker to my official MCAA badge showing to all
that I have paid in full and am welcome at the
bar.
If I
choose to bring more than one guest, I am
certainly welcome to do so. However I must pay
an additional $25 ($35 at the door) for each
additional guest (who will also be entitled to
drink 'till his or her heart's content). Looking
forward to seeing you all in
September.
Semper
Fi,
(name
clearly printed here)
P.S. Our
beverage preferences are circled
below:
Beer, Gin,
Vodka, Rum, Scotch, Bourbon, White Vino, Red
Vino. Preferred brand names are:
CLIP
& MAIL WITH YOUR CHECK TO JIM
ASAP
=============================================
CHANGE
OF COMMAND
We are
pleased to announce that former Death Angle,
LtCol. James L. Stalnaker will take
command of VMFA-314 in August 2000. Jim served
in VMFA-235 flying the F/A-18 Hornet in 1991 and
1992. We are confident he will have the 314
marines squared away in no time at all.
Congratulations Jim. Semper Fi & Ride
Nunc.
=============================================
DOMO
ARIGATO CONTRIBUTORS!
Many of
you have noticed improvements on the 235 web
site in recent months. Thanks to several
contributors, we have added a number of aircraft
pictures and snapshots of squadron members -
both past and present.
Thanks to
Bob Reeves and Pappy Lynch, we
have a number of interesting shots of the
Corsair in K-Bay and aboard the USS Rendova -
circa 1952. Tom Elser, Fox Foreman
and Tom Rochford have added pictures of
the Crusader and Steve Albright presented
us with some beautiful Phantom shots from K-Bay.
Don Hanna is working to locate a painting
of FJs over Fuji-san.
We could
use some pictures of 235 SBDs, F9s, FJs and the
F/A18s. If you have time to rummage around in
your scrapbook or footlocker and share them with
the world, we could use them.
Tom
D'Andrea, Wes Wessel, Don
Hanna, Don Mickle, Ed Rogal
and Bob Reeves (& his check crew) now
grace the Snapshots page. Room exists for
more.
If you
have pictures that would grace the site, scan
them and email them in or even snail-mail them
to Tom Elser or Tom O'Rorke. Quality images will
be posted and your hard copy photographs
returned "post haste."
The number
of email addresses on the Mailroster page has
been expanding also. Look for fellow Marines
there and send them an email by simply clicking
on their email address. If you're not listed, be
sure to send your email address by clicking on
the "HERE" at the top of the page.
Distribution
of the Spring issue of the Red Nose Review
prompted considerable activity from our
membership. Several new marines were added to
the roster, all through email contacts. We also
received notification of changes in email
addresses, mailing address and changes in data
regarding aircraft and/or duty station while
with 235. We also had one wife
change.
We are
pleased to report that all of these changes have
been incorporated into our master roster and all
email changes and additions have been posted on
the web site. Changing the main Roster pages on
the website requires considerable time and
patience so those changes will be incorporated
as time and enthusiasm permits.
We very
much appreciate your compliments on the site and
hope you enjoy surfing it. The more use it gets
and the more feedback we get all contribute to
making it better.
=============================================
A
SQUADRON DINNER IS IN THE
WORKS...
for
Thursday, 21 September 2000. Our dinner
last fall in Pensacola was so successful we have
had requests for a repeat. Billy Adams has
sniffed out Potowmack Landing, and it looks to
be just what we need. It is right on the Potomac
River, reasonably priced at $35.95 a head (tax
and tip included) and convenient to the Crystal
Gateway Marriott. Their web site, complete with
photo, is accessible from the LINKS page on
VMF235.COM.
Cocktails
will start at 19:00 hours (cash bar) with
dinner at 20:30. This should give
everyone ample time to participate in the
Welcome Aboard party at the Gateway Marriott
prior to departure for Potowmack Landing. The
menu is:
FIRST COURSE
CHOICES
|
House
Salad
Bouquet of field
greens with vine ripe tomato and herb
croutons served with homemade
vinaigrette, garnished with Wisconsin
cheddar cheese
|
.
|
Bruschetta
Tomato concasse
served on French baguette with goat
cheese crusted with
almonds
|
|
.
|
Soup of
the Day
Homemade
|
.
|
|
Blue
Point Oysters
Half dozen served
on the half shell with homemade
cocktail sauce
|
.
|
Caesar
Salad
Romaine tosses
with herb croutons and olive
tapenade
|
ENTREE
CHOICES
|
Grand
Marnier Chicken
Breast of
chicken, wing on, roasted slowly with
julienne apricots, toasted pine nuts,
snow peas and basil, served with
roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and
vegetables of the
day
|
.
|
Filet
Mignon
Roasted beef
tenderloin finished with sweet onion,
served with roasted garlic mashed
potatoes, port wine sauce and
vegetables of the
day
|
|
.
|
North
Atlantic Salmon
Roasted salmon in
mango mustard glaze accompanied by
calamari rice and vegetables of the
day
|
.
|
|
Rainbow
Trout
Sauteed pecan
crusted trout with orange rosemary
butter sauce, shoestring potatoes,
blanched spinach and vegetables of the
day
|
.
|
North
Atlantic Salmon
Roasted salmon in
mango mustard glaze accompanied by
calamari rice and vegetables of the
day
|
DESSERT
CHOICES
|
Chocolate
Mousse
Garnished with
glazed berries
|
Fresh
Berries
Glazed seasonal
berries
|
Raspberry
Creme Brulee
Served with
raspberry coulis
|
Fresh Brewed
Coffee
Wine or mixed drinks
may be ordered individually
=============================================
If you would like to be
included Thursday evening, please contact us
right away. We will need to know your menu
choices and we need to provide Potowmack Landing
with a head count as soon as we can. Please help
us out by completing the following and mailing
it to: Thomas O'Rorke. You may also
fax this page to Tom at
334-980-1618.
1. Fill in Name, Total
Number in party, and yours and each party
member's menu choices.
2. Make your menu
selections by circling your choices
below.
3. Made out your check to
Squadron-235 for $35.95 times the number in your
party and mail to Tom.
4. Fax or mail this page
(or a copy of this page) to Tom at the fax
number or address above.
|
NAME
|
FILL IN
NAME
|
FIRST
COURSE
|
ENTREE
|
DESSERT
|
|
You
|
.
|
House-Brusc-Oys-Caesar-Soup
|
Chick-Filet-Trout-Salmon-Veggie
|
Mousse-Berries-Brulee
|
|
Party
Member #1
|
.
|
House-Brusc-Oys-Caesar-Soup
|
Chick-Filet-Trout-Salmon-Veggie
|
Mousse-Berries-Brulee
|
|
Party
Member #2
|
.
|
House-Brusc-Oys-Caesar-Soup
|
Chick-Filet-Trout-Salmon-Veggie
|
Mousse-Berries-Brulee
|
|
Party
Member #3
|
.
|
House-Brusc-Oys-Caesar-Soup
|
Chick-Filet-Trout-Salmon-Veggie
|
Mousse-Berries-Brulee
|
|
Party
Member #4
|
.
|
House-Brusc-Oys-Caesar-Soup
|
Chick-Filet-Trout-Salmon-Veggie
|
Mousse-Berries-Brulee
|
|
Total #
in Party
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
=============================================
