Motivation Monday: I'm an #FGS2014 Ambassador!

I was excited to learn last week that I have been honored to be named an Ambassador for the FGS (Federation of Genealogical Societies)' 2014 annual conference, to be held August 27-30 in San Antonio, Texas!

As an Ambassador, I will be helping "to spread information about the FGS 2014 Conference in San Antonio, Texas, August 27-30, through social media to their friends, colleagues, and everyone interested in genealogy."

I'm not even sure yet if I will be able to attend more than Saturday, August 30 (but I'll definitely be there then!).  I am the Coordinator for Archives and Special Services at the Dick Smith Library at Tarleton State University in Texas, and while "Special Services" does include our genealogy and local history collection, it also includes our "Curriculum Collection," which includes children's and young adult literature, teacher resources, and a collection of K-12 state-adopted textbooks, all of which are used by students studying to be educators in our teacher training programs.  Unlucky for me, as far as FGS is concerned, is that it falls during the first week of the fall semester. :(

I did apply to be one of the exhibit hall presenters.  My university is very supportive of faculty and staff making presentations, so if I am chosen that may earn me another day (Friday) at the conference.

I was fortunate enough to spend a summer living and working (as a park ranger at Mission San Jose) in San Antonio, and one of the things I will be doing over the next few weeks is sharing some information about the city, particularly some of the attractions that I think might be of the most interest to genealogists.  I have a number of old photos from my summer there, as well as earlier family visits (including ones by my mother with her parents and siblings), and I'll be building some of my posts around those photos.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Happy Birthday to My Son Eric!

 Eric and me, summer 1986.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Military Memories - Dad in the Service, 1951-1955

Well, this picture isn't especially flattering (maybe it was taken just after he completed advanced survival training in the Nevada desert), but it was on Dad's WD AGO Form 66 (Officer's, Warrant Officer's, and Flight Officer's Qualification Record) from the Air Force. He gave me the original form to copy as well as some of his orders and leave papers.  Some were hard to read, because of all the abbreviations and acronyms, but here is a rough timeline of his key dates in the Air Force:

February 27, 1951 - preflight (air cadet) training at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
March 31, 1951 - flight school at Columbus Air Force Base, Columbus, Mississippi
July 12-27, 1951 - 15 days of leave, home to 2093 Lunt Avenue in Chicago
August 12, 1951 - navigator training in Class 52-05N at Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas (30 weeks worth)
December 1951 - granted Christmas leave, flies into O'Hare Reserve Station when all other Chicago airports are closed by snow
April 11, 1952 - commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at completion of navigator training and begins three years of active duty.
late April & early May, 1952 - visits home in Chicago en route to next assignment
May 14, 1952 - B-26 bombardment training, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia
July 11, 1952 - assigned to Night Intruder Crew #12 as navigator-bombardier with pilot Milton C. Royles and gunner William R. Peppers.
August 4, 1952 - crew sent to Stead Air Force Base near Reno, Nevada, for advanced survival training course (completed August 14), followed by Camp Stoneman near Pittsburg, California
early September, 1952 - meets with his brother Navy Lieutenant Commander Paul Robert "Bob" Pape, who is en route from Korea to the Pentagon, in San Francisco at the home of their mother's first cousin, Henrietta Gauer Strible and her husband Jack.
September 18, 1952 - sent to McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento, California, to ferry a B-26 to Japan with Royles (via Hawaii and Guam).
October 9, 1952 - arrival at Tachikawa Airfield near Tokyo and assigned (along with Milt Royles) to the 17th Bomb Group (aka 17th Bomb Wing), 37th Bomb Squadron, and sent to K-1, the Pusan West Air Base, in Korea
sometime in late 1952 and/or early 1953 - flies 50th mission and receives Air Medal
March 3, 1953 - assigned to 3605th Observer (navigator) Training Wing at Ellington Air Force Base near Houston, Texas (thanks to Uncle Bob), as an instructor; flown to Itazuke Air Base in Fukuoka, Japan
March 7, 1953 - arrives at Travis Air Force Base, near Fairfield, California, and from there begins leave at home in Chicago until reporting to his next assignment
April 14, 1953 - reports at Ellington Air Force Base
September 12, 1953 - promoted to First Lieutenant
December 21, 1953 - 10 days of leave granted, flies home to Chicago with his fiancee, my mom
September 10, 1954 - 15 days of leave granted (for wedding and honeymoon!)
April 10, 1955 - released from active duty

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Wordless Wednesday: Dietz Kids, ABT 1959

Ron, Shelly, and Ruth

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday Military Memories: Army Sergeant Major Tyson C. Nick, 1969-2012

Sergeant Major (Retired) Tyson Caley Nick, my second cousin once removed, was born in Houston, Texas, on January 7, 1969. Enlisting as an infantryman, he entered the United States Army on July 12, 1988. He attended One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon completion, he was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, stationed at Hunter Army Airfield where he served as a Rifleman, Rifle Team Leader, and Anti-Tank Section Leader.

In October 1993, he was assigned to the Headquarters Company, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia, where he served as Senior Reconnaissance Leader, Assistant TECON Team Sergeant, and Team leader. On May 26, 1998, he was assigned to the United States Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served as Operator Team Member, Assistant Team Sergeant, Team Sergeant, Troop Sergeant Major, Squadron Operations Sergeant Major, and Special Activities Troop Sergeant Major. Sergeant Major Nick retired from the U.S. Army on August 31, 2012.

Sergeant Major Nick deployed to Panama in support of Operation Just Cause, to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iris Gold, to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and to Iraq in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.

Sergeant Major Nick completed the following military courses: Basic Airborne School, Ranger Indoctrination Program, Fire Direction Center Course Indirect Fire Infantryman Course, Scout Swimmer Course, Ranger School, Special Forces Underwater Operations Course, Combat Diver Course, Jumpmaster Course, Special Forces Combat Diver Supervisor Course, Military Freefall and Jumpmaster Course, Air Transportation of Hazardous Materials Course, Naval Gunfire Course, Advanced Land Navigation Course, DoD High Risk Survival Course, Operator Training Course, Advanced Handgun Course, Off-Road Driving Course, Special Operations Targeting Course, Combat Tracking Course, Warrior Leader Course Advanced Leader Course, Senior Leader Course, and the Sergeants Major Academy.

Sergeant Major Nick's military awards and decorations include the following: Bronze Star Medal with Valor and one Silver Oak Leaf and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Service Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with Valor and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal 7th Award, National Defense Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, Iraqi Campaign Medal with one Silver Service Star and one Bronze Service Star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, Humanitarian Service Medal,  Officer Professional Development Ribbon with Numeral 4, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Saudi Arabia and Kuwaiti Liberation Medals, Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Superior Unit Award, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge with Bronze Service Star, Master Parachutist Badge with Bronze Service Star, Special Operations Diver Badge, and seven Overseas Service Bars.

Sergeant Major (Retired) Tyson C. Nick was killed in action while repelling an enemy attack in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on December 5, 2012, as a private military contractor. He fell while attempting to save a downed soldier.  He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, and his mother, who is my second cousin on the Guokas line, the granddaughter of Eva Louise Guokas Scott.

He was laid to rest with full military honors in section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on February 20, 2013.  The photo above came from an awesome mapping tool at the cemetery website.

Biographical sources:  http://www.usmountainranger.org/memorial/2013/TNick.html and https://www.ar-15.co/threads/81227-RIP-Seargant-Major-Nick.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Memories Monday: Memorial Day

Since World War II, 202 United States Air Force and Army Air Forces weather personnel and weather reconnaissance air crew have lost their lives serving in our nation's wars.  An additional 145 weather reconnaissance air crew have perished serving our nation during peacetime.  This 13-minute Memorial Day tribute video is in their honor:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/oum85js5ayfartq/Memorial%20Day%20Tribute.m4v

The video is a product of the project I was part of about six months ago, helping to locate a photograph of one of these gentlemen, Corporal Earl Emerson Jackson (1905-1943) of Athens and Dallas, Texas, as an adult.  The project was spearheaded by Chief Master Sergeant Craig M. Kirwin, Enlisted Functional Manager of the Weather Operations Division, Directorate of Operations, Headquarters Air Combat Command, United States Air Force.  He was kind enough to send me a link to the video.

I urge you to watch the whole video.  It made me cry, seeing the faces of so many young men who died too early.  It also inspired me to try to do some more research to find photos for some of those in the video for whom there aren't pictures.  

Here's a snip from the 3:27 mark in the video showing the photo I found of Earl Jackson:

I posted the story of my search for this photo in this blog about six months ago, followed the next day with Earl Jackson's life story.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Military Memories - Remembering for Memorial Day

I took a two-part story I wrote about six months ago for this blog, on Corporal Earl Emerson Jackson (1905-1943), an Army Air Forces weatherman who lost his life during World War II, and turned it into an article for Jackson's hometown newspaper, the Athens Daily Review, here in Texas.  It was published yesterday - on the front page of the first section!

Here is a link to the story:  http://www.athensreview.com/local/x611382745/Remembering-a-WWII-hero.  Thanks to editor Chad Wilson for publishing my piece!

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Fred Pape's Air Medal, ABT 1953 - Military Memories

My dad, Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Fred Pape. received the Air Medal for his service in Korea.

Here is some information about the Air Medal from the Air Force web site:

The Air Medal was established by Executive Order 9158 on May 11, 1942 and amended by Executive Order 9242 on Sept. 11, 1942.

Criteria
It is awarded to U.S. military and civilian personnel for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievements while participating in aerial flight ... Required achievement is less than that required for the Distinguished Flying Cross, but must be accomplished with distinction above and beyond that expected of professional airmen.  It is not awarded for peace time sustained operational activities and flights. ... 

Air Medal. Illustrated by Virginia Reyes of the Air Force News Agency.

This decoration is the same for all branches of the armed forces of the United States. The medal was designed by Walker K. Hancock, after an open competition, which also carried a cash award of $1,500 for the winning design. 

Medal Description
The medal is a bronze compass rose of sixteen points with a fleur-de-lis design on the top point. On the obverse, in the center, is an eagle, swooping downward (attacking) and clutching a lightning bolt in each talon. The reverse has a raised disk on the compass rose, left blank for the recipient's name and rank. 

Ribbon Description
The ribbon has a broad stripe of ultramarine blue in the center flanked on either side by a wide stripe of golden orange, and with a narrow stripe of ultramarine blue at the edge, the original colors of the Army Air Corps.

You'll note that Dad's wings are very shiny.  He told me that after his commissioning as an officer at Ellington Air Force Base in April 1952, he got his brass insignia chrome-plated in Houston for about $3-4, so he would never have to polish them again.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Wordless Wednesday: Bob & Lorrie Pape Family, ABT 1974

Clockwise from left:  Delores "Lorrie" Olker Pape (1929-2005), Paul Robert "Bob" Pape (1926-2008), with daughters Donna, Terrie, Bobbie, and Judy.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Memories Monday: Fred Pape's 50th Mission, Korea, ABT 1953

Navigator-bombardier First Lieutenant Fred Pape and pilot Captain Milton Royles on Fred's 50th mission in Korea, probably in early 1953.  Dad said he didn't do all 50 missions with Milt; sometimes he was out with other crews.  He said his first three rides as a navigator were "dollar rides."  The first time, he just observed another navigator.  The second time, he did the navigating, but under direct supervision of a trained navigator.  The third time, he once again did the navigating, and a trained navigator was on board, but not directly supervising him.  After that, Dad was on his own.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.