Jimmy Doolittle AAAA Chapter Stepping Back in Time
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jimmy Doolittle AAAA Chapter Stepping Back in Time
Story and Photo by: Maj. Scott Bell, S.C. National Guard Historian
COLUMBIA, SC – During the annual March meeting of the Jimmy Doolittle Chapter of the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA), Brig. Gen. Les Eisner, the S.C. National Guard’s new Deputy Adjutant General (DAG), led his chapter through a special “Stepping Back in Time” program held at the new S.C. Military Museum in Columbia, S.C.
The museum is located approximately a mile away from the Columbia, S.C. airstrip where Lt. Col. “Jimmy” Doolittle and his “Raiders” trained in their Army B-25 Mitchell’s for their famous April 18, 1942, surprise raid on Japan. The museum proved to be the perfect backdrop for one of Eisner’s new initiatives as DAG.
During his opening comments, Eisner talked about the emphasis he will be placing on the Guard’s leadership knowing and sharing the S.C. National Guard’s 332 years of Citizen-Soldier service to South Carolina’s younger Soldiers. Eisner believes understanding the Guard’s proud past is synonymous with comprehending American history. The two — he feels — are intertwined and help young Soldiers get the sense of just how important and special they are to their communities, our state and nation.
Buddy Sturgis (far left), the S.C. Military Museum Director explains the history of one of the many scale-model aircraft on display during his “Stepping Back in Time” presentation for the annual Jimmy Doolittle AAAA chapter meeting held at the museum in Columbia, S.C.
“We have a lot of sharp, young people who can learn a lot about our past by stepping back in time here at the S.C. Military Museum and talking to retirees at association events such as AAAA which are held here,” said Eisner. Eisner credits retirees from the S.C. Army Aviation community for bringing history to life and perpetuating “Doolittle Raiders” type courage among today’s S.C. Army National Guard Aviators. He also points out Army Guard Aviation is only 61 years old here in S.C., and mentions Soldiers like retired Sgt. Maj. Dewey Bullman, who joined in 1948, a year after the Army Guard received its first aircraft, still attend AAAA. “They teach and inspire the young aviators, the same way stories about Doolittle and others from the Greatest Generation inspired them,” said Eisner.
Bullman, who spent all 34 years of his career at the McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover, S.C., recalls when then Adjutant General James Dozier brought the first aircraft to the S.C. National Guard. “The new Air Guard received the P-51 Mustangs and we in the Army Guard started off with the L-16 Grasshopper. We then got the old OH-13 helicopters you see on the T.V. show M.A.S.H.”
Bullman is quick to point out Army Aviation was in its infancy when he joined and didn’t even become a branch in the Army until about five years before he retired in 1988. He said he still remembers the days when the aviators had to fly down to Atlanta, GA to pick up their paychecks or send someone down in a car during bad weather because all of the aviators were paid out of Atlanta. “We’ve come a long way since then,” said Bullman.
Eisner credits men like Bullman’s generation for beginning a proud tradition of Army Aviation here in South Carolina. “Our S.C. Soldiers are flying some of the best aircraft around — the Apaches, Chinooks, Blackhawks and Kiowas – because of the foundation of excellence they laid for later generations to build on” said Eisner.
According to Eisner, the Vietnam generation of S.C. Army National Guard pilots, are another great example of those who have built upon this solid foundation. He points to such recent retirees as Lewis Wilson of Camden, Lem Grant of Columbia, Dennis Dupuis of Augusta, Bill Freeman of Greenville and Al Jeffords of Florence who all flew together in Vietnam around the time of the Tet Offensive. “They came home to South Carolina bringing their expertise as combat pilots into the Guard,” said Eisner. Interestingly, Lem Grant flew his last combat missions as a S.C. Guardsmen flying Apache aircraft in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005.
Other Vietnam-era pilots such as Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Seymour of Easley, then a 20 year-old came back from the war to join men like Grant adding to the expertise of the pilot corps here in the S.C. Army National Guard. Seymour, the last Vietnam-era pilot still flying for the S.C. Guard will soon retire, but has done his part to pass on the fine tradition of Army Aviation in South Carolina to others including his son, who is also a pilot with the Guard.
One of Seymour’s secrets to being a good pilot, which he has passed on, is having a good sense of humor. He says he’ll never forget his first drill with the Guard. He was the latest veteran combat pilot of Vietnam surrounded by what he described as a room full of great pilots and the first thing his commander asked when he walked into the meeting was “okay, where’s the kid?” “I wasn’t old enough to buy a beer yet, so they had fun writing up an age-waiver to allow me to fly for the Guard,” said Seymour.
Eisner believes it is important for S.C. National Guard Soldiers to step back in time here at the S.C. Military Museum and talk to veterans like Seymour from groups such as AAAA, who helped make the Guard what it is today. “Each and every one of us has a very important role to play in the future of our communities, the state and the nation,” said Eisner.
