Two WWII P-38 Pilots to Speak at Planes of Fame Air Musuem

The Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California will be presenting its monthly Living History Event on September 6th. The event is open to the public of course. This month’s feature is titled the ‘Fork-Tailed Devil’, referencing the German nickname for the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Distinguished aviation experts, historians and actual P-38 Lightning veterans will make presentations to the audience, followed by a question & answer period and then the museum’s P-38 will make an aerial demonstration (weather and maintenance permitting). The two highly distinguished combat veteran speakers for the day will be Don Oldis and Lynn Shubert. At 12:00 noon, the Membership Sponsored Raffle Flight will occur in the museum’s P-51 Mustang “Spam Can”. All museum members are eligible to enter the raffle, but must be present to win. Don’t forget, you can always become a member on the day of your visit and enter the raffle before the presentation.

Who: Lieutenant Colonel Don Oldis, USAF (Ret.) was a fighter pilot and wing flying safety officer in the US Air Force with 30 years of flying experience. Colonel Oldis served in the 11th Air Force, 20th Air Force and later the Air National Guard in Iowa, Oklahoma, and California. His active duty dates were November, 1942 to September, 1946 and April, 1951 to December, 1952. He was in the reserves from 1946 to 1951 and 1952 to 1972. He fought in WWII, Korea, and with the Air Guard in Viet Nam. He flew in the Aleutian Islands during WWII, and was on special operations during Korea. Colonel Oldis’s citations and awards include the Army Good Conduct, Air Force Good Conduct, Asiatic-Pacific Theater, Korean Theater, Vietnam Theater and National Defense Medals.

During the cold war, Oldis was one of those American war fighters who would have had the terrifying responsibility of flying a nuclear attack mission had it been so ordered. It would have essentially been a suicide mission, but Oldis was one of those exceptional pilots who had the iron will to execute it without hesitation. Pilots like him provided the vital deterrence to the possibility of a global nuclear war.

Some of you may be interested in this video of Lt.Col. Oldis HERE

Lynn Schubert joined the Army Air Force at the beginning of WWII. He trained in Alameda, California and flew the Bell P-39 AiraCobra, which he freely admits was a rotten trainer. Schubert then accepted a posting to Southern Italy to fly the P-38 Lightning. He was involved in several dogfights while flying with his squadron. On one mission, he lost an engine to enemy fire over Germany and flew the 400 plus miles back to Southern Italy on only one engine, and walked away from the subsequent crash landing at his air field.

Schubert also flew reconnaissance missions, flying mostly at night and alone to check weather conditions and targets for the next day’s bombing runs. He reported directly to the Generals from his Lightning while flying back to base. Schubert is a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He returned home after the war and began a career on stage in New York, including a play opposite Spencer Tracy. He then made his way out to Hollywood and acted in several television shows, including Have Gun Will Travel with Richard Boone. He was also on Gun Smoke with James Arness among other shows.

Lynn Schubert also had a birthday party with Betty White who was born on the same day. He now lives in Mission Viejo with his second wife Betty, and is currently working on his autobiography.

Kevin Thompson (aviation historian) and Edward Maloney (museum founder, curator, and aviation historian) will moderate and join in the presentation.

When: The event will take place on Saturday, September 6th, 2014 between 10am and 12 noon (the speaker program & flight demonstration). Museum doors will open at 9:00am.

Where: Planes of Fame Air Museum, 7000 Merrill Avenue #17, Chino, CA 91710

Why: Planes of Fame Air Museum’s mission is to preserve aviation history, inspire interest in aviation, educate the public, and honor aviation pioneers and veterans. The museum sponsors regular events in the form of inspirational experiences, educational presentations, flight demonstrations, and airshows in fulfillment of this mission.

Planes of Fame Air Museum, ‘Where Warbirds Fly and Aviation History Lives’