UPCOMING EVENTS
Come to our live, in-person breakfast in Beaver, PA. We’ll have 6th grade students from a nearby elementary school in attendance, asking the veterans questions and getting an education from those who’ve served from WWII to the present. On the left is Thomas Sizemore, who served as a radioman on a B-17 in World War II. At a recent Seven Oaks breakfast, he shared this story:
In December 3rd, 1944, during training at Drew Field in Tampa, Florida, our crew stood out. Chosen from B-17 crews nationwide, we were assigned a unique task: fly a brand new B-17 bomber to Stewart Air Force Base in West Point, New York for an upcoming air show.
We picked up our shiny new B-17 at Hunter Field in Savannah, Georgia and flew it to Stewart Air Force Base for the weekend’s show. After the successful event, on December 11th, we initiated the return journey.
Leaving Stewart Air Force Base, we encountered harsh weather along the east coast—torrential rain, gusty winds, and thick clouds. Navigating through these challenges, visibility dropped as we approached Philadelphia.
Amid the adverse conditions, our pilot focused on visual navigation, turning to instruments when necessary. We contacted Air Traffic Control and were directed to ascend to 6,000 feet for a landing plan in Washington, D.C. However, worsening weather led to an airspace closure south of Washington, forcing us to divert and prepare for an overnight halt.
Approaching the Washington area, intermittent breaks in the cloud cover revealed familiar landmarks to me, a native of the region. Through these openings, I saw was the Washington Monument just off our left wing tip. The top of the monument was just above our altitude. We flew at just 500 feet over the Capitol and right down the Mall between the White House and the Washington Monument, restricted air space. I guess because of the low clouds, no one on the ground saw us. But they definitely heard our engines roaring.
Our pilot was ordered to report to the operations office immediately after we landed. It turns out that National was closed to military aircraft, and we were in serious violation. Our pilot got a real chewing out and was told to “get that B-17 off the airport before some General sees it.”
Undeterred by the challenging conditions, we departed National Airport despite heavy rain, strong winds, and low visibility. Without retracting the landing gear, we made an unconventional landing at Bolling Field across the Potomac River. Spending the night there, we resumed our journey the following day, en route to Hunter Field, Savannah.
We meet at Seven Oaks Country Club (132 Lisbon Rd, Beaver, 15009). You’ll walk in, pick up your name badge, pay $15 if you plan to eat (no cost for those who don’t), and meet others who are there to hear and share the stories. Breakfast is served at 8:30am. At 9:00am, we start the program. For the next 90 minutes, we circulate the room with the microphone and have veterans share a slice of their service experience. You never know what you’re going to hear, and there’s always new people with new memories to offer.
RSVP by calling 412-623-9029 or emailing betty@veteransbreakfastclub.org. Please make sure to RSVP for events at least two days in advance. We understand that your schedule can change quickly, but advance notice of attendance always helps us and our venues prepare the program. Thank you!
Thank you to our Event Sponsor, Advocate Health Advisors
Capt Jeb F. Seagle drags Capt Timothy D. Howard away from their burning AH-i Cobra, shot down by enemy antiaircraft fire near Fort Frederick(Reconstructive art by Lt Col A. M. “Mike” Leahy, USMCR)
Forty years ago, on October 25, 1983, U.S. forces, with a coalition of Caribbean nations, launched Operation Urgent Fury, the invasion of Grenada, an island nation at the southern tip of the Lesser Antilles, about 500 miles from the Venezuelan coast. It was a key moment in a volatile year that saw the Cold War heat up more than it had since Vietnam.
Join us on October 9 at 7pm for a special two-hour program to talk with a journalist, museum curators, and five remarkable Marine Corps veterans whoserved in Grenada and almost never made it back.
Journalist Phil Kukielski, author of The U.S. Invasion of Grenada: Legacy of a Flawed Victory, will give us the background of the story and also tell us why so much of the war has been shrouded in secrecy.
Larry Burke and Doug Doer from the National Museum of the Marine Corps will also show us a stunning new artifact installed from Operation Urgent Fury. It’s the tail boom of a US Marine AH-1 Cobra helicopter from Operation Urgent Fury, one of two shot down by anti-aircraft fire.
Behind that artifacts is a story of rescue and survival. Five Marines involved in that story will be on our program giving their first-hand accounts.
On the first day of the invasion, two AH-1 Cobras were sent into action to assist some Navy SEALs on the ground in Grenada. Both took fire from Grenadian forces.
One caught fire but managed a rough landing on the ground. Its pilots, Captains Jeb Seagle and Timothy Howard, escaped the wreckage. Seagle went for help, while Howard, right arm nearly shot off below the elbow, right leg severely injured, and a large piece of shrapnel in his neck, waited at the crash site for help.
Coming to the rescue was a Marine CH-46 crew, which also took fire as it descended to land.
Gunnery Sgt. Kelley Neideigh, a Vietnam veteran who’d been manning the door gun, braved fire at the crash site to drag Howard to the CH-46 to safety.
With no sign of Seagle, and Howard’s condition worsening, the CH-46 crew took off. Seagle was later found dead on the beach, killed by hostile fire.
The other AH-1 Cobra still circled above, drawing fire to allow the rescue team to take off from the crash site. However, deadly anti-aircraft fire sent the Cobra into the sea, killing pilots Major John “Pat” Guigerre and 1st Lt. Jeff Sharver.
In the months and years that followed, Tim Howard learned to walk again and function with one intact arm. He remained in the Marine Corps until his retirement as a colonel in 2006.
We are honored and privileged to welcome Tim Howard to our program to remember the events of October 25, 1983. We’ll also have Kelley Neideigh, who dragged Howard to safety.
In addition, we’ll welcome three other crew members, heroes all, who flew the CH-46 rescue mission on October 25: Pilot Major Mel DeMars, Co-pilot 1st Lieutenant Larry King, and Crew Chief Corporal Simon “Doug” Gore.
Finally, we’ll welcome Vivian Scharver, Gold Star mother of 1st Lt Jeff Sharver, USMC, KIA 25 Oct 1983, Operation Urgent Fury.
Join us to hear the remarkable story of a little-known Cold War operation from those who were there.
Thank you to Tobacco Free Adagio Health for sponsoring this event!
GET INVOLVED TODAY
The mission of the Veterans Breakfast Club is to create communities of listening around veterans and their stories to ensure that this living history will never be forgotten. We believe that through our work, people will be connected, educated, healed, and inspired.
INTRODUCING THE VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT
Preserving veterans’ stories so that this living history is never forgotten.
We pair passionate VBC volunteers with military veterans for one-on-one oral history interviews over Zoom. If you are a veteran, or you know a veteran, who would be interested in sharing his or her story with us, let us know. If you are someone interested in conducting these interviews, please reach out!
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