Legion Legislation Du& Here
Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon, Tuesday, August 2, 1949 5
CHIEF SCROUNGER OF THE "SWOOSE"
'Red' Vomer and Crew
Of Famed Plane Recalled
By HARMON NICHOLS
Washington (U.B The Mr. Fixit and chief scrounger of the crew
of the famed "Swoose" was Capt. Howard (Red) Varner.
Red could beg, borrow or steal anything from a knob on the
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Site of Business Sessions Most of the general business as
semblies of the 31st annual Oregon state American Legion
convention will be held in the beautiful capitol building,
pictured here.
1 n strumentir-J(K--''1
panel to a wing? VV ,
flat to keep the Sseito i A
fabulous B-llW !f
in the air. tl j(Jf
The "Swoose" 4 "Sir
was so dubbed
by the crew aft
er she was scar
red at Pearl
Harbor, because
she was "half
swan and half
goose."
Anyhow, the goose or swan
hung high for many a long
month and became the only air
ship to fly and fight the enemy
continuously from P-H day to
V-J day. Some day she will
come to a quiet rest at a national
air museum to be built here
That'll be part of the Smith
sonian institution.
But to get back to Red Var
ner and his antics.
I got the story from Col
Frank Kurtz of Los Angeles,
Original pilot of the "Swoose"
who now is stationed at the Pen
tagon here.
He told me about his crew.
Lt. Marvin L. MacAdams of
Baltimore, now dead; Maj
Harry Schieber of Galveston.
the navigator; Capt. Rowland
(Danny) Boone of Hemet, Calif,
the crew chief; Maj. Charles T
Reeves of Bakersfield, Calif.,
the bombardier. Plus our man
Captain Red of San Rafael, Calif
They made up a great gang
and doubled in brass and alum
inum. Maintenance men on the
ground and crack bombing crew
m the air. The "Swoose" did
well over 2,000 hours over the
Pacific.
This guy Red, though. If the
boys needed a couple of yards
of bailing wire to "lock" a door
or keep the bomb bay tight, he
could find it. One crew mem
ber threw up a challenge once.
"I'll bet you a buck. Red," he
said, "you can't find us any
American coffee here in the
Pacific."
Red disappeared. Soon he
was back and collecting his
buck. On the next mission
there was a can of Maxwell
House m the cabin when the
ship "hit the blue." No ques
tions asked.
Another time the "Swoose,"
held together as usual by make
shift, had just set a new record
ore a flight from Australia to
New Zealand. Came the dark
of night and the beys thought
they deserved a party which
they really did.
Col. Kurtz explained that the
officers' clubs abroad closed
with the setting sun.
What was a party without
anything to eat or drink?
Our man Red was off like a
flash, even though it was 10
o'clock at night, the town was
out of bounds and dark to boot.
Inside of an hour, the hungry
and thirsty crew looked down
the company street to see a
weary figure struggling under a
gunny sack slung over his
shoulder.
Red, of course. The sack was
full of everything from caviar
to potato chips. From Ameri
can beer to champagne.
The boys learned later that
Red not only had dragged his
honor out of the sack but also
half the town.
(
iWi ... i
Stephen Chadwiek of Seat
tle, past national commander,
who is one of the distinguished
guests at the 31st annual Ore
gon state Legion convention in
Salem this week.
Take Service Work
Independence Elmer Hat
field and Cecil House have tak
en over the service department
of Fulmer's garage. House was
formerly employed by Hart
Motor company and Hatfield
has been operating a shop ir
Monmouth and has been em
ployed at Fulmer's. Both men
are approved mechanics.
M Bellows Co.. New York 86.8 Proof 60 Grain Neutral Spirits '.J
i
I Livesly Building
I
I j
You Are Cordially
Invited to Make This
Your Downtown
Meeting Place
CONVENIENTLY
LOCATED IN SALEM'S
TALLEST BUILDING
Enjoy teeing the beautiful Lenox China and a hundred lovely patterns of
silverware, including these famous names:
Gorham - Wallace - Smith - Towle - Alvin - Whiting
International - Lunt - Heirloom - Reed & Barton
State and Libertyl