The College Reunion, Page 3

helps”.

  He went on and on about how he took over his father’s business, turning it into a multi-million dollar corporation.

  “The way I heard it” Mr. Morgan said, “was that the company was worth almost a billion dollars and in less than a year, old Wendell turned it into a million dollar company”.

  It seems that after college he went into the Air Force and became an officer. Then it was off to flight school where he learned to fly jet fighters. He was so good, so he said that he received a personal invitation to join the Air Forces’ stunt flying team, the Thunderbirds.

  “I’ll tell you, you just wouldn’t believe how bright the sky is when you are soaring thousands of feet in the air”, He said, “the speed at which we flew, believe me, our shows were quite spectacular, full of really difficult precision moves. Some days we were so close to one another that you could almost touch the other planes as they went by”.

  Someone asked what his favorite stunt was, “My favorite stunt, He replied, “Well that would be when we’d fly in a really tight formation and then suddenly we would shoot straight up to over ten thousand feet each jet peeling off in different directions leaving a smoke trail that would like a star burst”.

  As he spoke, Mr. Hapsboro used his hands to show everyone exactly what each of the planes was doing. He moved so quickly that his glasses almost fell off his nose.

  Someone said that it sounds wonderful. This of course was all Mr. Hapsboro needed to continue his story.

  “We did shows all over the world”, He said, “but one of our best shows was at the Paris Air Show of 1974. I got to do a couple of solo stunts at that show; you can’t imagine how much of a thrill it was flying at Mach 1 in my F-4 Phantom at just over one thousand feet over the city of Paris”.

  Uncle Carl and Mrs. Roberts walked over to where Mr. Hapsboro was entertaining the other guests. “So Wendell”, Uncle Carl said, “Did I hear you say that you flew an F-4 Phantom in the 1974 Paris Air Show”.

  With a big grin on his face, “That’s right”, Mr. Hapsboro said, the best fighter ever built, I wouldn’t want to fly anything but”.

  Uncle Carl got a chair for Mrs. Roberts and sat down on a bench across from Mr. Hapsboro, smiled and shook his head.

  Mr. Hapsboro smiled at Mrs. Roberts she responded by reaching over and taking Uncle Carl’s hand.

  “Wendell”, Uncle Carl said, “I have told some tall tales in my time and even stretched the truth a bit now and then but that line of bull you’re spewing beats all”.

  The backyard got very quiet and everyone began to gather around Uncle Carl and Mr. Hapsboro.

  “Here it comes’, Sam Morgan told me, “It’s payback time”.

  “What is your problem Phillips”, Mr. Hapsboro asked.

  “Well”, Uncle Carl said, “you would think that someone with all your money could buy a better story then that”.

  “Are you calling me a liar, Phillips”, Mr. Hapsboro demanded.

  “I guess I just can’t see you as a jet fighter pilot”, Uncle Carl said with a smile, “And I sure as heck can’t believe you flew with the Thunderbirds”.

  “Perhaps it has more to do with jealousy than belief”, Mr. Hapsboro said.

  “You could be right Wendell”, Uncle Carl said, “You see I also went into the Air Force after College and I to became a pilot. I flew C-130 cargo planes…”

  “Hold on there Carl”, Sam Morgan said, “You might have flow cargo out of Germany but I know for a fact, since I was sitting next to you most of the time, you did more than that. What about the AC-130 Spectre gunship you flew; first out of Ubon, Thailand and then we got deployed to Tan Son Nhut AB near Saigon for the rest of our tour of duty”.

  “Yes but you’ve got to admit even the AC-130 was not nearly as fancy as a fighter. From what I remember about the requirements for flight school way back than was that one of the most important was that a perspective pilot had to have 20/20 vision”.

  “You and I went to school together from first grade all the way through Collage and for most of that time; you have worn glasses’, Uncle Carl said”, and I know for a fact that without those glasses you are as blind as a bat”.

  “Well my eyesight was not a hindrance to me in jet fighter school”, Mr. Hapsboro said, “I was so good that they didn’t want to lose me, so they made an exception”.

  “Well of course they did”, Sam Morgan said, “Why you’re Wendell Morris Hapsboro”.

  “That’s Wendell Morris Hapsboro, the third”, Matt Hawkins, Joe Turner and Bob Thompson said in a bit of three-part harmony.

  Mr. Hapsboro was about to say something but Uncle Carl interrupted. “If you went into the Air Force right after college that would have been the summer of 1969, which means you would have gone to Boot Camp, Officers Candidate School and then to flight school, right around the time I was there”, Uncle Carl said, “I’m surprised that we didn’t bump into each other”.

  “We hardly associate with the same class of people”, Mr. Hapsboro said, looking at Mr. Morgan.

  “Let me try to put things in some order so that my niece can understand what happened back then”, Uncle Carl said turning to me. “Now between boot camp, Officers Candidate School and basic flight school; if Wendell had been selected to go to jet fighter school he would have been in the Air Force for a year and a half, almost two years. That would have been the summer of 1971, right”?

  “Sounds right to me”, I said.

  “So what is your point Phillips”, Mr. Hapsboro said looking around at the crowd of people and smiling.

  I have no knowledge of all that military stuff but when Mr. Hapsboro was telling his story, I could tell from the expression on Uncle Carl face that he was sorting the facts from the fiction and had figured out that Mr. Hapsboro was making the whole thing up.

  “Well you see Wendell a good friend of mine, that ugly looking goober over there”, Uncle Carl said pointing to Mr. Bob Thompson, who smiled and tipped his cowboy hat, “He wanted to fly with the Thunderbirds. Now I remember him telling me that there were a lot of tough requirements and one of those requirements just to apply for the team was that you had to have at least 1000 hours of flight time in a jet aircraft. You also had to be in the Air Force at least three years”.

  “Is this going somewhere Phillips”, Mr. Hapsboro said.

  “You would have been flying for only about three years to make it to the air show in 1974”, Uncle Carl said, “and to get in 1000 hours of flight time in three years would have been quite a feat”.

  “I never said I had 1000 hours of flight time”, Mr. Hapsboro said, “What I said was that I received a personal invitation from the Thunderbirds to join their team, they were willing to make an exception to the rules in my case”.

  “Yeah, what’s the matter with you Carl”, Mr. Hawkins said, “The Air Force changed its rules just to get old Wendell into the Thunderbirds to keep him from getting away and maybe going to the Blue Angels”.

  “Well aside from the eyeglasses thing and accumulating 1000 flight hours in less than three years”, Uncle Carl said, “there are some major flaws in your story”.

  Mr. Hapsboro folded his arms across his chest, “Please enlighten us”, he said.

  “It will be my pleasure”, Uncle Carl said, “Now I didn’t get to fly in any of the Paris Air Shows, as I said I flew C-130’s and they ain’t built for stunt flying; but I did make a couple of trips there, delivering parts and some VIP’s from Germany, which allowed me to watch most of the shows”.

  “So Wendell”, Uncle Carl said, taking a deep breath. “If you actually had been flying F-4’s around that time period and if you actually were flying with the Thunderbirds and if you indeed managed to do half the thing you say I take my hat off to you, but you’ll pardon me if I am just a bit skeptical”.

  “Now why is that Carl”, Mr. Morgan asked.

  “Well you see young man”, Uncle Carl said.

  “I like it when he calls me young man”, Mr. Morgan said, m
aking a goofy smile.

  “I have just one question for you Wendell”, Uncle Carl said.

  “What would you like to know”, Mr. Hapsboro asked?

  When you were in that air show, you flew out of Charles de Gaulle airport, right”, Uncle Carl asked?

  “Of course”, Mr. Hapsboro said, “it was the Paris Air Show after all”.

  “That’s right Carl”, Mr. Turner said, “Where else would you expect to fly from in Paris”?

  “As I was saying, the reason I’m a bit skeptical concerning you flying achievements; well actually there are a few reasons. First of all, being somewhat of an Air Force History buff I know for a fact that starting in 1973 the Thunderbirds switched from flying F-4 Phantoms to T38A Talon aircraft”.

  “Second, I doubt that the French Government or US Air Force would have given you permission to fly over the city of Paris at one thousand feet and at Mach 1, there is no telling what kind of damage breaking the sound barrier over a large city would do. And if you were dumb enough to do something like that on your own you would not only be out of the Thunderbirds but out of the Air Force quicker than you could say Bob’s your uncle”.

  “I didn’t know you had an Uncle Bob, Wendell”, Mr. Turner said.

  “There is one other thing that really puts you story in doubt”, Uncle Carl said.

  “Oh really”, Mr. Hapsboro said, “and just what might that be”?

  “As I said, I was stationed in Germany for almost six years and I was able to make it to three Paris Air Shows the one