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AT
THE HANGAR DANCE
Photos
courtesy Diane McDaniel
The troops came out in uniform for the hangar dance. Below
as the sun begins to set, the dance floor begins to fill and
the Biig Band sounds echo across the Fairfield County
Airport..... AHHHHH...those were the days!
NEW
MEETING TIMES
Membership
meetings will be held on the 2nd Saturday at 2:00 pm at the
hangar. Open Board meetings are to follow the membership
meetings or will be scheduled as circumstances require them
for actions.
THE
STORY OF THE PICTURE-from 19 to 91
by
Fred Kaiser
HAS member
Photo by a
military photographer
This
is a story about a photograph and how it affected the lives
of many people over the period of many years. It was taken
on December 28, 1942 at the Army Air Force Base at Long
Beach, CA. It is a picture of the famous comedian, Bob Hope,
and his troupe of USO entertainers.
I
was a 19 year old Private the time and had just transferred
to Long Beach from the AAF Radio School at Sioux Falls, SD.
As was often the case, Bob and the other entertainers ate
dinner in the enlisted men’s mess hall with all the
soldiers. When they arrived at the mess hall for dinner that
day, they proceeded to go through the mess line with their
trays, just like the soldiers. They proceeded to go through
the mess line with their trays. Bob was accompanied by his
vocalist, actress Francis Langford, comedian Jerry Colonna,
actress Vera Vague and singer, Skinnay Ennis. It was one of
the first USO shows that Bob and his troupe put on to
entertain the troops. Francis Langford was the pretty girl
that Bob referred to when he introduced her at the start of
each show as “This is what you are fighting for, Men!”
First
in line in the picture are two soldiers, followed by Bob,
Brancis, Jerry, Bera and Skinnay Ennis. As can be seen, the
first soldier is looking down at the second soldier’s tray
and is smiling. The second soldier in the line is looking at
the cook and is not aware of the fact that Bob, next in
line, is sneaking his fork unde4r his arm and is reaching
for the food that is on the second soldiers tray. Francis
Langford, next in line, sees what Bob is doing and is
smiling, but she is not aware of the fact that Jerry
Colonna, next to her, is doing the same thing, stealing some
of her food!
Almost
fifty years later, I discovered this picture among my “War
Momentos” that I had saved for all those years in a big
cardboard box. At by Fred Kaiser HAS member Photo by a
military photographer the time, I was in the process of
writing a book about my experiences during WWII. When I
noted the date on the picture I included the picture in the
book and stated “that I had dinner with Bob Hope and
Francis Langford.” The book, “A Teenager’s View of
World War II”, was published in 2003.
That
would have been the end of the story except for the fact
that, in 2003, I was flying from Columbus to Florida on
SouthWest Airlines and, during the course of a conversation
with one of the stewards, Beorge Waschbush, he asked me if I
had been in WWII (probably because I looked so old!) When I
told him that I was, he asked if I had ever seen Francis
Langford. It seems that his mother was a big fan of Francis’s
and they had recently visited her yacht at Jensen Beach,
Florida. Francis Langford did own a restaurant there and is
still very active at the age of 91. When I told him about my
“dinner experience” and her and the picture in my book,
he said he knew that she would appreciate seeing it. Later,
he sent me her address and I sent her a copy of my book. She
responded immediately, saying how much it reminded her of
her USO days, saying “Time does fly by. it seems like only
yesterday that we were all together for that picture:. The
airline steward had told me that she coul not see very well,
so I sent her an 8X10 inch blow-up of the picture. She
responded again, saying “how much they all enjoyed the
picture and that she would keep it in her personal
collection to enjoy again and again”. I was, personally,
so pleased that I was able to bring some happiness to a
person who did so much for her country.
That,
again, would have been the end of the story except that,
several weeks later, I received a telephone call from one of
our friends in Florida who said that Francis Langford’s
Life Story (she was a native Floridian) was in the June 13,
2004 issue of the Tampa Tribune. It was a major 3 page,
article and contained, guess what, a copy of “the picture.”
Not only did this bring me great pleasure but thousands of
Florida citizens must have gotten a chuckle from seeing the
sixty year-old picture.
So,
the story that started when I was 19 years old, has probably
ended with Francis Langford at age 91.
But,
who knows, Bob Hope’s humor will last forever.
Fred
Kaiser is a member of HAS and is the sponsor of this issue
of the INVADER. He lives in Powell, Ohio
PS:
Francis Langford really needs some of Bob’s humor now.
Both her namesake, Hurricane Francis, and Hurricane Jeanne
made landfall where she lives at Stuart, FL in September.
MEMBER OF THE YEAR
President Ridgway presents award to Barbara
B.DeLay
photo
Congratulations
to Barbara Seymour, Member of the Year 2004 Barbara has
brought a new level to the meaning of the word volunteer. She
has used her skills as a volunteer recruiter and organizer to
increase our effectiveness and success. There have been no
limits to what she does for HAS. She is an inspiration to all
of us. Thanks Barbara !!
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