This Just In! Discovery of a 1943 Mohawk!

All the hoopla about Ardipithecus ramidus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardipithecus), the newest fossil find of what is purported to be one of our most ancient relatives, has overshadowed the much more recent discovery of video of a 1943 Mohawk. Yes, that’s right! A 1943 Mohawk, complete with a crew!

The video was discovered during a recent trip to a small town in middle Tennessee. The archeologists who located this historic record were in the Volunteer State to meet with their former Army aviation comrades, something they do annually. We owe a debt of gratitude to Steve Sachs for being willing to reveal to the world that he is in possession of the only flyable 1943 Mohawk. Click on the movie below and enjoy the ride!

(Editor’s note: Alex Berkeley and I certainly did!)

Historic Lynchburg, Tennessee

Our alarms went off in Nashville before the sun came up on Thursday, and at about 8:30am Mohawkers piled out of bed and, still blurry-eyed, climbed aboard 2 buses to head for historic Lynchburg and a wonderful day touring the Jack Daniels Distillery, the oldest registered distillery in the US.

We began with an authentic boarding house great lunch of fried chicken, meat loaf, fried okra, beans, and broccoli and cheese casserole at Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House (built in 1820 and just recently restored), we went on a self-guided walking tour of Lynchburg Square, and the walked the short distance to Jack’s. We were not permitted in any of the buildings except Jack’s original office, because of the alcohol fumes that are flammable, and a spark cannot be risked. We were shown how charcoal is made and ground to the proper size to filter the alcohol through. There was a great video on the hand-crafting of the barrels in which the new alcohol is stored until the right moment when the flavor and color of the sugar maple barrel staves has created the whiskey we buy.

It was a very interesting and educational tour. The only 225th Mohawkers on the tour were Alex Berkeley and me, who were doing research to make a full report to Joe Beckham. We then loaded the buses again for a short trip to Barbecue Hill, part of the distillery’s operation, for a great dinner of pork, chicken, coleslaw beans and hush puppies. (The consolidated city-county government of Lynchburg the only “dry” county in the US, so no liquor is sold at the distillery, except for a commemorative bottle. But the Association saved the day by bringing Jack that was purchased outside the county, and it was served to us at the barbecue.) Around 6:30pm we headed back to Nashville for an evening of socializing with more friends who had arrived that during the day.

I’ll try to tell you who all is here now, but as you know, my memory isn’t as good as it used to be…. The list is in no particular order, just how my brain is recalling them. Ernie Serna, Joe Backham, Joe Floyd, Jerry Murphy, Ernie Marsh, Don Bernstein, Bill Page and Alex Berkeley.

19th Annual OV-1 Mohawk Association Reunion!

I'm home now after four great days this past weekend in Portland, Oregon, at the 19th Annual Reunion of the OV-1 Mohawk Association. I think everyone had a great time renewing old friendships, sharing war stories, bring each other up-to-date on our families, meeting new friends with whom we have that funny looking triple tailed airplane in common, going on a couple of very nice trips (to the Evergreen Air Museum and taking a brunch-time boat trip up the Columbia), perhaps drinking and eating a little too much and generally having a good time with each other.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites Hotel Portland Airport and were treated to a fine breakfast buffet each morning and free beer and wine each evening between 5:30 and 7pm. My guess is that the hotel was surprised when a seemingly endless line of Mohawkers appeared at 5 o'clock waiting for the first draft to be poured!

There was some Association business conducted on Saturday morning, and then it was off to play some more...seeing the sights of Portland and the beautiful surrounding countryside, for some of the ladies it was shopping, or just some more reminiscing with buddies. The banquet on Saturday night featured a wonderful presentation of the Oregon National Guard's 1042nd Aviation Company's role prior to and after the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The 225's own Steve Hammons was one of the pilots who flew many missions around the mountain during that time.

After many of us stayed up late into the night (past our bedtimes!), we all headed home the next day with great new memories of the 19th Reunion, looking forward to 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee. The dates for the 20th Reunion will be announced sometime after the first of the year, so be sure to watch the Mohawker for that info!

Here are some pictures I made to share with you...