CIVIL AIR PATROL

IN }YORLD .wAR II

ARMY TIMES - - - Washinston, D.

C.

The history of the Civil Air Patrol contained in this booklet was written by personnel of Headquar-

ters Army Air Forces, AFIPR, Personnel Narratives Division 52 Broadway, New York 4, N.Y., from.such official records as were available at the time of writing.
First published in lhe 24 August 1946 issue of ARMY TIMES, Air
Force edition, the history rras so favorably received that it was inevitable it would be reproduced ag
a booklet.

I THE CIVN AIR PATROL

IN WORLD WAR II
On July 1 President Truman signed the bill that gave the Civil Air Patrol the first national charter of its type to be approved in 13 years.
The proposal passed both houses without a di6senting vote. What has the Civil Air Patrol, already an Army Air Force Auxiliary, done to deserve the prestige it now shares with such organizations as the American Red Cross, the Boy Scouts, the Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion?

The wartime record shows that the CAp through with a great volunteer job in the best American "Minute Man" tradition. Organized only a week before Pearl Harbor as a division of the Office of Civilian Defense, the civilian fliers and aviation enthusiasts, who
came,

Colonel Earle L. Johnson National Commander CAP

at one time numbered more than 120,000, volunserviee that had.anything to do with aiiplanesr During those grim and frightening months in early 1942, when Nazi submarines were pumping torpedoes. into our eoastwise rqer-

tarily performed every

ehantmen and tankers

within sight of

shorg,
the,

the tiny,

single-engined landplanes

of

Coastal Patrol skimmed out over the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico from 21 bases stretching all the way fro:n Bar Harbor, 1\{e., to

than ?1,000 miles a day on regular scheduled runs for tlie 2nd Air Force in 1? western states, braving deadly mountain squalls and
treacherous downdrafts to deliver engine parts,

Brownsville, Tex. Used entirely as sub-spotters at first and later equipped with bombs and depth charges,
the rugged little puddle-jumpers and their twoman crews gave the Antisubmarine Command a big hand in driving of the underwater killers that at one period threatened to bottle up our coastal shipping in the harbors,

training films and urgent mail to a far-flung network of Army bases. Other courier pilots specialized in smashing factory bottlenecks in the vital Great Lakes region and throughout the industrial East.

All around the country, the former "Sunday pilots" wearing the silver buttons and red
shoulder loops of the CAP on Army uniforms, were extraordinarily busy, They were spotting

Varied Duties When the submarine threat eyaporated in

forest fires, acting as the air arm of the Red Cross disaster service, performing hazardous
mercy missions, searching for missing aircraft,

the late summer of 1943 and the Navy took complete charge of patrolling coastal waters, many of the same daredevil airmen who had risked their lives over the ocean graduated into an assignment almost as dangerous-that of towlng targets for anti-aircraft batteries by day and tracking f,or searchlight crews at

agsisting

in local blackout

tests, air-warning

maneuvers and bond drives, and-particularly during the crucial months in L9l3-4a when the strain on our air power was grqatest-recruiting aviation cadets and crewmen for the Army Air Forces at a record rate. Acclaimed by Leaders A few of the more out-of-the-way missions

night, And meanwhile, along the Mexican border from Brownsville, Tex., to Douglas,

Ariz., the little-known Southern Liaison Patrol cooperated u'ith ground units to seal ofr this
danger area from saboteurs, enemy agents and
miscellaneous undesirables.

for

Inland, CAP courier pilots were flying more

of thc CAP included such projects as hunting escaped German and Japanese prisoners, shooting coyotes and wolves from the air in thc plains states, riding "herd" on floeks of wild ducks that threatened to devour a Cali-

fornia rice field, and observing ice conditions on the Great Lakes in order to help the ors boats get off to an early start. Operating in more than 1,000 communities and from scores of active-duty bases, members of the Civil Air.Patrol carried out every as* signment handed them. They did so well that they earned the plaudits of the late President Roosevelt, Admiral King, General Arnold and dozens of other leaders. In all, 51 CAP members gave their lives on active-duty missions. Here was an outfit that volunteered far more than time and energy for the privilege of joining in the war effort. The Civil Air Patrol "grew out of the desire of the civil airmen of the country to be utilized with their equipment in the common defense." In every Allied couhtry with the exception of Russia, the coming of war in 1939 had
grounded all civilian aviation activities. American fliers were determined that nothing of the kind should happen here, and it was up to them to prove to the military that civilians could fit into this country's defensive setup,

lisher, can be credited with fathering the Civil

Air Patrol. Some forerunners of the organization began to appear several years before the war. After the National Guard air units were called into active service in October, 1940,
Florida, Colorado and many other states organized air defense units of theit own. A nationwide plan for this country's air arm was devised during the spring and summer of 1941, being modelled largely dfter New Jersey's Civil Air Defense Services, and was subsequently approved by a board of AAF officers
slected by General

H. H. Arnold to pass on

the feasibility of the program. First National Commander of the CAP was Maj. Gen' John

F. Curry, who was succeeded four months later by the present commandant, Col. Earle L.
Johnson.

Pilot Commander
Then a pilot

of

14 years' standing, Colonel

Johnson, come into the Army from civilian life

Prominent aviation enthusiasts

like

Gill

Robb Wilson, New York Herald Tribune avia-

tion editor and then president of the National

Aeronautic Association; Thomas H. Beck, head

of the

Crowell-Collier Publishing: Company,

and Guy P. Gannett, Maine newspaper pub-

after having served for several years as Director of Aeronautics for the state of Ohio. Shortly before Pearl Harbor, he caused a national commotion when he became alarmed at the way airports were being left unguarded and the ease with which an enterprising saboteur could steal a plane and bomb a war plant. "It gave me the creeps," he said later, "to

think what a hundred determined Germans could do to a hundred faatories in one night, land their planes in a field, walk away, dnd
never even be caught." The story goes that he took off in his plane one evening and dropped a sandbag ou a Cleve-

Call to Duty The first call was for men and women who eould fly or who possessed some other ready. made aviation skill such as a knowledge of radio communications or mec-hanics. Any citizen of the United States over 18 years of age, of good character and proven loyalty, was allowed to enlist in the Civi] Air Patrol where there was a local unit in need of recruits. There were many jobs for the non-fliers with an interest in aviation-things like office work, drill,

land defense plant-after which airports were Flaced under armed guard. All civilian pilots were required to prove citizenship and loyalty, and no planes allowed to take ofr without first'
beinE cleared. In every state the CAP Wings were ready to

go when the word came' Each state had its

headquarters staff, responsible to National Headquarters. The Wings were broken down by groups, squadrons and flights' A typical squadron numbered from 50 to 200 persons and flights contained from 10 to 60 members. Training directives for the local units commenced

sentry duty, communications. Enemy submarines were sinking ships all along our virtually unprotected coastal doorstep during the early months of L942. The

quarters almost immediately. The great emphasis was on training, training, and still more

to flow out of National CAP Head-

entire 1200-mile sea frontier from Halifax to the Florida Keys was protected by something 'like five old Eagle boats, three ocean-going yachts, less than a dozen small Coast Guard
cutters, four blimps and a handful of airplanes. Such was the setting for the most spectacular of the Civil Air Patrol's active-duty missionsCoastal Patrol. But even with the Nazi subs lying in wait for shipping in our river-mouths, there were men in the Army and Navy who were skeptical at the idea of turning over the

training. The object of each flight and squadron was to give its members all the aviation ground training required for a private pilot's license, plus a certain amount of military background. It was up to every unit to become so well acquainted with its duties that it would be ready for any mission it might be called on to perform.
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patrol job to civilians in landplanes. When the arguing was over, experimental bases were set up by the CAP at Atlantic City, |rI. J., and Rehobeth, Del., in March, 7942. L
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third went into operation at Lantana, Fla., in April. Some of the best-qualified pilots in the country came to the East Coast bases with their planes and equipmgnt. The idea of flying over the ocean at a few hundred feet and as far as 40 or 50 miles from the shore-was something
most Coastal Patrol volunteers would have considered sheer suicide a few months before. But that's what their ne.v assignment called for, and that's what they did.
Covered Hot Spots The "hot" spots covered from the original

stations were ship graveyards where sinkings were almost daily occurrences. From the first, the dawn-to-dusk patrol planes, fiying in pairs for mutual protection, spotted subs for Army and Navy planes. Sometimes they forced Uboats to crash-dive just as they were about to attack a lumbering oiler or merchantman. And f,rom the beginning the tiny planes saved lives by radioing the position of ships in distress and the location of survivors. Long before the 90-day trial period was up, the Coastal Patrol had proved the wisdom of

Life wasn't easy at many of the secret outposts, some of which had to be constructed from the bottom up, At Parksley, Va., a fa{mer's house and a chicken coop were speedily converted into a headquarters and a barracks. A grove of trees had to be cut down-and paid for-so a runway could be laid out. At Bar Harbor, Me., a mid-winter fire destroyed the operations and administration buildings. Maj. Jim King and his men commenced the reconstruction job in 20-below-zero weather, impressing the townspeople of Bar Harbor and Ells-. worth to such a degree that they donated $500 to help things along. At Manteo, N. C.-site of Sir Walter's "Lost Colony" and ancestral
home of swarms of mosquitoes-mechanics and guards were forced to rvear head nets to avoid being carried away piecemeal. And at Grand Isle, La., rvhere Lafitte's pirate band once rendezvoused, a ramshackle resort hotel provided

living quarters for Coastal Patrol and for a sizable colony of rats.
Common Love

personnel

pitting civilian airmen against the undersea raiders. Eighteen more bases were built during the spring and summer of !942, providing aerial cover for shipping all the way from thc
Canadian border

shoe salesmen, barn-stormers, mechanics, brokers, plumbers, teachers and all the rest.

To these and other bases came the lawyers,

to

Tampico, Mexico.
L2

There were millionaire sportsmen among theni and just plain Joes whom you'd meet on Main Street on a Saturday night. They had in com13

mon their love of the air and a determination to contribute something very real to the war effort. Many were businessmen too old for the draft, some iwere disqualified from the military service for physical reasons, and dozens of the healthier specimens soon graduated into Army and Navy uniforms. No one was draft-exempt because of his CAP af-

ehecks were

In spite of red tape, the tardy per diem jarred loose in time to tide the

filiation.

A per diem rate of from $5 a day for ground personnel to'$8 for pilots was paid to CAP's
active-duty tolunteers on Coastal Patrol and on other Army-ordered missions. Out of this a man or woman had to take care of billets, food, uniforms and all incidentals. And when you consider that numbers of the men had shut

base over its rough spot. But money continued to be scarce and it looked for a time as if the Coastal Patrol might be forced to fold up. About this time a group of the big oil companies, informed by their ship captains of the work the CAP was doing, came to the rescue with a contribution amounting to $40,000, known as "The Tanker Protection Fund." That donation and others from state and private agencies kept things rolling when the going

was toughest.
Equipment Scarce

down their businesses and that most were maintaining separate households back home, you can see that no one got rich from per diem. Plane owners loaned their ships to the government at a rental comparable to that on wartime flighi training contracts. In most cases, this money went directly into a base
maintenance pool. To make financial matters even rhore pressing, per diem checirs were often as much as

Being a civilian organization, the Coastal Patrol' had a hard time obtaining priorities for needed supplies. For many months the pilots and observers flew without Very pistols,
rubber suits, flares or life rafts. At Manteo, early in the war, Coastal Patrolmen made good use of kapok life vests taken from seven dead German sailors who were washed up on the

two months late. There was one precarious period when a telegram from the Atlantic City base arrived at National CAP Headquarters with the announcement: "Can't pay our bills; being evicted from our
boarding

beach one night. Replacements for engine parts were especially tough to get and for a long time it.was mainly through the^Yankee inventiveness of certain inspired. mechanics that some of the bases rvere able to put patrols into the air. At one field in Texas the daily maintenance
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houses."

14

report for a particular date showed that only four of the outfit's 30 planes were in flying trim.
The "barracuda bags" carried out to sea by CAP crews at southern bases were originally designed by rum-r:unners of the Prohibition era to discourage playful sharks and hungry barracuda from dining on shipwrecked sailors' A "bag" consisted of a canvas bag large enough for a man to sit or stand in, attached to an inflated truck-size inner tube. More often than not, fliers who hit the "drink" had all they could do to untangle themselves from their planes without pausing to drag this cumbersome flotation gear along. "Barracuda bags" were most effcctive when dropped to survivors flom an escort Plane.

ship captain as well as anything could.

verse goes:

One

"When the cold gray dawn is breaking

And the wolf Pack hovers nigh, When the skipPer scans the ocean With a grim and woruied eYe, Then a distant sound grows louder
And brings comfort to his soul, For he knows his ship is covered By the Civit Air Patlol."

I
rf

Poet Laureate

ful for the

Sailors on tankers and freighters were thankpresence of the little Stinsons,

Late one afternoon in MaY, 1942, "Doc" Rinker and Tom Manning, flying out of Lantana, spotted a sub just off Cape Canaveral' In its haste to get away the U-boat rammed into a sand bank and stuck there. The patrol plane circled helplessly for more than half an hour, meanwhile radioing frantically for bombers' By the time help arrived the sub was out of the sand and in deep water. A short time after that Patrol planes were canying depth charges and demolition bombs 'With General Arnold's
blessing. A bombsight rigged up from 20 cents worth of hairpins, tin cans and other scrap by an anonymous Army technician was improvised for the little planes and turned out to be surprisingly accurate from an altitude of about a thousand feet. The actual sinking of a submarine at sea is a difhcult matter to prove. However, Coastal
TT

Wacos and other single-engined putt-putts over the shipping lanes. The reassuring pun

of their ntotors was music to the seamen's ears because it brought the assurance that aid would be sent within a few minutes if needed'
A poem written by a Long Island man who flew at Beaumont, Texas, describes the feeling of a t6

share. Their main role, of course, remaine(l that of spotting for the Army and Navy. The Coastal Patrol lasted untii Aug. 81, 1943, when the Navy took over. During the 18 months it was in operation the civilian fliers flew more than 24 million miles over water; spotted 173 subs; dropped bombs or depth charges against b?, and reported 1? floating mines, several in the paths of troop transports. Twenty-six men lost their lives on Coastal Patlol and several were seriously
injured.

Patroimen are certain they accounted for their

ment, U. S. Immigration and Naturalization officials, the F. B. I., and the Army to thwart illegal border crossings. Operations began in October, 1942, and, lasted approximately a
year,

southern frontier of the United States. This patrol cooperated with the Mexican Govern-

The Mexican boyder u'as definitely a potenzone during the war. Foreign agents, saboteurs and miscellaneous undesirables could have filtered into this country had any gaps been left in the protective network along the Rio Grande.

tial danger

CAP discontinued its overwater. rnission:

Arncld Commends General Arnold had this to sav when thc

the

American air power," While the Coastal patrol was guarding our Atlantic and Gulf sea lanes, planes of the Southern Liaison patrol rangetl from Browns_ ville, Tex., to Douglas, Ariz., to protect the
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--at a time of almost desperate national crisis. If it had done nothing beyond that, the Civil Air patrol would have earned an honorable place in the history of

It patrolled our shores-per.for.med its

submarine tvorl<

urgency of the situation. The CAp was sel up and went into operation almost overnight.

'iThe Civil Air Patrol grew out of

pilots and ohscr.r'eLs r.epor.ted all suspicious occurrences to stations along the International boundary.
Inland, CAP ccrui'ier pilots were carrying im-

Flying low enough to read the license numbers of cars speeding towar.d the border, CAp

anti_

portant priority car.go for the Army and for defense plants. Biggest job wbs the one taken over for the 2nd Air Force, with most of the flying done in the mountainous northwestern states. The civilians flew ntore than a half milfion pountls of mail a month on regular.
daily routes and schedules throughout the west between widely separated Army posts. A typieal run '"r,'as trom Peterson Field, at Colorado Springs, Colo., to Salt Lake City, Utah, ovel

the top of the Rocky Mountains. In

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good

wather and bad. the Pipers, Taylorcrafts and other planes of the 65-horse-power class delivered the goods. During the summer of 1g44 s 97 per cent record for completed trips was chalked up. In the vital Great Lakes area and throughout the industrial East, other CAp pilots trdnsported vital shipments both on regular rlrns and on a standby emergency basis. The tiiry

CAP fliers. The latter, eager to please in every way, flew lower and longer over the guns thrirn service pilots ever thought of doing. The work was hazardous. Sometimes flak went wild and a plane would land with jagged holes through its fuselage. In one instance, a

pilot discovered a sizeable fragment imbedded in his parachute seat paek. Nor was flying for
the searchlight'crews a cinch. A pilot tracking for the searchlights off the Atlantic coast made

planes carried everything

ment

wheel, weighing 400 pounds, to a modest shipof ball bearings. In many cases their promFt action prevented costly shutdowns.

from e grinding

gunners.

Target Tcwing Target towing for the Army was one of the first volunteer missions of the Civil Air patrol, As early as March, 1942, plaies of the Illinois Wing flew over the guns at Fort Sheridan, Ill., trailing improvised targets for the ack-ack

the fatal mistake of looking into the beams for a split-second and lost his bearings completely. The lights followed his plane down as it screamed out of the sky and crashed into the ocean at full throttle,
20,000 Missions

units were transferred to tow-target bases on the East and West coasls, that towing for gun crews by day and tracking for searchlight batteries at night became a major assignmertt. Army planes couldn't be spared for target towing for ground units and the anti-aircraft
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But it was not until late 1948, after the Coastal Patrol had disbanded and many of the

More than 20,000 missions totalling 46,000 airplane-hours were flown by the towing and tracking units. Seven men lost their lives and 23 planes were destroyed. A few Civil Air Patrol active-duty, wartime missions continue to a certain extent. These include the forest patrol, mercy missions
and search and rescue flights.

The planes of the Forest Patrol did the work of hundreds of men during the war years when manpower was at a low ebb and the
nation's lumber supply was more valuable than

personnel were enthusiastically grateful to the

ever before.

In many states, notably Texas,

2L

Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, pennsylvania, Oregon and New York, CAp Wings made arrangements to cooperate with state forestry officials by spotting fires from the air. Regu_ during the spring and autumn when the fire hazard was greatest; in others, flights were

lar patrols wefe flown in

some

of these states

that some planes would be lost. Particularly in the- mountain states, CAP pilots developed search and rescue techniques into a science. Thev knew every inch of their home territory, and their light, slow planes were ideal for making minute examinations of the terrain flom the air.
Mounted Patrol

observers kept wardens informed regarding the

sent out whenever an emerg:ency arose. Equipped with two-way radios, the pilots and

locations.

many of the heavily forested states are em_ ploying methods learned in war to guard their timber in time of peace. With the country dotted with training fields and thousands of Army and Navy planes constantly on cross-country hops, it was inevitable
22

grat East Texas timber stands, where it works under the direction of the State Forestry Serv_ ice., In other areas, CAp flights are no longer made on a scheduled basis, but planes and p*er_ ionnel are on call in case of emergencies. And

necessal.y, CAP planes were employed to ferry firefighters to the scene of the blaze. In Texas there are several cases on record where firebugs were spotted in the act of set_ ting "grudge" fires. The culprits were captured through the teamwork of CAp crewmen in the air and forestry officials on the ground. The Forest Patrol is still watching over the

of fires of any description. Wh"n

In

Nevada there was

IVIounted

searchers in the High Sierras; in New Hampshire, ski and

Patrol ihat co-operated with air_ when a plane was reported missing

a well-drilled

CAp

snow-shoe troopers supplemented

Great Lakes searches; and in the Florida Evercraft powered by airplane motors and propellers (called ..Glades buggies") were used to skim over swamps in res_ cue attempts. When search missions were at

aircraft in winter operations; in Michigan, a sea-plane unit co-operated with the Coast Guard in
glades, sled-like

their height, there was hardly a unit of any kind that the CAP couldn't produce from
somewhere,

The Civil

missions from the beginning, bringing aid to victims of floods, tornadoes, explosions, bliz_ zards, fires and kindred disasters. In the early months of operations, the CAp

Air Patrol has been flying

mercy

offered

its

services

to the American

Red

ti

Cross rvhenever the use of airplanes could be of help. The overall program, which is still in effect, calls for advance planning in each lo-

vras made up

cality so the Patrol can be I'eady to act on short notice. Especially in flood and tornado
areas, CAP units have seen repeated action.

to be a solid bet. In the spring of 1943, when the Army Air Forces took over the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary, cadet enrollment was

of

15-17 year olds, showed itself

Individuals as well as entire communities

have known the meaning of CAP mercy missions. There wap the time, for example, when Eddie Drapela-1one of Colorado's foremost pilots-took off from a soggy mountain road in a cloudburst, his traveling companion a pneumonia patient who, the doctbr had cautioned,
due to his *'eakened condition. Eddie had some snow-capped mountain ranges to cross, but he

must not be known at too great an altitude

coilehos' managed the sick man.
Cadet Prcgram

hand on the stick and the other steadying

to fly

betrveen them, one

October, 1942, and still ranks as a major activity in all sectors. At the outset, in order to insure a firm foundation for the outfit, enrollment was limited in each unit to one boy for each male seniol member in the parent squadron and to one girl for each woman member. Limitations were later removed when the cadet organization, which underway

The Civil Air Patrol cadet program

got

in

further stepped up. About this time, the Army handed the Civil Air Patrol one of the biggest jobs of its career-that of recruiting aviation cadets and air-crew members for the Air Forces. The cadet program and the recruiting were intertwined in many ways. Cadets were given courses in military courtesy, taught to drill and afforded a background in ground-school subjecls such a snavigation and'meteorology. ?hose who.wele about to turn 18 were treated to a special preinduction training course that was designed to prepare them for life in the Army. The screening of thousands of cadets and of many non-member appliiants for the Air Forces saved the AAF much time'and not a little mone)'. Young men with CAP background were a hand-picked lot with little of the rookie left in them. That they got the jump over lads rvho lacked their training was evident from the hundreds of letters they sent back to their homes telling of quick promotions, easy adjustments to Army life and rapid progress in their Eround-schr'ol courses. In almost every state, from Maine to California, Civil Air Patrol cadets are attending
25

24

encampments this summer for the thild successive year. The period lasts from 10 days to

the progrzrnr, too, fal as the FBI Chief,

J,

two weeks and usually takes the boys to an air base in their home siate. Here they get a realistic taste of military life, study elementary aviation courses and engage in competitive sports. Seidom does a camp break up without a ride fol all hands in an Army plane,
be it a primary trainei' ot a B-17. The cadet set-up had been stlengthenccl bv the lecent r-etuln of uurnbers oli Aii'Force veterans who alc being utilized as instructors. The i'eturnees rvho ale members of the Air' Reselve, also benefit, fol the AAF norv gives credii. to lrrgn who tlain ('AP t.arlets.

seldom picked up as juvenile delinquents. Their livel;1, constructive interests keep them out of tlouble. When the u,'ar ended, many members of the Civil Air Patt'ol, supposing the job over, prepared to pack their uniforms in moth-balls, take up golf and again pay attention to their businesses. Some did just that, but many of the old hands are still among the leaders, still contributing an incredible amount of time and enetgy to the peacetimc pr.oglam that has been
set up.

E<lgal Hoover, has pointed out, CAP cadets are

Flight Schclarships A latte r'-day r,vlinlle that has stin'ed lrp enthusiasm among the youngsters is the plactice of rervalding the most active carlets with flight schoiai'ships which entitle them to take actual flying instluction ftom local opet'ators. Sorr.re of the scholarship-" are donated by civic
groups such as Kir.vanis, Rotarians :tnd Chambets of Commelce; others are bought through squadron funds.

With peace approximately a year old, the Civil Air Patrol is still functioning in all 48 states. The Army Air Forces has given ali possible aid undel existing War Department regulations. lively state has its AAF Liaison Officer u'ho flies an 4'T-6 around the state on ltlissions fol the Wing Commander. and assists in training activities. In addition, non-flying air-.
communi-

craft, training manuals, films and

cations eriuipmcnt have been turned over to the units fol instructional purposes. ilfoney Neederl Forces is also hclping

The AAF is au'ale of the tt'emenclous

inr-

poltance of an aviation-minded youth and is co-opelating with thc CAP to promotc its cadet units. Church and wclfare leaders are fond of
26

The Air to put on the ail show,q that are being held in. ever.y state this surrrrer and f:ill t'ol thc ltulpose of

raising money to carry on CAP operations. Aerial packets travel from state to state to take part in the shows and to acquaint the public with the very latest in flying equipment. Among the dozen or so planes that make up a packet is a B-29 Superfortress, a P-80 jetfighter, the newest thing in helicopters and a hospital ship complete with demonstration crew. Army fliers supplement the civilian portion of the shows by staging breathtaking displays of precision flying. In conferences held in Washington in January, March and May, the AAF went to gt'eat
lengths to put across to Wing Commanders the fact that the Civil Air Patrol is destined to Flay an important role in peacetime America's defense plans, Not all the details have been decided, but the belief is strong that CAP/ will have a close tie-up with the Air Reserve. It is interesting to note that when the Wing Commanders met in March, the President,

traveling AAF employment teams and local CAP members, better jobs have been found for
Iarge numbers of ex-sbrvicemen.

The air-marking of every city and

cross-

roads hamlet is another aim of the Civil Air Patrol and is in an advanced stage in North Carolina, Maryland and Uteh. In North Carolina alone, 115 communities have already been covered by markers which give the name of
.the town, the longiiude and the

latitude, A cir-

e'led arrow points tells the distance.

to the nearest airport and All marking is done aecord-

ing to CAA specifieations. "When the air routes are marked as well as the highways, cross-country flying will be just that much safer," commented Col. Frank E. 'Dawson, North Carolina's Wing Commander. Sunday flights have been revived by many units this summer. CAP fliers assemble at a

Speaker of the House, a majority of the Congressmen, and 48 Air Forces generals attended a dinner honoring the CAP leaders. Aid to Air Force veterans has been listed as the No. 1 postwar task of the Civil Air patrol and is receiving full attention in most localities. Too often a veteran with valuable skills is

different airport every week or two, have breakfast or lunch and get together for a session of "hangar-flying." With a small staff of Army Air Fprces officers to assist him, Col. Earle L. Johnson directs the activities of the Civil Air Patrol from
National Headquarters at Bolling Field, Washington, D. C. Deputy Commander is Col. Harry H, Blee, who has served with the CAP ever since its inception. Except for the Headquar29

hgnded an igferior job that fails to make use

28

of his Army training. Through the efforts of

ters staff and the AAF Liaison Officers assigned to each wing. all CAp officers are civilians who have earned their rank through

l[ilitary phases of CAP wi]l continue to come under AAF supervision, but the new charter places the ot:ganization in the hands of the 48 Wing Commanders. A constitution and byJaws are currently being drafted by a committee of CAP officers headed by Col. Harold Byrd of Texas. The objects of CAP under its charter are: "_u. Io provide an otganization to encourage and aid Ameriean citizens in the contributiJn of their efforts, services and resources in the development of aviation and maintenance of air supremacy and to encourage and develop by example the voluntary contribution of pri_ vate citizens to the public welfare. "b. To provide aviation education and train_ ing especially to its senior and cadet members; to encourage and foster'civil aviation in local communities and to provide an organization of private citizens with adequate facilities to assist in meeting national or local emer.gencies,"

service and are serving without piry.

As long as the Civil Air patrol exists_and it looks now as if its civilians with wings will be.around for all time-community avia_ tion will h4ve a staunch friend and the Army Air Forces will boast a powerful supporter.
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