The Coast News, March 22, 2013

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A10 THE COAST NEWS MARCH 22, 2013 JEAN GILLETTE Small Talk Time for spring break madness So, my son has been madly prepping for “Step 1” of medical sc hool exams, which future doctors have to tak e at the end of their second y ear. This preparation must be done in ad dition to the regular med-school workload, he explained, thus securing the mom sympathy vote. In spite of all this, he has been making the most of being centrally located on the East Coast. During the past few months, he has been skiing in Vermont, visiting New Hampshire and sightseeing in D.C. He then mentions he and his girl are planning a small vacation after the big test in Ma y. OK. That sounds reasonable. Key West, they think, might be nice. I agree. Warm. Not hurricane season. Mosquitos, maybe, will be the biggest threat. And, oh, by the way, could I send the star ving student just a little money toward the trip? Well, gosh. My baby boy has been working pretty hard, pushing through his second year of med school in Boston, so I wir e off the cash with a smile. No sooner does the cash clear then I get a new email. Gee, it says, we got a fabulous deal on an all-inclusive resort in Cancun! As in Mexico. As in, not on U.S. soil and in that country filled with drug cartel madness. Mother is not pleased. Mother has a stomachache. Mother did not hesitate to e xpress her surprise and disma y at their choice. “Mom,” my son gently replied, like the invulnerable 25-year-old that he is, TURN TO SMALL TALK ON A15 For one veteran, ride in B-17 was a trip into past By Tony Cagala EL CAJON — His fir st mission: a tar get over Schweinfurt, Germany. The date, April 13, 1944 — it w as a Friday. Douglas Dowell, then a 19-year-old kid, boarded his B-17 bomber with a cr ew of nine other kids his age and prepared to tak e off fr om their airfield in Kimbolton, England.Their plane was one of 550 other bomber s from the 8th Air Force, 379th bomb group. Dowell, now 88 years old, and who ser ved as the top turret gunner and engineer on his first plane the Powerful Katrinka (named after the pilot’ s wife), still remembers the missions he flew in, completing 33 in all. “I remember the first one very well,” Dowell said. “We started with 550 airplanes and we lost 55 exactly over the tar get. So being a whiz at mathematics e ven then in those days, I lost some of my virginity,” he added. When he made it bac k from that fir st mission, he looked at his plane and counted the mor e than 300 holes in it either from flak or from enemy planes’ bullets. “When you first start, you think, ‘I’m never going to get hit. The other guys get hurt.’ But then when y ou see 10 percent gone in that fir st mission, you begin to think, I’ve got to fl y 24 mor e. You think, ‘Well, am I going to make it or not?’” Dowell said that luc kily, kids forget that. “And you just keep going, which I did.” Dowell and his crew kept taking to the air. “You didn’t have much choice,” he said. “You’re in service, and of course the war (is) going on, they want you to do something, you do it. And I was happy. I enjoyed the Air Force. I enjoyed all 26 y ears being in the Air Force. It’s a little scary at times,” he said. Dowell served from 1942 to 1968. His grandson is also in the Air Force, following in his footsteps, he said, something that makes him very proud. Dowell received a call from Scott Maher with the Liberty Foundation, a nonprofit flying museum that tours the countr y with historic planes from World War Douglas Dowell, 88, sits at the radio operator’s desk in a B-17 bomber. Dowell completed 33 missions during World War II as an engineer and top turret gunner with the 8th Air Force, 379th bomb group. Photos by Tony Cagala II. The tours give people a chance to see the militar y machines that helped win a war and intr oduce them to the men who flew in the planes. Maher invited Dowell to return to the plane that had brought him through danger and back to safety f or a chance to fly once again. It was a chance that Dowell didn’t pass up. And it was a rare chance, too, this being one of onl y eight of the B-17 airfr ames still flying, according to Liberty Foundation volunteer pilot Bob Hill.The plane, a replica of the Memphis Belle, the first bomber to complete 25 missions, (the number of missions needing to be completed before going home) was also used in the 1990 film of the same name. When Dowell completed his 25th mission, the word he used to describe the feeling: “Happy.” Though he w ould go on to fly in eight mor e missions during the war. The first thing you realize when fl ying in the B-17, also referred to as the Flying Fortress because of its dur ability, was how cold it w as, Dowell explained. The Liberty Foundation is offering flights and tours of the B-17 Flying Fortress March 23 and March 24 at Gillespie Field. The plane is a replica of the Memphis Belle, the first to complete 25 missions. The plane was also used in the 1990 movie of the same name. “The B-17 had very, very poor heaters,” he said. “And if you fly in the w aist, and I had flown in that waist a few missions, the windows are open…and your machine gun was pointing out the windo w and so the air w as coming in and it w as somewhere between -40 (degrees) and -60 (degrees) depending on what altitude you were at. Cold,” he said. “And the heated suits that we wore, the blue suits, never worked properly… so you were always cold. I guess I’m still cold today,” he said. For Dowell, it seemed the memories of what he had seen and been thr ough during the w ar were still just below the surf ace, fighting back tears when asked about the past. He had some good memories, he said, but also, he had lost an a wful lot of friends, even classmates from his high school that fle w in his same bomber g roup. “One kid from Iowa City, which is close to where I went to high school, who I became v ery close to, was flying in the nose one time and the (enemy) aircraft blew the nose off. That got me, ” Douglas said. Much of what Dowell did during his missions was standing in the top turr et, helping the pilot to sta y in formation with the rest of the bombers, or scanning the skies for enemy fighters and firing at the German ME-109s and the FW -190s that came in. “And we did a lot of that,” Dowell said. “As far as I know, I never hit an airplane. I would like to have, but I didn’t.” Still, it was extremely difficult to tell whether y ou did or not, he explained. “You got all of those air planes firing at the enem y and y ou never know, did my bullet hit, or did his bullet hit, or did none of them hit?” As a v olunteer pilot of the B-17, Hill said he was glad that he only gets to play a B- 17 pilot instead of being an 18, 19, or 20-year-old kid flying in the cold skies and getting shot at over Europe. “That must have been nightmarish,” Hill said. “When you speak to the v eterans, they would tell y ou that they didn’t mind the fighters as m uch because they could shoot bac k and that, at least, gave them some degree of satisfaction. “But the anti-aircraft fire that would be shot at the airplane, which they termed, ‘flak,’ which is exploding shells, and it just threw steel all through the sk y, they feared that because it w as random.” As for why it’s important to remember these planes and the men who fle w in them, Dowell said he couldn’t answer that, except to say, “I think it’s good that the young kids of today know that a lot of work and a lot of people died for them. And I hope that they are instilled with the same sense of duty that we were.” The Liberty F oundation is hosting the Memphis Belle, available for tours and f or flights at Gillespie F ield March 23 and March 24. Visit libertyfoundation.org for more information.
MARCH 22, 2013 Angel Lopez, 15, is the youngest nominee from Oceanside to receive the Boys & Girls Clubs San Diego County Youth of the Year award. Courtesy photo Oceanside teen is youth of the year By Promise Yee OCEANSIDE — Angel Lopez has been recognized as the Boys & Girls Clubs San Diego County Youth of the Year. At 15, he is the youngest nominee the Oceanside Boys & Girls Club has had for the award. By age 12, Lopez already had man y of the responsibilities of an adult. While his mother worked, he got his three younger brothers ready and dropped off at daycare and school before getting himself to school. Sometimes this entailed taking two buses to get everyone to their destinations. It was a responsibility he took on with the understanding that his mother was doing everything she could to provide for the family. Time for himself came between 3 and 6 in the afternoon when he and his brothers were at the Boys & Girls Club. Lopez found a safe haven at the club. He had the guidance of adults and time to be with his peers. “It has gi ven me the opportunity to be a kid,” he said. Club instructors encouraged him to do more than attend school. They pushed him to set goals and pursue his interests. Lopez joined the school track team, brought up his grades and became a counselor in training at the club, which included honing his writing and public speaking skills. “He’s come such a long way in the past three years, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is just the beginning of Angel’s success,” Stephanie Peterson, Boys & Girls Club instructor, said. “He’s an inspiring young man, with a story of strength that will represent San Diego perfectly.” Club instructors describe him as a quiet and charismatic leader. “He has innate natural leadership,” Amy Caillouette, Boys & Gir ls Club administrator, said. “He has a quiet way of influencing and leading younger kids and helping them make positive decisions.” “I’m excited about his choices as he g rows,” Caillouette added. “He’s doing more than just being an example, people are going to follow him. I know that he’s going to continue making a difference.” Lopez will go on to compete for regional and perhaps state and national Boys & Girls Clubs Youth of the Year awards and sc holarships. The Boy & Girls Club of Oceanside serves 3,600 youth a year. This year the club is celebrating its 60th anni versary. Expires 3-31-13 Free Consultation A KIND, CARING ATTORNEY You can be assured we will take your case seriously, return your phone calls in a timely manner and strive to provide quality, honest and affordable representation. WILLS & TRUSTS Probate • Conservatorships Estate Planning • Probate Litigation • Will & Trust Contests. Estate Planning For Pets FAMILY LAW Divorce • Mediation • Paternity Spousal / Child Support Guardianships • Adoptions Name Change V Rachel rana 950 Boardwalk, Suite 304, San Marcos rachel@vranalaw.com 760.634.2403 Who’s NEWS? Business news and special achievements for North San Diego County. Send information via email to community@ coastnewsgroup.com. Top design award MiraCosta College theater student Hannah Dohrer has captured an award as top cost u m e designer for the Western United HANNAH DOHRER THE COAST NEWS States. Now she is headed to the K ennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as a national finalist. Dohrer is an acting student whose work as costume designer for MiraCosta College’s production of “Oedipus the King” earned the Costume Design Award at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival Feb. 17 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Way to go, Angel! Boys & Gir ls Clubs of Oceanside Angel Lopez is chosen to be BGC San Diego County Youth of the Year. Lopez found The Boys & Girls Clubs of Oceanside at age 12, his journey of learning and growth to be awarded the title of The BGC San Diego County's Youth of the Year has been inspiring. All of San Diego County will be cheering for Lopez when he shar es his story at the Sacramento competition on April 17. Trail blazers Park Planning Manager Liz Ketabian and volunteer trail captains Ed and Tricia Cerda were recognized by the California Parks and Recreation Society for their outstanding contributions to the Car lsbad Citywide Trails Program. Ketabian received the Reco gnition Award for a professional in the field. The Cerdas received the Citation Award for community volunteers. Private collection Artists Patrick Carney, Terrell Washington Anansi, Isaias Crow, Sami Alamoudi, Rod Villa, Rick Hunt, Alhex Dicer, Jon Redman, Spel Uno, David Reyes, Ugo Villegas and Francisco Xinol are on display by private showing at the new Carlsbad warehouse space of Encinitas artist Santos Or ellana. Book a tour by calling (760) 633-1644. Delegate chosen Carlsbad resident Caroline Peck has been selected as a delegate to the American Legion NICOLE MAXWELL Your ENCINITAS/WEST Territory Manager Call Nicole for all your advertising needs. A11 Auxiliary Girls State Program, to be held at Claremont McKenna College in June. A junior at Santa F e Christian CAROLINE PECK Schools, Caroline was chosen for participation at Gir ls State f or her academic achievements, leadership abilities and interest in government and current events. 760.436.9737 x109 nmaxwell@coastnewsgroup.com
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The Coast News, March 22, 2013

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