2007 Halos and Heroes
Hangar Party for Veterans Charity Rocks Hampton Roads
By Stephen Chapis
“red” additions/edits by Heidi Greer

It was a flashback to the Forties. The World War II veterans were there, donning uniforms from all branches of the military. Big Band music filled the immense tent where people were seated at large round tables. The old Warbirds were on the scene too—in one hangar alone you could see a Tiger Moth, a Bucker Jungmeister, a P-63 King Cobra, and a V-1 Buzz Bomb along with many other vintage planes—all completely restored.

The event, a fundraiser for the charity Air Compassion for Veterans (ACV), was called Halos and Heroes. ACV is a nonprofit organization based in Virginia Beach that provides free medical air transportation for veterans and their families. The first annual Halos and Heroes was held on October 6, 2007, with some 800 people traveling to rural Pungo, Virginia, to spend the afternoon and evening at the privately-owned Virginia Beach airport. The event’s name represents the volunteer Angel Flight pilots (“Halos”) who used their private airplanes to fly wounded soldiers (“Heroes”) from Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the hangar celebration.

I am still savoring memories of the day’s activities and looking forward to Halos and Heroes 2008, which will be on October 4. The crowds began arriving via shuttle buses at 2 p.m., at the same time Angel Flight pilots arrived with several Wounded Warriors. The smell of popcorn filled the air.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, everyone was free to view, up close, the magnificent and varied Warbird collection of Gerald (“Jerry”) Yagen, a private pilot, businessman, and the airport owner. Besides the aircraft mentioned earlier, the hangar held a Polikarpov I-15, I-16 Type 24, I-15bis, Fokker D VII, Chipmunk, L-5, AD-4, and SNJ-2. Yagen’s collection includes other vehicles as well--a vintage Jaguar and MG, a 2d Sq AVG Jeep, and several pieces of German military equipment including a BMW motorcycle and a huge air raid spotlight. In front of the hanger were a USAAC Tow Tractor, a NS2-3 Stearman, a PBY Catalina, and an SNJ-4. Parked alongside the 5,000-foot grass runway were five more T-6s and SNJs. Parked front and center were Yagen’s P-51D “Double Trouble Two,” TBM Avenger, and FG-1D Corsair.

Before we lined up for a buffet dinner featuring nationally-acclaimed Virginia and North Carolina barbecue, Yagen and two other pilots served us a mouth-watering appetizer-- a short and exciting flight demonstration. As the three pilots were pre-flighting and strapping into their aircraft, a North American T-28D made several fly-bys before departing the area. The field was once again quiet, but only briefly. A minute later we heard the hum of fuel pumps and the TBM starts to crank. Smoke belches from the stacks as the engine catches and promptly quits. This happens several times until finally the big Wright backfires, sending foot-long flames out each stack, and springs to life.

At this point Yagen, in the P-51, hits the starter and the Rolls-Royce fires up in about six blades. Now everyone is watching the Corsair. After several attempts to start the engine, the prop is noticeably turning slower and slower. The battery is draining. The ground crew rolls out a power cart and hooks it up to the Vought fighter. By this time Yagen decides to taxi. With the air temperature in the unseasonable mid-80s, the Mustang’s liquid-cooled Merlin is surely starting to get hot. The Avenger pilot taxies forward a few feet and unfolds the torpedo bomber’s massive wings and follows the Mustang. After a valiant effort the disappointed crew gives up on the Corsair- it flat refuses to start.

While all this is going on, three SNJs parked west of the hangers had all taken off. The P-51 and TBM have almost disappeared from view due to a rise in the runway. Then a huge cloud of dust rises and begins to move toward us--Yagen is rolling. Double Trouble Two emerges over the hill; the dust is twisted into horizontal tornadoes by the Mustang’s wingtip vortices. In seconds Yagen flashes past the crowd and treats us to that Magnificent Merlin Melody. We look to the west again in time to see the TBM materialize out of the dust, retract the gear and climb out of the pattern.

Both the P-51 and TBM performed multiple low altitude fly-bys, much to the delight of the crowd. In between these high-speed passes, the SNJs flew overhead in formation. The TBM made one final low-altitude pass with the bomb bay doors open and then joined formation with the three SNJs. Forming a diamond with the TBM in the lead, the four aircraft made two passes before clearing the pattern for another departure. A fourth SNJ, in USMC markings, performed a take-off that brought cheers from the crowd. Upon lift-off the pilot retracted the gear and held the aircraft just a few feet off the grass, roared past the crowd, and pulled up into a steep climbing turn out of the pattern. The TBM/SNJ formation came in for one final pass. As they reached the end of the runway, the wingmen broke away in unison followed by the TBM and the slot SNJ breaking in opposite directions.

The TBM and the P-51 both came into land with the TBM folding its wings as it taxied back to its parking spot. As the pilots shut down their engines they were greeted by applause and cheers from an appreciative crowd. The pilot of the Marine SNJ continued the show by making several spectacular low passes for the crowd. Now it was time to eat.

While everyone was enjoying the barbecue buffet, Jerry Yagen, whose time was very much in demand the entire day, kindly sat down with me to answer some questions as to the progress of a few restoration projects that are on-going in Australia. There is a P-39 Airacobra nearing completion, with its first flight expected this winter. The plan is to paint the Bell fighter in the markings of an Army Air Corps pilot who flew in the Guadalcanal campaign. Two other P-39s are being restored for static display, one in RAF markings and the other in Italian markings. Also in the works in Australia are two Messerschmitt Bf109s, one E-model and one G-model. The E is several years from flight and is being built from five wrecks that were recovered from Russia. Along with these two aircraft, Yagen has five Daimler-Benz engines available. Other aircraft that will soon return to flight are the A-26 Invader, which is 80 percent complete, and a float-equipped O2SU Kingfisher. Finally, the most anticipated return to flight is Yagen’s DeHavilland FB26 Mosquito. First flight in New Zealand may occur sometime in 2009. When it takes to the air, it will be the world’s only airworthy Mosquito.

In addition to his aircraft collection, Yagen has acquired two vintage World War II buildings—one, a Royal Air Force control tower and the other, a Luftwaffe hanger. Once erected, the latter will house Yagen’s German aircraft and equipment. These buildings were obtained a couple of years ago, but have yet to be erected.

After a wonderful BBQ dinner, the crowd moved into a second hanger for a presentation by Air Compassion for Veterans. As mentioned, ACV is a charitable transportation program committed to the healing of heroes who have bravely served their country in the cause of freedom. Since its founding in 2006, ACV has provided over 4,500 flights (at October 2007) for eligible wounded warriors and their adversely affected family members. The service is open to all members of the armed forces and their families after they have filled out a one-page request form. One significant component of the program addresses the need for treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and the epidemic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Air Compassion for Veterans was created by Ed Boyer, who served as the evening’s emcee. Boyer is the co-founder of Angel Flight, and the CEO and president of the parent organization, Mercy Medical Airlift. But he is more affectionately known as the “Father of Charitable Aviation” and has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades since 1972. To begin the program he recognized all the military veterans in the audience by asking them to stand, and remain standing, by group. The groups included World War II, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. The latter group included the author who, as a member of the District of Columbia Air National Guard, deployed to the Middle East in early 2003. After these introductions were made, the wounded veterans of the current war who had been flown down from Walter Reed were introduced to the audience. Each member was given a special plaque to honor their service and sacrifice for their country. This portion of the program was capped off by the amazing story of Capt. Ryan Kules who received devastating wounds from an IED in Iraq.

The most touching portion of the ACV presentation was the story of 2 year old Alex, who was the very first recipient of the charity’s generosity. The story was told by Alex’s grandfather, Bill, as he held Alex in his arms.

The maiden flight of the new charitable program Air Compassion for Veterans on November 20th, 2006, was a Lear jet air ambulance that flew Two year old Alex from a Texas hospital to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Florida for emergency medical treatment. Alex, whose father Jason is a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps recently home from Iraq, had been hospitalized in Lubbock for severe injuries police said were due to abuse. The child’s mother and a man she met through the Internet were arrested and charged with injury to a child. They are being held in a Texas jail.

Alex’s grandparents who live in Florida worked through legal channels to win their son’s custody of Alex even as they tried to find a way to transport the boy to Florida. They heard about Mercy Medical Airlift and its new program Air Compassion for Veterans from church friends. The rest is history and a testament to the miracle of Alex. Alex’s grandparents are caring for Alex and his baby sister while Jason continues to serve our country overseas as. Alex has needed continued medical treatment, rehabilitation and counseling but his prognosis is good.

To conclude the program, the crowd was treated to a USO concert. To many Americans, a USO show means Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, and the Andrew Sisters. Well, to a veteran who was in his late teens or early 20s during World War II, this would be correct, but this is not the case with today’s military members. To the veterans of the War on Terror, the USO means country and rap,. To this end the USO show at Halos and Heroes featured music to suit yesterday’s Greatest Generation and today’s Generation X’ers.

The concert also featured the first live performance of the recording “She’s An Army of One,” written by Nashville artist Mark Carman. Inspiration for the song came to Mark while waiting for a plane in Atlanta in February 2007. As Carman looked around the airport, he noticed the presence of numerous soldiers and that many were females. One soldier with graying hair caught his eye; her name was Colonel Mary Gomez, U.S. Army Reserve. This experience inspired Mark to write a song that became “She’s an Army of One”; he finished it before the flight was over. Discovering that Gomez was on the same plane, Carman gave her a copy of the lyrics and dedicated the song to all the women serving in the military.

The show concluded around 9 p.m., and everyone began to make their way to the buses for the short ride back to the farm where we had parked our cars. The temperature had dropped significantly and an eerie fog had settled on the airfield. It had been a wonderful day for everyone in attendance. We had been able to view vintage aircraft on the ground and in the air, listen to touching stories of survival, honor the veterans of past and present wars, make new friends, and most importantly, raise money and increase awareness for Air Compassion for Veterans.

The author would like to thank the following individuals for assistance in writing this article: Ed Boyer; President and CEO of Mercy Medical Airlift; Heidi Greer, Public Outreach and Financial Development Director, Air Compassion for Veterans, and Executive Assistant to the President, Mercy Medical Airlift; Suzanne Rhodes, Director of Public Affairs, Mercy Medical Airlift and Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic; and Gerald Yagen, businessman, Warbird collector, and pilot. Information was also sourced from the following websites; www.fighterfactory.com, www.AirCompassionForVeterans.org., and www.HalosandHeroes.org

Would you like to help ensure that our wounded warriors continue to have access to medically-related air transport and specialized medical treatment? If so, visit the ACV website and contribute to this most compassionate of organizations. Who deserves it more than the defenders of freedom?

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