Welcome to the Internet Headquarters of the Warbirds LHG!

2010 SCHEDULE Sat, July 24 Set-up Day Sun, July 25 Set-up Day 18:00 hours - Free Volunteer's Picnic Nature Center Mon, July 26 EAA AirVenture 08:00 - Colors Camp is open to public 10:00 - Warbirds in Review T-33 with Roy Ihde 12:00 - Warbirds in Review OV-1 Mohawk and O2 13:00 - Ed Shames and Fred Bahlau Meet & Greet (506 PIR) LHG Area 14:00 - Veterans' Monument Dedication 17:00 - Retrieve Colors 18:30 hours - Free USSIC Picnic Warbird Food Pavillion Tue, July 27 EAA AirVenture 08:00 - Colors 10:00 - Warbirds in Review P-51s with Bud Anderson & Jack Roush 13:00 - Warbirds in Review C-47 Tico Belle With D-Day Paratroops Ed Shames & Fred Bahlau 17:00 - Retrieve Colors 18:30 - Pizza Night @20:30 hours - Free MOVIE NIGHT "Battle Of Britain" Living History Area Wed, July 28 EAA AirVenture 08:00 - Colors 10:00 - Warbirds in Review P-51 With Christina Olds 13:00 - Warbirds in Review B-17 17:00 - Retrieve Colors 20:30 - 'Salute to Veterans' Theater in the Woods Thu, July 29 EAA AirVenture 07:00 - Honor Flight Send-Off AeroShell Square 08:00 - Colors 10:00 - Warbirds in Review P-51s with the Patillo Twins 13:00 - Warbirds in Review P-51 Lil Margaret with Clyde East 17:00 - Retrieve Colors 17:30 - Honor Flight Return Ceremony AeroShell Square 18:00 - DAV Picnic Warbirds Picnic Pavilion Fri, July 30 EAA AirVenture 08:00 - Colors 10:00 - Warbirds in Review F-86 & Bob Hoover 13:00 - Warbirds in Review T-28& Joe Engle 13:00 - Veterans' Parade Formation 16:00 - Warbird Airshow 17:00 - Retrieve Colors 19:00 - Convoy Formation for Lt. Dan Band Participants Sat, July 31 EAA AirVenture 08:00 - Colors 10:00 - Warbirds in Review FG1D Corsair 13:00 - Warbirds in Review AD-1 Skyraider 15:00 - Warbird Airshow 17:00 - Retrieve Colors 18:00 hours - Free to Approved Volunteers Warbird Awards Banquet Eagle Hangar $35 for non-volunteers Sun, August 1 EAA AirVenture 08:00 - Colors 08:30 - Worship Service 10:00 - Warbirds in Review WASP & Stearman 13:00 - Warbirds in Review FW190 & Zero Begin to strike camp 17:00 - Retrieve Colors 18:00 - Volunteer "Wind-Down" Party @ Nature Center Mon, August 2 Strike remaining camp structures.

The Warbirds Living History Group is made up of historians from all over North America who come together for one week every year at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. As an interpretive resource of Warbirds of America, the group assembles a World War Two airfield display and provides authentically uniformed and equipped personnel for Warbird photo layouts, forums and presentations.

We hope this website will allow a permanent point of contact with Warbirds LHG, and will help to describe what we do, how we do it, and why. We are always interested in hearing from anyone who would like to participate in the program, or any aircraft owners who would like to reserve time during the next AirVenture for a photo session with their Warbirds.

WARBIRDS LHG NEWS

19 July, 2010
FaceBook Page
We now have a thriving presence on FaceBook. Drop in and post your favorite pics to our photo section at www.FaceBook.com/warbirdslhg!
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1 July, 2010
Detailed Schedule
As our integration with the Warbirds community becomes more vital, more demands will be made on our time at AirVenture 2010, and as a result we will need to rise to a new level of efficiency in order to fulfill all of our mission assignments this year!
A tentative schedule follows - alterations may be necessary in order to acommodate the number of personnel needed for various commitments.

SUNDAY
18:00 - Nature Center Picnic

MONDAY
08:00 - Post Colors
10:00 - Warbirds In Review - T-33 with Roy Ihde
12:00 - Warbirds In Review - OV-1 Mohawk & O2
13:00 - WW2 vets, Ed Shames and Fred Bahlau visit LHG camp. 101st AB, 506 PIR (Meet & Greet)
14:00 - NEW VETERANS MONUMENT - LHG color guard to raise 5 service flags, 1 pow/mia flag, 1 US flag.
17:00 - Retrieve Colors
18:30 - USSIC Burger night – Warbirds Picnic Pavilion

TUESDAY
08:00 - Post Colors
10:00 - Warbirds In Review - P-51s with Bud Anderson and Jack Roush
13:00 - Warbirds In Review - C-47 Tico Belle with D-Day Paratroopers Ed Shames and Fred Bahlau
17:00 - Retrieve Colors
18:30 - Pizza Night – See Mary Weed for info.
20:30ish - LHG Movie Night 'Battle of Britain' - start at dusk

WEDNESDAY
08:00 - Post Colors
10:00 - Warbirds In Review - P-51 Buzzin' Cuzzin with Christina Olds
13:00 - Warbirds In Review - Lone Star Flight Museum's B-17
17:00 - Retrieve Colors
20:30 - Theater In The Woods – David Hartman hosts “Salute To Veterans” Program. LHG personnel to act as color guard – one for each branch of service, one pow/mia flag bearer, and one US flag bearer. March in with flags, set in stations, be seated for program, retrieve colors at end.

THURSDAY
07:00 - AeroShell Square - Set up for send off ceremony for WW-II veterans, OSH – DCA. Flight departs at 08:00. Jonathan Hardwick from Warbirds Squadron 18 will be the coordinator. Anticipate 20 LHG personnel needed. (more would be welcome, if available) Details to follow.
08:00 - Post Colors
10:00 - Warbirds In Review - Buck & Bill Patillo with 2 P-51s, Sweet & Lovely and Little Rebel, and USAF Thunderbird No. 7
13:00 - Warbirds In Review - Clyde East with the P-51 "Lil Margaret"
17:00 - Retrieve Colors
17:30 - AeroShell Square - Set up for return greeting of WW-II veterans. Flight arrives at 18:08. Anticipate 20 LHG personnel needed (more would be welcome, if available) (20 minutes for ceremony & return for DAV picnic) Details to follow.
18:00 - Warbirds Picnic Pavilion – DAV Picnic

FRIDAY
08:00 - Post Colors
10:00 - Warbirds In Review - Bob Hoover with the Vintage Wings of Canada F-86
13:00 - Warbirds In Review - Joe Engle with the North American T-28
13:00 - South end of Scotts Warbird Alley, next to taxiway Papa. Help the veterans form up for the Veteran’s Parade. Need all available military vehicles/drivers to transport disabled veterans. Need 5 LHG personnel to give direction for where to form up for parade, one per branch of service. Signs and flags will be provided to aid in this effort. Veterans will be lined up along taxiway Papa in this order: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy. CAP cadets will be flag bearers and lead each branch of service along the parade route. Military vehicles will be stationed between each group. Diagram of parade sequence will be prepared and distributed to key personnel.
Timing:
13:30 - veterans start to form up
14:00 - parade starts
14:30 - parade enters AeroShell Square
14:40 - welcome ceremony by EAA, DAV, Etc.
14:50 - Fly-Over.
15:00pm daily air show starts. Military vehicles return to camp to re-group for air show battle scenario. Exact battle times TBD.
17:00 - Retrieve Colors
19:00 - Theater In The Woods - Military Vehicles depart for theater in support of Lt. Dan Band concert. Park vehicles along north edge of theater area. LHG personnel attend in military field dress. Viet Nam era would be good.

SATURDAY
08:00 - Post Colors
10:00 - Warbirds In Review - FG1-D Corsair
13:00 - Warbirds In Review - Douglas AD-1 Skyraider
15:00 - 18:00 - Air show battle participation. Exact times TBD.
17:00 - Retrieve Colors
18:00 - Eagle Hangar Warbirds Banquet

SUNDAY
08:00 - Post Colors
10:00 - Warbirds In Review - WASP with Stearman
13:00 - Warbirds In Review - Focke-Wulf Fw190A-9 and Japanese Nakajima A6M2 Model 21 Zero
17:00 - Retrieve Colors
18:00 - Nature Center Wind-Down Picnic
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18 June, 2010
Oshkosh365.org!
Just a quick note from your webmaster:
I had intended to install a bulletin-type board here for members to use, but there is a much better option available to us now. Oshkosh365.org is a site for all of us who spend one week on the airfield and 51 additional weeks counting the hours until we can return. There are newsfeeds and forums there that are well beyond what I would have the time to include here, so I recommend dropping by there to take a look at what is available. We can increase our visibility by participating in the forums, and I know you will enjoy a greater degree of connectivity with the other members of the LHG! Check it out!!
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15 June, 2010
New Home On The Airfield!!
Our home at Oshkosh (MILLER FIELD, ITALY) will be moving slightly this year. The new location is essentially between the P-51 parking area and the Warbird flightline, and includes almost 1000 square feet more than our previous digs! A new landscaping scheme has totally reconfigured what used to be the 'Food Court' / 'Gift Shop' area, creating a new greenspace which we will now occupy. We will now be directly adjacent to the 'Warbirds In Review' hardstand!!
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14 June, 2010
B-17 75th Anniversary
The actual 75th anniversary of the first test-flight of the Boeing B-17 will fall on Wednesday, July 28, and our Bomber crewmembers will be staging photo operations and 'Warbirds In Review' segments throughout the week!
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10 June, 2010
Gathering of C47s!
In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Douglas DC-3, there will be a gethering of over 50 Dc-3s and it's military cousin the C-47 at AirVenture 2010. Beginning with a mass arrival of 40 C-47s on Monday, July 26, the Warbirds LHG will be providing personnel for various Transport and Airborne Infantry photo shoots.

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25 August, 2008
Mini Documentary
The Appleton Post-Crescent newspaper posted a nice little video piece about our group on its website, which can be viewed HERE.
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24 August, 2008
Commander's Debriefing
Well, another AirVenture has passed and once again the "Living History" airbase was a great success! Thanks for all the hard work performed by the command staff and all participants this year! You are all inspired people with a vast array of talents!

We worked hard while having an enjoyable week honoring the veterans of WWII (and all wars) by bringing our nations history to life - a piece of truly Living History, where people can go back in time and immerse themselves in the life of a soldier in a land far from home. Visitors to our expansive display were able to see, smell and hear history in an exciting format with a chance to photograph - in full color - historic combat aircraft with authentic crew as they may have looked in combat. It provided an opportunity for the old to tell their tales and for the young to look and listen with eager ears. It is an experience not found just anywhere, but can be found in abundance at AirVenture Oshkosh!

We had some folks who could not make this year's event, most notably Greg and Susan Alexander whose friendly smiles were certainly missed. We did have new volunteers this year who added greatly to our airfield impression., and we hope to see you all next year!

Also notably absent this year was the GP large Museum tent. This feature simply became too much for our resident canvas master and long time participant Doug Anderson. Instead, (along with providing two wall tents and a Command tent) he set up a multipurpose GP small that served as a reception area, field kitchen, aid station and even a private wash & lounge 'round back! Thanks Doug!

Also absent were our "Heavies", as Wayne Guise sold off his M4 Sherman, Half Track and Weasel. Wayne and Diane have new plans for their time and we gratefully thank them for the hard work and efforts in years past and wish them all the best. They will, however, continue to be a part of our group!

We did have many new additions to our base this year! Beside Doug's Aid Station, we had much appreciated help from the Oshkosh "Heritage Museum" providing our base with an M-20, a Staff Car, a Quad 50 and a Jeep. Special kudos go to Nick Vukich and Brad Smith for traveling many times to the museum to get the M-20 running and onto the grounds! It was a favorite of the ground support units during the Air-Shows. Also thanks to Tony Terrel for bringing his Command cars for use in the Air-Shows and for display.

We re-tooled our involvement with the "Warbirds in Review" program to be the "Opening Act" at the start of each forum, warming up the awaiting crowd with our presentation of pilots' gear, history and photo opportunities. This was a real hit with the crowds and the WIR organizers! Thanks to Frederick Carsted and Connie Bowlin for their input and innovative drive!

We had two movie nights this year. The first was Tuesday night's presentation of "Catch 22", shown in the Warbirds Briefing Building. Of note was a riveting introduction by Stoney Stonitch, who flew B-25's during the filming, as he provided candid insight on the making of the film! Our usual Friday evening film night was moved because of our involvement with Gary Sinese's "Lt. Dan Band" concert that night. What a surprise when we were given VIP seating for the show! Our second movie night (Memphis Belle) was presented in our camp on Thursday evening and once again was sponsored by WLHG friend and 13th AAF B-25 veteran Joe Miller, who supplied snacks, wine and beer for the event! We had the largest crowd ever in camp and almost everyone stayed until the end!

We plan to honor Joe by naming our air base "Miller Field" at next year's AirVenture. Incidentally, Joe's L-Bird took grand prize in its category this year and we were fortunate to have his bird parked on our Base!

8th AAF B-17 Ball Turret Veteran Doug Ward (another WLHG friend) made a visit to our Base and presented us with a large 8th AAF wall hanging that he painted on actual airplane fabric! We are humbled.

We also recognized fallen Veterans through the week by flying our 48 star colors daily in honored memory of at least one veteran each day. The flag was drawn to half-mast for an Honorary Salute before running the flag up the pole. This was repeated at 1700 when the colors were retrieved each day. Thanks to our Airborne units headed by Gary Fox and Bob Blecke for the troopers with rifles! The following Veterans were honored:

Monday, July 28th - Artie Krenn
Tuesday, July 29th - Robert Scott & Robert S. Hoskins
Wednesday, July 30th - Robin Olds
Thursday, July 31st - Mike Titre, Herschel Green and (WASP) Margaret Ringenberg
Friday, August 1st - David "Tex" Hill, LeRoy Bell & Stan Clever
Saturday, August 2nd - Paul Tibbets, Vincent Boyle & Jay Dustin
Sunday, August 3rd - Fred Christiansen

Although we did not have a full aircrew to pose with the "Heavies" this year, we did do some very successful photo shoots with many aircraft including a number of RCAF shoots with the wonderfully restored Spitfire Mk V, a series with C-47 "Blue Bonnet Belle" which included flight crew shots and an Airborne "stick", and a Navy shoot that included a TBM Avenger and the F6F Wildcat. The owners of P-38 "Ruff Stuff" once again opened up their plane for us, which provided some great pics, and we staged photo shoots with P-51's "Happy Jack's Go Buggy" (a beautiful D model) and Jack Roush's gorgeous Malcom Hood B model "Old Crow." Thanks to these warbird owners for their support and for granting full access to these rare and historic aircraft! Special thanks to Clarence "Bud" Anderson for meeting with us at "Old Crow" and sharing his time. It was a special moment for all of us involved!

There was also a special event photo-op in which we participated on Friday for the "Black and White Airmen" forum beneath the B-17 "Thunderbird" at Show Center. Part of "Warbirds In Review", this was also a huge success and a chance to meet B-17 Pilot Herb Heilbrun and "Tuskegee" Pilot John Leahr! John flew top cover for Herb's B-17 and other 15th Air Force bombers. Some great pictures were shot during this historic moment in our aviation history! Thanks to Joel Brown, Allen Hiserodt, Wes Davis and George Bruckert for their time and impressions! These do not include all the press interviews, photo and video shoots that were conducted on our base!

Once again, we took part in the Warbirds Air Show on Friday and Saturday by parading South down the flight line waving to the masses in our vehicles. We then convoyed North while taking enemy fire, and engaged the (invisible) enemy under the protection of close Air Support and spectacular pyrotechnics! Operations Air-Boss Wayne Boggs has been very pleased with our participation over the last several years and asked us to "Never stop being involved in this crowd pleasing show!" He took the time to recognize us at Saturday's Warbird Briefing and we were treated to the applause of the Warbird Pilots who seem to enjoy sweeping down next to our columns during the show! Once again, we are humbled and honored to be included in this wonderful aviation community!

Our Base included "Officers Row" which included Joel Brown's Tuskegee display, Don Wickland and Tom Bredow's fine display, Beth Wisniewski's WASP tent, Adjutant Rudie Hoskins' operations center and Scott and Christine Cross's tent display (Thanks for sewing on the patch, Christine!). The RCAF boys were on hand in full force providing an awesome bivouac that included their "Red Lion Pub" and Briefing Fly.

We had Robert Blecke's 401st Glider Riders with their displays along with Gary Fox's 509th Paratroopers filling our GP Medium. Nick Vukich and Brad Smith had a great tent display along with Nick's Jeep and Brad's wonderfully restored WWII Dodge Weapons Carrier. Brad's gal and first time attendee, Lisa Welsh provided a wonderful WAAC Nurse impression too! Another first time attendee Constance Rodenbarger did a fine job as our War Correspondent Photographer.

Our Briefing GP Medium tent got an extension fly added to accommodate more people and provide more shade. We had two "Field Kitchen" lunches and a supper provided by Mary Weed from Volunteer Food Services. Thanks Mary! Special thanks go out to Ken Kuik and Jennifer Lamers who picked up, set up and served the meals from Doug's Aid Station area. This is something we may pursue on a more regular basis next year!

Roger Kumferman got the "Most Sweat" award as he was constantly in his full Naval Aviator gear - including seat chute - while he was in camp!

Kudos to Marie Zorniac of the RCAF contingent who made sure everyone drank plenty of water, gave out cookies and chocolate, and even provided care packages from home for our fighting men!

Additional vehicles included Matt Millers '42 Ford Jeep and popular '42 Harley, Greg Wartinger's Jeep and Don Wicklund's Jeep and Trailer. Special thanks from me to Matt, Greg and Nick for graciously providing the use of their vehicles to the command staff!

To all the other folks whom I may have neglected to mention - THANK YOU for making this year a such a success!

My only disappointment is that due to this year's hectic and full schedule, we did not have our group night out to Kodiac Jack's for food, drink and fellowship. There were so many of you with whom I had no chance to catch-up and chat. There is an empty space in my heart - business left undone of you will - due to this omission. We must find the time in 2009, and I am already counting the days!

Sincerely,
Kevin J. Wisniewski
Chairman and CO, Warbirds Living History Group
PS
If anyone would like a disk of the over 700 pictures I took, let me know.
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