Since our last issue of the New Tale Spins, we have received word of the loss of the following:
John Breyman (VPB Repl) 4/96; Jack Scott (PPC VPB Repl) 8/97; Leon Campise '87; Frederick Ken 12/96; Norman Spencer, Bob Hagemann, and also Bereniece Schuch, wife of Jason in 7/97.

On the sick and injured list:

Bill Alcorn, Dick Charlton, Happy Lawyer - but all doing well. Barbara Capdevielle is doing very well. Ted Marshall is slowly gaining after a recent setback. Gordon Miller is also ailing.

Help:

Does anyone know where, how the following accidents happened and the names of the crew members:

1) 3/28/43 out of Kaneohe (J.J. CoIby was one crew member.)
2) Date and crew of the loss off the Naapali coast of Kauai (TC Reynolds was PP)
3) The names of the crew lost over Haha Jima in August of 1944.
4) Names of the crew lost off Iwo 5/23/45.
5) Who were the men of VB-102 who were lost at Kearney when the plane from another squadron crashed into the supply shack?
Were they in the shack working the area ?????

Please RUSH, RUSH, RUSH any information you have to Louise Thoman, IMMEDIATELY. It should be a vital part of your book. Any noteworthy incidents that happened in VP-14, other than 12/7/41, would be welcome . We have no daily chronology of this squadron.

Honors:

On November 11, 1997, squadron mates Jack Leonard and John Finn were honored for outstanding performance as Combat Enlisted Aircrewmen during their Navy careers. This honor was accorded Jack and John along with several other enlisted men. Their names are on the Enlisted Combat Aircrew Roll of Honor aboard the USS Yorktown at Charleston, SC. Attending the ceremonies, in honor of Jack, were his wife Jane and many members of their family; Bill Hagenah, his two sons and the Ken Thomans. John was not able to attend due to his wife's illness.

To nominate one of your own enlisted aircrewmen, who manned your guns and did anything necessary to keep your planes in the air under incredible circumstances, for their efforts and devotion to duty, while risking their own lives in many circumstances, request a Nomination Package from the Museum Historian, Patriots Point Naval and Marine Museum, 40 Patriots Point Rd, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464.
(1-800-884-2727 EXT. 343) FAX 1-800-881-4232.

Squadron Book:

Our 100+ page book, including 26 pages of daily chronology of notable events from 1938 to 1994 (specializing in the WWII years), will be ready for purchase in the summer of 1998. It will contain Action Reports from official Navy Micro-film; Official War Diaries; personal reports of action and events; description of your camp life and pictures of combat, daily life and events.

Please send any information, details of events you took part in or witnessed, diaries you kept, incidents you think should be included, to me: Louise Thoman immediately.

Our next Tale Spins, 1 July 1998, will include order information. Orders will have to be prepaid to cover printing and mailing costs. This is your-squadron, your-history, your legacy to your families, a time of great importance in the evolution of freedom in the world.

Dues:

This is your last chance to pay your dues before your name is removed from the mailing lists for receiving rosters, reunion information and THE NEW TALE SPINS. $15.00 covering the two years between each reunion. Send to the Thomans immediately as all funds are being turned over to Bob Dimmitt as the next reunion host.

Friendship - What would we do without it!

Sincerely,
Louise Thoman, Editor