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P.O. Box 5344, Petaluma, CA. 94955
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SAH General Meetings and Educational Programs
Mark your calendar
Click on this link
to see our Policies and Procedures Page
Our next meeting: April 4, 2026 meeting
World War I Ace Frank Luce Jr.
The topic for the April meeting will be World War I ace Frank Luke Jr., presented by historian JR Williams. Frank Luke Jr. is a fascinating adventurer of World War I,
achieving the highest military honor awarded by the United States for acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor. Luke ranks among the top U.S.
Army Air Service pilots, second only to Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker was credited with 26 victories, Luke's official score was 18.
Williams will share Luke's story in words and pictures from his reading and field research traveling to France and Germany. Luke was born in 1897 to German immigrants
in Phoenix, Arizona. He was one of nine children and excelled in everything he applied himself to. He enlisted in the U.S. Signal Corps in 1917, just five months after
the start of World War I, when he was 20 years old. He received pilot training in Texas and California, deployed to France for service. Luke had standing orders to
destroy German observation balloons. Williams finds the rapid development of the early, primitive aircraft fascinating and will talk of some of the technology
innovations of the time. You will hear stories of Luke's daring, arrogance and unsurpassed feats in shooting down 14 German balloons and four airplanes. Luke died
in France in 1918, six miles behind enemy lines.
Together, Loreen and Matt Gibbons will present the story of Jerry Grigsby, P-3 Alfa Foxtrot 586, and her remarkable post-accident story along with Matt's story
of survival and his bond with Loreen.
Williams is vice president and portfolio manager for a major financial services organization. However, his real love is World War I aviation history. He has written
numerous articles which are published in "Over the Front Journals" (www.overthefront.com), hosted radio talk shows, and was president of the League of WWI Aviation
Historians for five years.
Many of our members in the audience for Williams talk on the Red Baron have been asking for him to present the American side of World War I, so this will be a
not-miss program. Be sure to bring a friend!
Date/Time: April 4, 2026
11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Mountain View, CA (exact location given after RSVP)
Cost: Member - $42 per person.
Non-Member - $47 per person.
Menu
Salad: Verde Mista: A mixed green salad tossed with balsamic vinaigrette.
ENTREE
Please choose One:
Penne con Pomodoro e Melenzane: Tube pasta with fresh diced tomatoes and eggplant.
or
Ravioli di Ricotta e Spinach: Homemade ravioli stuffed with spinach
and ricotta cheese in alight tomaato sauce
or
Spaghetti Bolognese: Spaghetti pasta in our rich, hearty meat sauce.
or
Chicken Marsala: Chicken breast in Marsala wine and mushrooms,
served with mashed potato and seasonal vegetables.
Dessert: Gelato
A no host bar will be available
Click on the "Add to Cart" button below to make
reservations via PayPal or see below for check instructions.
At the request of our bank, please make checks payable to Society for Aviation History (not SAH). Please send your check
to: SAH, P.O. Box 5344, Petaluma, CA. 94955
RSVP: Reservations must be received by Wednesday, April 1.
Note: If you can't make it and have already placed your reservation, we must receive notice by April 1 or we will be
unable to give you a refund. Reservations made after Wednesday, April 1, or arriving without a reservation will cost $75. You must pay to attend the meeting even if you don't plan on eating.
Click on this link to see our
Policies and Procedures Page
Our February 7, 2026 meeting was held at the Moffett Field Museum
"The Improbable Rescue of P-3 Alfa Foxtrot 586"
Speakers Loreen and Matt Gibbons, with SAH President Byron May
Alfa Foxtrot 586, a P-3 Orion turboprop, was conducting a sensitive Cold War mission off the Kamchatka Peninsula on October 26, 1978, when a propeller malfunction
turned into four engine fires and the pilot-Loreen Grigsby's husband, Jerry was forced to ditch into remote, mountainous seas churned by a frigid North Pacific
storm. The aircraft sank within ninety seconds, taking one of the three rafts with it, which left thirteen men to huddle together in the remaining two rafts,
the smaller of which soon began to leak.
The rescue of the crew is nothing short of a miracle, with U.S. aviation assets locating the survivors in rafts, then directing a Soviet fishing trawler to the
location. However, five men, including Jerry Grigsby, perished in the ditching. In the years following Jerry's death, Loreen discovers her inner strength,
resilience, and even new love with one of the accident survivors, Matt Gibbons.
Together, Loreen and Matt Gibbons presented the story of Jerry Grigsby, P-3 Alfa Foxtrot 586, and her remarkable post-accident story along with Matt's story
of survival and his bond with Loreen.
Click on this link to see our
Policies and Procedures Page
Your 2026 board members as shown here are: Ron Close - Secretary, Michael Stein, Nick Veronico, Roger Cain, Dan Morgan - Treasurer, Byron May - President,
John Jenkins, and Dave Osgood - V.P. (missing was Alice Hendricks)
To see some more of
our past meetings, click below
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2022-2020 meetings
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2017 meetings
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2015 meetings
2014 meetings
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2012 meetings
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2003 and earlier
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