by Chief Master Sergeant Mike Eisenberg
388th Equipment Maintenance Squadron Munitions Flight Chief
7/5/2010 – HILL AFB, Utah – On June 23, 2010, the Air Force munitions community said farewell to one of its greatest supporters! There was standing room only in the spacious Hill Aerospace Museum for the retirement of Colonel Randy B. Tymofichuk.
Colonel Tymofichuk was the 309th Missile Maintenance Group Commander at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. He led depot maintenance and repair for all Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in support of USSTRATCOM requirements. His group was directly responsible for the assembly and transport of rocket motors for Missile Defense Agency test launches and aging and surveillance testing on various solid rocket motors, munitions, and associated equipment.
He served in critical positions in missile operations and maintenance at every echelon in the Air Force to include key staff positions at Numbered Air Force, MAJCOM, and Headquarters United States Air Force, as well as commanding at the squadron and three times at the group level.
It was an incredible sight to witness as supporters came out in groves! Many were Air Force General Officers, Commanders, munitions personnel, retirees, and civilians who worked with or under him while he was Commander of the 75th Maintenance Group, Commander, 784th Combat Sustainment Group, and Commander, 309th Missile Maintenance Group.
This retirement ceremony was especially significant in that Colonel Tymofichuk was bestowed the honor of being nominated and inducted as an honorary member of the Ammo Chiefs Association. His certificate and coin were presented by CMSgt (Ret) Calandra, CMSgt (Ret) Maurer, CMSgt (Ret) Fallen, CMSgt Eisenberg, and (C)MSgt Jones. Colonel Tymofichuk was truly touched to have received such an honor from a group he has respected throughout his career.
The persistent theme from guest speakers, friends, and family was the Colonel’s unwavering dedication and devotion to the advancement of the munitions community and his sincere caring for the personnel that worked for or around him. Although he has retired, his legacy to the munitions community will definitely live on!
Please help honor an Aviation Ordnance Chief and Hero, by signing the online petition to have a US Navy ship named after him. http://www.petitiononline.com/USSLTJWF/ . Chief Finn (later commissioned and retired as a Lt. USN) is the only Aviation Ordnanceman (or equivalent in the other services) to be awarded the Medal of Honor! IYA AmmO YAS
Retired Navy Lt. John W. Finn, received the Medal of Honor for mounting a daring counterattack on Japanese aircraft from an improvised machine gun post during the raid on Pearl Harbor. He died May 27 at a veterans home in Chula Vista, Calif. At 100, he was the oldest surviving recipient of the nation’s highest honor for valor and was among the first to receive the award during World War II.
On the morning of Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese aircraft Hawaii, plunging the nation into World War II, numerous acts of valor played out. Of the 15 Medal of Honor recipients from those attacks, 14 were for rescue attempts. John Finn’s award was the only one for fighting back. Amid the death and destruction, Aviation Ordnance Chief Finn, on an airfield runway, was waging a war of his own against the Japanese
A few minutes before 8 o’clock, Japanese planes attacked the Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station, about 12 miles from Battleship Row at Ford Island, hoping to knock out three dozen Navy aircraft before they could get air born.
Chief Finn, the Aviation Ordnance Chief in charge of munitions at the naval station and a veteran of 15 years in the Navy, was in bed in a nearby apartment with his wife, Alice. He heard the sound of aircraft, saw one plane flash past his window, then another, and he heard machine guns.
He dressed hurriedly, and drove to the naval station. At first, he observed the base’s 20 miles-per-hour speed limit. But then, “I heard a plane come roaring in from astern of me,” he recalled decades later in an interview with Larry Smith for “Beyond Glory,” an oral history of Medal of Honor recipients. “As I glanced up, the guy made a wing-over, and I saw that big old red meatball, the rising sun insignia, on the underside of the wing. Well, I threw it into second and it’s a wonder I didn’t run over every sailor in the air station.”
When Chief Finn arrived at the hangars, many of the planes had already been hit. He recalled that he grabbed a .30-caliber machine gun and mounted it on a makeshift tripod, carried it to an exposed area near a runway and began firing. For the next two and a half hours, he blazed away, although peppered by shrapnel as the Japanese planes strafed the runways with cannon fire.
As he remembered it: “I got shot in the left arm and shot in the left foot, broke the bone. I had shrapnel blows in my chest and belly and right elbow and right thumb. Some were just scratches. My scalp got cut, and everybody thought I was dying: Oh, Christ, the old chief had the top of his head knocked off! I had 28, 29 holes in me that were bleeding. I was walking around on one heel. I was barefooted on that coral dust. My left arm didn’t work. It was just a big ball hanging down.”
Chief Finn thought he had hit at least one plane, but he did not know whether he brought it down. When the attack ended, he received first aid, then returned to await a possible second attack. He was hospitalized the following afternoon.
On Sept. 15, 1942, Chief Finn received the Medal of Honor from Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, in a ceremony aboard the carrier Enterprise at Pearl Harbor. Admiral Nimitz cited Chief Finn for his “magnificent courage in the face of almost certain death.”
John William Finn was born on July 23, 1909, in Los Angeles County, the son of a plumber. He dropped out of school to join the Navy at age 17.
He served stateside after he recovered from his Pearl Harbor wounds, became a lieutenant in 1944 and remained in military service after the war. He was living on a cattle ranch in Pine Valley, Calif., about 45 miles east of San Diego, before entering the nursing home where he died. His survivors include a son, Joseph. His wife died in 1998.
Only four of the Pearl Harbor Medal of Honor recipients survived the war, ten died in the attack and one died in November 1942 in the battle for Guadalcanal.
To ACA membership: Talked with retired MSgt Dave Crute over the weekend about his recovery from cancer surgery and chemo treatments. He’s in very good spirits and thinks in a few more weeks he’ll be back ready for action. Dave retired out of Langley some years ago and stayed in the Hampton Roads area where he has a auto repair shop that him and his son run to serve the local community.
He has a daughter that’s serving aboard the USN George Bush aircraft carrier. The Navy had a family day aboard the carrier and sailed out to open waters for the day a few weeks ago and Dave was able to go out and enjoyed the day.
Dave is a veteran of Vietnam and I had the pleasure of serving with him in the 80’s at Davis Monthan and Langley. Dave always did his best to take care of the troops.
I’m sure he would appreciate a card from old friends and the Ammo community.
Dues for the 2010 membership year should have been paid by January 31st. If you are delinquent please pay at the earliest opportunity. If your membership has lapsed you can be reinstated by paying the current year, $25. Send checks to the ACA Secretary, 6046 SW 98 Loop, Ocala, FL, 34476
One of our members in Texas, Ammo Chief John Rivard is interested in forming a Chapter to cover the Southwest. Any members or potential members who are interested please contact John Rivard!
1. Date, Time, Location: March 13, 2010, 1:15 pm (1315 hours), 1 FW Munitions Flight Administrative Facility, Langley AFB, VA.
2. Purpose: General membership meeting.
3. Attendees: A quorum was present (10 of 19 voting members including 2 proxies).
PRESENT
Michael Gavin (President)
Mike Robertson – (Vice President)
Wilbur McCullough – (Secretary/Treasurer)
Richard Pennington
John Matthews (Proxy)
Tom McConnell
Ed Weisheit
Dan Munro
Rick Follett
Phil Kennedy (Proxy)
ASSOCIATES
John Usefara
4. The following Agenda Items were discussed:
a. Mike Gavin welcomed our new members to the group: Dan Munro and Rick Follett were at the meeting and Ken Jackson joined but could not make it to Langley.
b. The Secretary presented the minutes from the December 12, 2009 meeting.
i. Motion to accept – Rich Pennington
ii. Seconded – Mike Robertson
iii. Unanimously approved.
c. The Treasurer provided a detailed fiscal update (attached). Our current balance of $662.45 was supported by coin sales and membership dues. Since the December meeting, we disbursed awards to base-level Ammo troops ($150.00), donated to the CMSgt Richard Gauvin Scholarship Fund ($250.00), and assisted Ammo troops in need during the Christmas holiday period ($400.00). Mike Robertson asked if we had anything in writing regarding reimbursement of dues if a member leaves the area. There is nothing in our by-laws. Bill mentioned we had contacted Dan Fri when he was about to leave the area and he told us to keep the dues. We’ll approach this the same way with other departing members.
5. Old Business:
a. Awards Committee: We had no annual winners announced in January. We are awaiting word on the 1st quarter winners.
b. Membership: With the recent addition of Rick Follett, Dan Munro, and Ken Jackson, our active Ammo Chief membership roll is up to 19 plus 3 Associate members.
c. Fundraising: The coins sales continue to do well and we expect to have a spike in sales due to the upcoming ANG (Apr) and CAF (May) conferences. Mike Gavin will have the yard sale at his house on June 19 and was accepting donated items after the meeting. Further details on what type of help he will need will be sent out as the time nears. Tom McConnell stated the beer mugs go for about $4.00 and we can sell them for a good profit. He wasn’t able to get any information on the gilded glasses from Incirlik similar to the ones given away at the ACA reunion held at Hampton, VA. During the meeting we collected $8.00 for coin sales, $20.00 for shirt sales, $75.00 for ACAMC dues, and $75.00 for ACA dues. Rick Follett mentioned coins may be cheaper from Turkey. The quality issue was discussed and LENAJ set some high standards. However, the set-up fee is high so it is best we not alter designs too often. The use of raffles to raise funds was discussed. There were concerns about the legal issues on a military installation. Additionally, there was discussion about risk in selecting a prize that would reach a broad spectrum of people and not create a debt for the chapter.
d. Sunset Committee: Gen Leo Marquez is going through chemo and perceives he is doing better. The Ammo community lost TSgt Jeffery Culp, SrA Sean McGinnis, and MSgt Wali Lanier.
e. Participation in ACAMC meetings: Overall attendance has been up. Weather issues along the east coast prevented some members from attending. Hopefully, June will yield a better turnout.
f. Update on the Langley AFB (December 11th) dinner honoring the 50th Anniversary of the rank of CMSgt. No information provided by the Langley Chiefs or in the base paper. Item closed.
g. Virginia license plate with active duty Air Force recognition. Phil Kennedy was not present to discuss status. Because 300 or so people need to commit to the purchase of the plate, it was deemed to be out of our purview. Another group on Langley should lead this effort.
h. Marble bench recognizing Ammo community by Wright-Patterson AFB museum. Rich gave the group an update. The ACA is acquiring two plaques from a company in Dayton, OH. One will be at this museum and the other will go to the Air Armament Museum at Eglin AFB. The goal is to dedicate the plaque at Eglin during the ACA reunion.
i. ACA reunion update. The dates for the reunion are 4-7 November and it will be held at the Sunrise Holiday Inn in Ft. Walton beach. The off-season room cost should be about $65.00 plus tax. The ACA is looking for inputs on the extracurricular activities.
j. Etching of current inventory of gold ACAMC coins. Mike Gavin will have Jeff Purdy do a test at the Armament Shop to ascertain if it can be done, and how to best etch the numbers.
6. New Business:
a. Fund-raising proposal; already discussed in paragraph 5c.
b. The CAF conference will be held 2-7 May at a hotel in the Langley area. No funds are needed to support the CAF. There is an opportunity to sell some coins and socialize with fellow Ammo troops at the conference.
c. The floor was opened for new business.
a). Mike Gavin brought up John Cecere’s proposal for establishing lifetime dues for ACAMC members. The group discussed the idea and determined that our limited membership size and unpredictable flow of new members prevents us from cutting off guaranteed funds.
i. Motion to keep annual dues – Rich Pennington
ii. Seconded – Bill McCullough
iii. Unanimously approved.
b). Mike Gavin brought up deleting the “Sharp Troop” award. This was discussed based upon all of the monies that went out for other award programs. It was determined the award would be kept as a way to recognize young Ammo troops and was good public relations for the ACAMC.
c). Rich mentioned the AMRAAM award submittals are due. The ACAMC supports winners in our area of responsibility.
d). Due to new information, Rich asked for an updated 2010 calendar of events (attached).
7. The meeting was adjourned at 2:21pm (1421 hours).
i. Motion to adjourn – Mike Gavin.
ii. Seconded – Rich Pennington.
iii. Adjourned by unanimous decision.
8. The next meeting is planned for June 19, 2010 after the yard sale at Mike Gavin’s house.
9. The group socialized for awhile and feasted on sandwiches, chips, and beverages provided by Mike Gavin. We then went out and loaded up Mike’s truck with yard sale items.
//signed//
Wilbur C. McCullough III
“It was only in this far before I lost sight of it.”Mid-Atlantic Chapter holds meeting 13 Mar 2010Prepping the Food!“This one would have fit me a few years ago!”
