Old Bold Pilots Association

The Old Bold Pilots Association is a group of pilots and enthusiasts who meet weekly to enjoy breakfast and discuss their enthusiasm for aviation. The organization is notable for the diverse background of its members that includes civilians and veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Members have served in the United States military, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, Germany's Luftwaffe, and the Soviet Air Forces.

Old Bold Pilots Association
AbbreviationOBPA
Formation1995 (1995)
TypeSocial
PurposeTo share the common bond of aviation
Location
Websitewww.oldboldpilots.org

History

The Old Bold Pilots Association (OBPA) traces its beginnings to the mid-1980s, when four former United States Army Air Force P-47 Thunderbolt pilots met regularly for a meal and to share flying stories.[1] The society formed with its current name and meeting location in 1995 at the suggestion of member Ray Toliver.[2][3] The name of the group is a refutation of an observation made in 1949 by early airmail pilot, E. Hamilton Lee: "There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots."[3][4][5] The association is informal without a charter, dues, or speakers.[1] Informality was desired by members who rejected the strict rules common in other aviation groups.[6] One does not have to be a pilot to attend, and anyone with an interest in aviation is invited.[7]

Activities
OBPA Breakfast 2014

The OBPA holds a breakfast event every Wednesday at a Denny's restaurant in Oceanside, California. The breakfast starts at 8 am, although members start showing up as early as 6:30 am to get a head start on the festivities. The group occupies the back room of the restaurant, which is decorated with model aircraft hanging from the ceiling and photos of aircraft and pilots lining the walls.[6] Attendees come from communities throughout southern California. Less frequent are visitors from around the world, including Germany, Australia, Hungary and South Africa.[3] Some come for the camaraderie, while others find relief discussing the rigors of combat with people who have had similar experiences.[1]

As of 2014, membership has grown to over 300 people, although attendance at the weekly breakfast is typically 50–70 people.[6] According to the group's web page, an annual Christmas party and periodic barbecues are also hosted.[8] As of 2022, the Old Bold Pilots Association continues to meet every week at Denny's restaurant, with attendance back to pre-pandemic levels.[9]

Interviews for posterity

What's unique about the Old Bold Pilots is that so many show up every week. And the way they look out for each other and care for each other. There's a mutual respect not only for other Allied pilots but for the Luftwaffe pilots they flew against.

—Heather Steele, OBPA Historian[1]

Heather Steele is a historian of warfare who over the course of several years interviewed a number of the OBPA members and captured their stories on her World War II History Project web site.[1] Jonelle Cambis is a waitress who has served the OBPA at Dennys for over 20 years. Her father was in the Pacific with the U.S. Marines during World War II, and she credits the stories told by her customers with motivating her to document her father's activities.[6]

In 2014, retired producer, Patrick Pranica, with friends George Dawe and Robert Broughton began interviewing OBPA members to record their stories for future generations. They started first with older OBPA members due to their advanced age, but planned to include all willing to participate. The initial interviews were intended to result in a documentary titled, Old Bold Pilots, that was hoped would interest cable channels into funding a television series. The pilot episode included an interview with Robert Broughton's brother, Jack Broughton, a famous fighter ace and aviation author.[10] However, funding could not be secured. The team also tried a crowdfunded campaign that did not succeed and was eventually closed.[11]

Other chapters

Chapters of the Old Bold Pilots have opened in Palm Desert, California, Seattle, Washington, and Washington, D.C.[6] The Palm Desert group meets for breakfast at the Desert Willow Golf Resort on the last Thursday of each month and includes a presentation by a guest speaker.[12] Past speakers have included aerial stuntman Troy Hartman, former Northrop Grumman Chief Executive Officer Kent Kresa, fighter ace Fritz Payne, aerospace engineer Burt Rutan, and aviation artist Stan Stokes.[13] The Washington, D.C. group meets for lunch every Friday at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia.[14]

Notable members

The following table contains an incomplete list of notable individuals who are or were members of the Old Bold Pilots Association. The table provides the member's name, branch of military service in which they served, OBP chapter to which they are affiliated, a brief description of their notability, and references to substantiate their membership and notability.

Gale Graves and Gene Deatrick
Fighter ace Bill Hardy
Admiral Richard Lyon
Colonel Steve Pisanos
Alexander Poddoubnyi
Colonel Jay Walker
Name Service Chapter Notability Ref
Rod Braswell USAAF Oceanside B-24 Liberator pilot who flew fifty bombing missions during World War II including three to the heavily defended oil refineries at Ploiești, Romania [1][15]
Jack Broughton USAF Oceanside Fighter pilot in Korea and Vietnam who received the Air Force Cross and two Silver Stars, Author of three books about the air war in Vietnam including Thud Ridge [10][16]
Gene Deatrick USAF Washington, D.C. A-1 Skyraider pilot who flew close air support for ground troops during the Vietnam War and initiated the rescue of Navy Lieutenant Dieter Dengler [7][17]
Ray Delacqua USMC Oceanside Pilot who flew in three different conflicts - F4U Corsairs in World War II, F9F Panthers in Korea, and H-34 Choctaw and H-46 Sea Knight in Vietnam [6][18]
William Harbison RAF Washington, D.C. Flew the Spitfire and P-51 in World War II and the F-86 during the Korean War. Commander of RAF Leuchars and No. 11 Group RAF [14][19]
Willis "Bill" Hardy USN Oceanside F6F Hellcat pilot in World War II who became an ace with five kills on a single day. He ended the war with 6.5 kills and was awarded the Navy Cross [1][20]
Richard Lyon USN Oceanside Served in World War II, Korea, and became the first Navy SEAL to attain the rank of admiral. He also served twice as the mayor of Oceanside, California [1][21]
Everett "Bud" Miller USAAF Oceanside P-38 Lightning fighter ace in World War II who flew 53 combat missions over Europe. He was later a test pilot for the XP-59 Airacomet. [3][22][23]
Steve Pisanos RAF USAAF Oceanside Greece-born World War II fighter ace with ten kills who flew Spitfires with the RAF and P-47s and P-51s with the USAAF. Test pilot and author of the autobiography The Flying Greek [6][24]
Alexander Poddoubnyi Civilian Oceanside Ukrainian-born test pilot for Antonov who flew the An-124 and An-225 [1][25]
Vern Rowley USAAF Oceanside Radar operator aboard the weather reconnaissance B-29 Superfortress, Jabit III, during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima [6][26]
William "Bill" Ryherd USAAF Oceanside B-26 Marauder pilot who was shot down and imprisoned in Buchenwald concentration camp during World War II. He was transferred to other prisoner of war camps including Stalag Luft 3 and Stalag Luft 7 until freed by George Patton's U.S. Third Army [3][27]
Wolf Samuel USAF Washington, D.C. B-66 cold war pilot and author of eight books including the autobiography, German Boy, that described his childhood in World War II Germany and new life in the United States [14][28]
Kurt Schulze Luftwaffe Oceanside Do 217 pilot who flew 23 bombing mission to England during World War II. He later flew the Bf 109 in the final days of the war. [1][29]
Bob Stoffey USMC Oceanside Forward air controller who flew the OV-10 Bronco and served three Vietnam combat tours totaling 440 combat missions. Author of autobiography, Cleared Hot!: A Marine Combat Pilot's Vietnam Diary [7][30]
Ray Toliver USAAF Oceanside Test pilot during World War II who flew more than 250 aircraft. He was the co-author of a number of biographies of World War II fighter aces including The Blond Knight of Germany [3][31]
Jay Walker USAAF Oceanside B-17 Flying Fortress pilot during World War II who flew 30 missions and was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He later flew B-17s for the Collings Foundation [6][32]
Bill Weaver USAF Oceanside Lockheed test pilot who flew the SR-71 Blackbird and L-1011 Tristar. He survived the breakup of an SR-71 while traveling at over three times the speed of sound [1][33]

See also

Notes
  1. Joiner, Stephen (May 2014). "Tales of the Old, Bold Pilots". Air & Space/Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  2. "All About Us". Old Bold Pilots Association. 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  3. Davis, Christine (January 31, 2007). "Old Bold Pilots fly in the face of age-old proverb". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  4. Goodspeed, Hill (April 26, 2014). "'Old and bold' pilots a Pensacola tradition". Pensacola News Journal. Lisa Reese. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  5. Cowan, Claudia (July 4, 2014). "Old, bold pilots keep history alive". Fox News. Fox Networks Group. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  6. Kragen, Pam (April 2, 2014). "Old Bold Pilots share coffee, camaraderie". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Jeff Light. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  7. McCormac, Patty (February 2, 2012). "Pilots 'old and bold' share bonds of aviation". The Coast News. Jim Kydd. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  8. "OBPA Annual Christmas Party". Old Bold Pilots Association. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  9. Zevely, Jeff (April 28, 2022). "Old Bold Pilots still flying high at Denny's every Wednesday morning". cbs8.com. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  10. Kragen, Pam (June 22, 2014). "Flyers capture aging pilots' memories on film". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Jeff Light. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  11. "Movie Animation for Old Bold Pilots TV Show". IndieGoGo. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  12. "Welcome, fellow pilots and aviation enthusiasts!". Palm Desert, California: Old Bold Pilots Association. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  13. "List of Speakers". Palm Desert, California: Old Bold Pilots Association. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  14. Samuel, Wolfgang W. E. (2015). In Defense of Freedom: Stories of Courage and Sacrifice of World War II Army Air Forces Flyers. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. 309. ISBN 978-1-62846-217-3.
  15. Joiner, Stephen (February 11, 2015). "Mission to Ploesti: B-24 Liberators". Air & Space/Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  16. Perry, Tony (November 1, 2014). "Jack Broughton dies at 89; outspoken, revered Vietnam fighter pilot". The Los Angeles Times. Davan Mahara. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  17. Mutza, Wayne (2003). The A-1 Skyraider in Vietnam: The Spad's Last War. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. p. 53. ISBN 0-7643-1791-1.
  18. Kelly, Harold H.; Riley, William A. (2002). Enlisted Naval Aviation Pilots. Turner Publishing Company. p. 205. ISBN 9781563111105.
  19. Neufeld, Jacob; Watson, George M. Jr., eds. (2005). "Coalition Air Warfare in the Korean War 1950–1953" (PDF). Proceedings, Air Force Historical Foundation Symposium. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Air Force History and Museums Program: 337. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  20. Oleson, James A. (2011). In Their Own Words - The Final Chapter: True Stories From American Fighter Aces. iUniverse. p. 163. ISBN 9781450290463.
  21. Dobruck, Jeremiah (May 14, 2014). "Navy SEAL to speak at event". The Los Angeles Times. Davan Mahara. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  22. "Miller, Everett "Bud" Obituary". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Jeff Light. April 14, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  23. Huetter, Ted; Cashman, Tara (November 11, 2009). "American Fighter Aces Program - Air War Over Europe and the Pacific". Museum of Flight. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  24. Wilkens, John (July 4, 2016). "To WWII Hero, Every Day was the Fourth". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Jeff Light. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  25. Sherman, Lola (August 23, 2013). "Older pilots group flying high on friendship". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Jeff Light. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  26. Campbell, Richard H. (2005). The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs. McFarland & Company. p. 127. ISBN 0-7864-2139-8.
  27. Escalle, Jim (2013). Unforgotten Hero: Remembering a Fighter Pilot's Life, War and Ultimate Sacrifice. Traylor House. ISBN 9780988785137.
  28. Samuel, Wolfgang W. E. (2001). German Boy: A Child in War. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-0824-4.
  29. Clinton, Jane (January 2, 2011). "Enemy pilot is now my friend". Daily Express. Northern and Shell Media. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  30. Stoffey, Bob. Cleared Hot!: A Marine Combat Pilot's Vietnam Diary. Macmillan. ISBN 9781466804319.
  31. "Raymond F. Toliver Obituary". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Jeff Light. December 10, 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  32. Haldane, David (May 6, 1997). "A Feel for History : Man Whose Father Piloted a B-17 Gets the Ride of His Life". The Los Angeles Times. Davan Mahara. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  33. Melley, Brian (November 7, 2014). "'Miracle' pilot survived SpaceShipTwo disaster with no ejection seats". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
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