Note: This is a letter/email sent to family members by Pal's brother
William Fitts Asbury. Mel Schulstad, whose
letter also appears below, was a life-long friend of Uncle Pal.
Subject: Registering Lester Asbury on the WWII memorial website
Dear All,
Since we're reprising World War Two, I thought you might enjoy
learning where, when and how Mel Schulstad became part of us Asburys.
It happened way back when Mel and my brother Lester (Pal) were learning
how to fly military aircraft. Mel and Lester would go on to play
important roles in winning the war in Europe and being essential parts
of the long Cold War that followed victory in Europe and Japan.
Here is Mel's report on his and Lester's rather intense and elaborate
training to become pilots. Many, if not most, of the trainees never
got their wings due to one or another inadequacy. Mel's and Lester's
training began very soon after the US entered the war, very soon,
therefore, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany's
contemporaneous declaration of war against the United States.
One addition to Mel's good report:
During advance flight training at Stockton, CA, Mel and Lester flew a small,
fabric-covered, twin-engine plane, a Cessna. That training was to prepare
pilots for flying multi-engine aircraft, mostly bombers. Mel went on to fly the
famed B-17 Flying Fortress bombers built by Boeing near Seattle. Lester went
on to fly fighters, the P-47 in France, and the RF-80 reconnaissance jet in
Korea.
Back to Stockton. During a training exercise for formation flying, somehow
one of the propellers of another twin-engine Cessna in formation was
too close to the trainer flown by Lester. The propeller of that neighboring
plane struck the cabin above Lester. It struck close enough to rip off
Lester's leather flight helmet.
The damage to the plane was so severe the aircraft headed for
the ground.
It turned out that the other occupant of Lester's plane, a non-
commissioned person called the crew chief, had lied about his age.
He was only 15, three years too young to be in the Army Air Corps.
That very young man froze. It was clear that if Lester and his
crew chief didn't jump -- they were both wearing parachutes --
they would die in the ensuing crash. Lester was obliged to harness
the teenager to his parachute and then wrestle him out the cabin door.
That delay brought the plane dangerously close to the ground. The
danger lay in the fact that the deployment of the parachute took a
little time, and an unopened parachute assured death.
Most fortuitously both parachutes opened. Though Lester was bleeding,
apparently from when the propeller of the other plane went through
the fuselage and tore parts of his plane loose, the debris then
striking Lester, it was not a serious injury.
At the time (and perhaps even now) there is an informal club called
The Caterpillar Club. The name comes from the fact that in Lester's
and Mel's time parachutes were made of the silk that caterpillars make,
not the synthetic fibres used today. Those who had to jump from crashing
planes were qualified for membership in The Caterpillar Club. I never
saw Lester wear any caterpillar insignia though I guess there is such
a pin and I know, from asking him, that Lester qualified for membership
in the club.
I might never have known about Lester's near fatal air accident
had it not been for hearing it on the radio. I was 17, two years
from joining the US Navy.
I was working on our father's farm between Lancaster and Mojave, CA.
I was driving to Lancaster for supplies of some kind and heard the
report from Stockton which I reported to my parents. I don't recall
Lester's name being used, but we likely telephoned the base knowing
Lester was training there. Lester, like most young men in World War II
who were in accidents, combat related or not, didn't advertise them.
It is worth noting that tens of thousands of airmen, soldiers and sailors
were killed in training and in other accidents related to the war. That is
still true of what is happening among the 140,000 American military men
and women in Iraq.
William Fitts Asbury
And now, here is Mel's account:
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2004 12:56:34 -0800
From: Mel Schulstad
To: Jon Schulstad ,
Bill & Janet Asbury
Cc: Coni Asbury Holland
Subject: Registering Lester Asbury on the WWII memorial website
I first met Lester when he and I began our Primary Pilot training
together at a Contract Flying school under jurisdiction of US
Army Aircorps The little one runway airbase/airfield was in Santa
Maria California and the contractor was by Name of Allen Hancock
allegedly a wealthy oil Man.. I Believe we entered in September of
1941.
This was called Primary flying school and we flew the two
wing ,two cockpit Boeing model Primary blue winged trainer with
civilian instructor pilots.
We then graduated - after flunking out about one half of our class -
and were transferred to Moffet Field at San Jose California where
we were in "Basic" Training and flew more sophisticated aircraft
with retractable gear, flaps and adjustable props. These were BT's
for Basic Trainers and there were about three varieties of them.
There Lester was made a Cadet Captain because of his past military
training go at a Military Private School in New Mexico and I was
his Cadet First sergeant - because I had been a REAL staff Sergeant
in the Army Air corps before becoming an Aviation Cadet.
We lost more cadets at Moffet to attrition and our class of 42C --
meaning we graduated in the 3rd month of 1942 - on March 16 - at
our Advanced Training Base in Stockton California.
We graduated on 16 March 1942, Class of 42C and Lester and Barbara
were married that day in a church or chapel and I was their Best Man.
We also received our wings on 16 March 1942, and the same night I
was shipped on a train to Wendover Utah to join a B-17 Group then
called the 306th Bomb Group with a Lt. Col by name of Curtiss LeMay
as Operations Officer.
Thats all for now but inquire further if I can help..
Mel.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Schulstad"
To: "Mel Schulstad" ; "Bill & Janet Asbury"
Cc: "Coni Asbury Holland"
Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2004 8:59 AM
Subject: Registering Lester Asbury on the WWII memorial website
> For Bill Asbury and Mel Schulstad;
>
> I'm going to help Coni get her dad, Lester Asbury,
> represented, on the WWII memorial website. All WWII
> veterans (whether deceased or still living) have been
> invited to be included on this website. They can be
> included by themselves - or a relative.
>
> To get to the WWII memorial website, go to this url:
>
http://www.wwiimemorial.com
>
> Do either of you have any good data on Lester:
> when he enlisted?
> when he entered pilot training? where?
> when he graduted and got pilot wings and 2ndLT bars?,
> where?
>
> where he was assigned, either as instructor pilot or
> squadron pilot, stateside?
>
> where he was assigned and/or served overseas? (month-
> yr to month-yr), what squadron was he with? did he fly
> P-51's or other?
>
> when was WWII over for him - (did he come home from
> Europe in Jun-Jul-Aug, or stay with Army of
> occupation?)
>
> thanks for your help
>
> Jon