Memorial Service for BGen Robin Olds, USAFA, 30 June 2007


JB Stone played a significant role at Robin's Memorial Service. He
delivered one of the eulogies at the USAFA Chapel.

He told of the first time he meet Col. Olds, who as the new Wing Commander
of the 8th TFW, called a meeting of all the pilots. At the time JB had
about 60 or 70 missions North, had an engine shot out from under him and
several bullet holes here and there on some pretty hairy missions.

Robin told the pilots, "I'm your new boss. I'll be flying your wing for a
couple of weeks and at the end of that time, I'll be better than any of you."
JB muttered under his breath, "We'll see."

It came out a little louder than JB intended. Robin heard it and immediately
fixed JB with those steely eyes, and repeated his statement forcefully again.
And JB said : " Robin did exactly as he had said he would. " He was a
warrior who would fearlessly go where others feared to tread.

And JB was later picked to help Robin plan and execute Operation Bolo,
wherein F-4s masqueraded as bomb laden, F-105s to lure Migs to come up and
attack them. Seven Migs went down in flames. The Military Channel has run
the episode several times titled as "Ambush" in the Dogfight series.

Robin's oldest daughter, Susan lead off the remembrances with stories of
being a teenager living at the Academy while Robin was Commandant of Cadets
for 3 years. Robin taught her to drive on the Academy grounds and ride
horses at the equestrian center. It was okay to date more than one cadet at
a time because no one would dare do anything untoward with the Commandant's
daughter.

General Ralph Eberhart was a senior Cadet Wing Commander when Robin took
over. He told the famous incident of Robin's first meeting with the Cadet
Corps. Robin had been directed to lose the handlebar mustache - his
trademark as leader of the "Wolfpack."

On a given signal at the end of Robin's speech, 4000 cadets whipped out and
donned black-paper handlebar mustaches and began stomping and shouting,
Olds, Olds, OLDS !!! Robin rose to his full height, jaws clenched eyes
blazing - then extended his long middle finger and flipped them all a big
sweeping bird - with a huge grin on his face.

BGen Bob "Earthquake" Titus spoke of how Robin transformed the 8th Wing into
the ' Wolfpack.' Where the : "Go get them, men" from the previous leadership was replaced by "FOLLOW ME !"
Deadwood were sent home, and tactics changed. Base services were available
24/7 to the men he was sending into combat 24/7. No more shutting off the
hot water at midnight, or closing the bar.

He told of a pilot, I believe named Conway, who while gleefully celebrating
a successful mission proceed to rearrange or destroy some of the O'Club
furnishings. He was ordered to report to Col. Olds office at 0800 hours.
He was there promptly. Robin however was dreading the chewing out he was
going to have to administer for something he himself had been guilty of many
times. He braced himself, put on his sternest visage and entered his office
at 0815 to find Conway standing at attention.

Conway saluted smartly and said, "Sir, you're late." That cracked Robin up.
The damage to the Club got paid somehow and another tale was added to the
lore of Robin Olds.

Capt Jack McEncroe, USMC told of his close friendship with Robin living near
in Steamboat Springs. 30 years of watching Robin's God-Awful backswing on
the golf course, 30 years of skiing through the trees in fresh powder up to
their knees, 30 years of listening to Robin telling the Cross-Eyed Bull
story.

Verne Lundquist, Hall of Fame Sportscaster tried to demonstrate Robin's
backswing, which featured a couple of contorted pauses on the way up, then a
mighty downswing. On one occasion the ball carried to the green, bounced a
couple of times and went into the cup.

"You just got a hole in one! It went into the cup!", shouted Verne.

"Well, that's the point isn't it.", said Robin.

When Robin was selected for induction into the College football Hall of Fame
as an All American on offense and defense at West Point, he asked Verne, "Is
this a big deal? Do I have to go?" Verne told him Yes, and he went and
made a gracious acceptance speech.

On another occasion he and Robin were being harassed by some obnoxious guy
who wanted to pick a fight with Robin. Robin stood up, squared his
shoulders and said, "I've killed more people than you will ever know, for
less reason than you are giving me right now! Now sit down and SHUT UP !

Verne told of another experience with Robin. They were touring Germany and
stopped at a tavern where there were some pictures of Luftwaffe aircraft on
the wall. When they asked the proprietor about them he said he had been a pilot,
but had been shot down. He and Robin started comparing notes on location,

time of day cloud formation, tactics, etc., and after several drinks they were
convinced that indeed, it was Robin who had shot him down.

A few months later, Verne and Robin were watching some of Robin's gun
Camera film being shown on TV and Robin suddenly exclaimed, "That's the GUY !"

As Verne said, "If it's not true, it should be."

When Robin's health started failing last February, his daughter Chris quit
her job and moved to Steamboat to take care of her Dad. She took Robin on
long drives through the mountains with a picnic lunch to share at some
scenic spot.

Robin's grand-daughter Jennifer told of her grandfather helping her as a
young child, to set out a bowl of salad to feed Santa's reindeer. Sure
enough, the next morning the salad was gone and reindeer tracks were in the
snow all over the porch. A long time later, she came across some wooden
reindeer feet that Robin had carved to make those tracks.

Christina said that it was only in his last week or so that Robin started to
get really tired. He still would tell those who called that he was just
fine, just getting old. She was with him when he drifted off to sleep
peacefully and after a few minutes, drew his last breath.

Chris orchestrated every detail of the funeral service, the flyby, the
graveside service, of course with help from Robin's friends and splendid
cooperation and coordination from the Academy Staff and the hotel where the
reception and following Fighter Pilot Wake was held.

The flyby consisted of aircraft in trail at 30 second intervals. First a
T-33, second another T-33, third a P-51 Mustang, fourth a Mig 17, fifth a
flight of four F-16 from the CO ANG, and sixth a flight of four F-4's.

The F-4's, one from Tyndall and three from Holloman, are actually drones to
be used in weapons testing. But for this occasion, they were flown by
pilots and led by LtCol "ET" Murphy of Tyndall. "ET" is also a member of
our "Aspenosium" group of active duty and retired fighter pilots who get
together for skiing, partying and presentations by those involved in fighter
development, weapons, and tactics.

The Missing Man formation was slightly modified for this special event. As
the F-4's approached the cemetery in wingtip formation, "ET" was flying Lead
as WOLF ONE [ Robin's Call Sign ] and initiated a sharp pull-up out of
formation so WOLF ONE was heading straight up . . flew vertically into a
pin point. It was spectacular and precisely executed, directly over Robin's gravesite.

One final note reinforces the fact that Christina is without a doubt her
father's daughter.

It involved the presentation of the flag to Robin's survivors : Susan, Chris
and Jennifer.

The 1st flag was presented to the eldest, Susan. The 2nd to Jennifer, the
youngest. The 3rd was destined for Chris. But she chose to direct her flag
to be presented to Robin's comrade-in-arms. Col. J.B. Stone. This unselfish
and completely unexpected act, deeply touched JB and all of us who
understood the bond between these two men.

The kind of thing Robin would've done.

Dale Boggie

Colonel I stood beside an F4 yesterday at Duxford , England. What an impressive aeroplane , especially as it was parked beside a MIG too. I rekon the fly-by must have brought tears to many eyes as I watched a similar flyby this weekend for a British Fighter pilot. (Spitfires and and Hellcats)
In the Eulogy at Duxford , over the public announcement facility it was told that the English county police force "pulled" up this particular pilot in his Porsche car and said "excuse me Sir did you know you that you were driving at 85mph ?"
to which the famous pilot (80 odd yrs old) stated : "well I hope so, my cruise control was set at 85 ! "

Thing is , as I realised as I heard the story .... you pilots need life in the "fast lane" nothing else will do, your stories and reminicences are particularly specific to your way of life. In a way you are all laws unto yourselves because you lived at such breakneck speeds and developments.
Then again you can slow down enough to carve Reindeer feet !

My respects to Bgen Olds, J the C.

Gary.

ps Colonel, I also stood under a Strato-fortress bomber. from 1956 - 1972 they had dropped 3 million tons of munitions !
I could hardly comprehend this bombing rate. What a machine , what wing span ! my sons have marvelled at its size ever since.

Colonel, thanks for that story. Truly the world is a poorer place without him.

Colonel, what an original! I've heard some of the stories, but some are new -- like the cadets with the faux moustaches story. That's one for the ages.

As is General Olds. My respects, sir.

Hello again, Gary,

The F-4 is indeed an impressive machine, appearing in segmented parts that go every which way: dihedral, anhedral, leading edge flaps, trailing edge flaps, a big air intake on each side ... as big as a British Railways engine. Not much finesse, but next to any Mig, it dwarfs its adversary.

Ah, Duxford! When the 20th Fighter Wing took occupancy of RAF Station Wethersfield, Duxford was a RAF training base for the Mk IX Meteor. Wethersfield was about half-way between Duxford and North Weald, where they had 2 of 3 squadrons of Vampires. Flying regulations were a little looser in 1952, so in due order there was soon a standing invitation to both North Weald and Duxford to meet our F-84's at 20,000 feet over Colchester. The rat races almost always went all the way down to the deck and, unfortunately, through the landing circuit at Duxford. Our Wing Commander got a rocket from the WingCo at Duxford demanding we immediately cease and desist such unruly games. About a year later we complied, switching to battles with the USAF 81st Fighter Wing at RAF Bentwaters, aka "Cripple Creek."

Our First Born entered dual citizenship in the USAF Wimpole Park hospital, just NW of Cambridge and Duxford. And for a short time (8 months) we lived in Clacton-On-Sea, driving the 40 or so miles daily to Wethersfield. At Clacton-On-Sea my bride and I often walked past the site of the first Luftwaffe bomber shot down over England in WWII, a Heinkel 111-K

We loved John Sargent's "Haywain" country with its rolling fields of golden grain, and I was fortunate enough to be invited by Sir Aubrey Essen-Scott and Count Joseph Scaviccio to join an eight gun formal shoot near Braintree. Colonel Sir Stewart Malinson annually invited all the fighter pilots from Wethersfield to a marvelous shoot on his estate in Lincolnshire, so we eventually got used to a glass of sherry before the shoot and watercress and cucumber sandwiches at mid-point during the shoot. Delightful old traditions, albeit a bit strange to Yanks.

British fighter pilots, "the few," probably get more respect and adoration from their public than those of any other country, including Germany. They certainly earned it. I assume the English county police let him off with naught but a warning.
(No, wait, I think Israeli fighter pilots have moved ahead and are leading the popularity race now) Would you mind telling me who the deceased fighter pilot was? I might have known him. I had joined the East Anglia Motor Club and either drove or navigated in many Rallyes and enjoyed several Dining In nights with our RAF counterparts.

Yes, most of us - those who survive in retirement - do sort of continue to haunt the fast lane. We were trained for and love high performance in both aircraft and automobiles, and most continue to fly until the FAA finally grounds them because of failing hearing, eyesight, heart, or all three at once. All that is left is a Porche, 300ZX, Aston-Martin or Chevy Corvette easing on down the highway with the cruise control set well above the speed limit. We do that so we can slow down enough to carve Reindeer feet or write poetry over in the slow lane.

The B-52, "The Great Aluminum Overcast," does command ones awe and attention. Amazing, that the BUF has been on duty since 1952 and will probably stand watch another 30 years.

"I'll tell you, son, when your Great-grandfather checked out in the B-52 he scratched his name across the back of the throttle quadrant. Get your son to move his butt over, move away from throttles and you can see it, right THERE."

Y.o.s.,

LongJohn

Dear one I am sorry for your loss.
Hugs & such
Snookums 2

J the C, the famous Spit pilot was Alex Henshaw also known as a test pilot for Vickers.

Famously he broke the solo flight record to Cape town and back (which still stands)
12,754 miles in 4 days 10 and a 1/4 hrs. in a Mew Gull.

he passed in Feb 2007 at 93 yrs old.

Wow, what a life he led! You can always tell how "rich" a man was by those left behind whose lives he positively touched. General Olds left some big boots to be filled in this world.