Report detailing Eleanor Brown's activities as the Director of Region 2 from October 2004 through April 2005.

Minutes from the Spring 2005 board meeting of the WASP of WWII, held in Washington, D.C.

Agenda for the WASP board meeting held April 2, 2005 in Washington, D.C.

Report prepared by Sara P. Hayden for the WASP board meeting held on April 2, 2005 in Washington, D.C. detailing her activities as the chair of the Military and Veterans Affairs committee.

Report prepared by Lucile Wise for the WASP board meeting discussing recent changes made to the organization's newsletter.

We report on the first demonstration of imaging microstructures with soft x-ray microscopy operating in reflection geometry. X-ray microscopy in reflection mode combines the high resolution available with x-ray optics, the ability to image thick samples, and to directly image surfaces and interfaces. Future experiments with this geometry will include tuning the incident angle to obtain depth resolution. In combination with XMCD as magnetic contrast mechanism this mode will allow studies of deep buried magnetic interfaces.

Ohio University, in collaboration with CONSOL Energy, Advanced Technology Systems, Inc (ATS) and Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. (AER) as subcontractors, is evaluating the impact of emissions from coal-fired power plants in the Ohio River Valley region as they relate to the transport and deposition of mercury, arsenic, and associated fine particulate matter. This evaluation will involve two interrelated areas of effort: ambient air monitoring and regional-scale modeling analysis. The scope of work for the ambient air monitoring will include the deployment of a surface air monitoring (SAM) station in southeastern Ohio. The SAM station will contain sampling equipment to collect and measure mercury (including speciated forms of mercury and wet and dry deposited mercury), arsenic, particulate matter (PM) mass, PM composition, and gaseous criteria pollutants (CO, NO{sub x}, SO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, etc.). Laboratory analysis of time-integrated samples will be used to obtain chemical speciation of ambient PM composition and mercury in precipitation. Near-real-time measurements will be used to measure the ambient concentrations of PM mass and all gaseous species including Hg{sup 0} and RGM. Approximately of 18 months of field data will be collected at the SAM site to validate the proposed regional model simulations for episodic and …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Charles. Charles was born in Picher, Oklahoma in 1919. Placed in a foster home at sixteen years of age he was encouraged to complete high school and attended college. On 6 June 1940 he joined the US Marine Corps and went to San Diego for boot camp. After boot training he was selected for Marine Corps Field Intelligence Training. When he completed this training he was ordered to proceed to Shanghai. Prior to arrival, his orders changed and he was assigned aboard the USS Houston (CA-30). He describes being in the battles of Makassar Straits, the Java Sea and Sunda Straits. When the Houston sank, Charles became a prisoner of war. He tells a vivid tale of torture, abuse and malnutrition during a trip on a hell ship to Changi Prison Camp. There, he experienced dreadful conditions, diseases, starvation and death. Prisoners worked as slave laborers on the Burma—Siam Railroad. He was with a group of prisoners moved to Camp Kanchanaburi, near Bangkok, Thailand. He recalls continued mistreatment and starvation and describes atrocities he observed including the beheading of Australian prisoners of war. After the surrender of …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Otis M. Cox. Cox was born in Harlan, Kentucky on 10 May 1923. Soon after graduating from high school in 1941, he joined the US Army Air Corps. Upon completion of basic training at Shreveport, Louisiana he was sent to Ft. Logan, Colorado to attend a technical training school. He recalls various air bases to which he was assigned and of the various jobs he performed. During the course of his time in the service, he learned radio operator procedures through on the job training. After undergoing crew training, he was sent to India where he joined the 1st Troop Carrier Squadron. He flew 44 round trip flights over the Himalaya Mountains. He returned to the United States during November 1945 and was discharged the following month.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Virgil Heidbrink. Heidbrink was a Master Sergeant in the Army. He was drafted in March 1944. He began basic training in Camp Barkeley, Texas then transferred to Brigham City, Utah for joint training at Bushnell Army Hospital where he was assigned to clerk duty in the hospital headquarters. In November 1944 he boarded the USS General John Pope (AP-110), destination Bombay, India. From there they went to Ledo, Assam and he was assigned to a Basha, an Indian hut. With his Army issued typewriter he served as a clerk, typing and drafting letters for the colonel until about April 1945. He headed to Kunming, China with Convoy Number Fifty. He and two others made up the medical section of that convoy. Arriving in Kunming he was on detached service at an already established hospital there called the 95th Station Hospital, finally taking over the 96th Station Hospital. He served in the admitting section of the hospital. He moved on to Shanghai and served there until May 1946. He was discharged in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Moore. Moore graduated from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene in January 1940. He was hired by the FBI after graduation and worked in Washington. In the fall of 1944 he joined the OSS and was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy although he didn't go to OCS. OSS training occurred on Catalina Island, CA. In Kunming, China he worked with Chang Kai Shek (Nationalist troops) developing informants and demolition experts. He was supposed to go in with General Li Wen Li to the Wei Shin interment camp but didn't until after the war was over. He was in Kunming when the war ended. Discharged in June 1946 at Shanghai. Worked for the CIA after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Marks. Marks joined the Army Air Forces in December 1941 and was sent to Aircraft Mechanics School at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas. From there he trained at a Flight Engineer and Gunnery School in Harlingen, Texas, graduating in June 1942. From there he went to Boise, Idaho where he was Assistant Flight Engineer on a B-17. He trained on B-24s in Fort Worth, Texas. He left Christmas morning 1942 on his first flight overseas in a B-24, heading to the 7th Bomb Group in Pandaveswar, India. They were assigned to the 9th Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Group. He flew missions bombing Japanese targets in Burma. After the sixth mission they were transferred over to the 492nd, a newly formed squadron. He was there for less than two years and completed 59 combat missions, 479 combat hours. He flew missions over Burma, China, Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Bangkok. He discusses one of his toughest missions over Rangoon encountering Japanese Zeroes. Upon completing 59 missions he was sent to Tezpur, completing 16 round trips flying gasoline over the Hump to Kunming to the 14th …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Phillips. Phillips joined the Army and after training was sent to Burma where he joined Merrill's Marauders. He was also assigned to the 613th Field Artillery Battalion. Phillips relates several experiences dealing with the mules in the jungles while attached to this artillery unit. When the war ended, Phillips was in Kunming, China. He stayed on in China and helped with the negotiations between the communists and nationalist Chinese with General Marshall.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edgar Wolf. World joined the Army Air Forces in January, 1942 and trained at Biloxi, Mississippi before heading for Lockheed in California to learn about P-38s. He went to Officer Candidate School and earned a commission before being assigned to the Air Transport Command in New York. With the ATC, Wolf learned loadmaster techniques and air traffic control procedures before heading for Chabua, India. At his base he was responsible for transient aircraft. He also served at Agra and at Karachi. Wolf was in India for 27 months and returned home in September, 1945 and received his discharge.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Howard Charles. Charles was born in Picher, Oklahoma in 1919. Placed in a foster home at sixteen years of age he was encouraged to complete high school and attended college. On 6 June 1940 he joined the US Marine Corps and went to San Diego for boot camp. After boot training he was selected for Marine Corps Field Intelligence Training. When he completed this training he was ordered to proceed to Shanghai. Prior to arrival, his orders changed and he was assigned aboard the USS Houston (CA-30). He describes being in the battles of Makassar Straits, the Java Sea and Sunda Straits. When the Houston sank, Charles became a prisoner of war. He tells a vivid tale of torture, abuse and malnutrition during a trip on a hell ship to Changi Prison Camp. There, he experienced dreadful conditions, diseases, starvation and death. Prisoners worked as slave laborers on the Burma—Siam Railroad. He was with a group of prisoners moved to Camp Kanchanaburi, near Bangkok, Thailand. He recalls continued mistreatment and starvation and describes atrocities he observed including the beheading of Australian prisoners of war. After the surrender of …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Otis M. Cox. Cox was born in Harlan, Kentucky on 10 May 1923. Soon after graduating from high school in 1941, he joined the US Army Air Corps. Upon completion of basic training at Shreveport, Louisiana he was sent to Ft. Logan, Colorado to attend a technical training school. He recalls various air bases to which he was assigned and of the various jobs he performed. During the course of his time in the service, he learned radio operator procedures through on the job training. After undergoing crew training, he was sent to India where he joined the 1st Troop Carrier Squadron. He flew 44 round trip flights over the Himalaya Mountains. He returned to the United States during November 1945 and was discharged the following month.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Virgil Heidbrink. Heidbrink was a Master Sergeant in the Army. He was drafted in March 1944. He began basic training in Camp Barkeley, Texas then transferred to Brigham City, Utah for joint training at Bushnell Army Hospital where he was assigned to clerk duty in the hospital headquarters. In November 1944 he boarded the USS General John Pope (AP-110), destination Bombay, India. From there they went to Ledo, Assam and he was assigned to a Basha, an Indian hut. With his Army issued typewriter he served as a clerk, typing and drafting letters for the colonel until about April 1945. He headed to Kunming, China with Convoy Number Fifty. He and two others made up the medical section of that convoy. Arriving in Kunming he was on detached service at an already established hospital there called the 95th Station Hospital, finally taking over the 96th Station Hospital. He served in the admitting section of the hospital. He moved on to Shanghai and served there until May 1946. He was discharged in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas June 1946.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with James Moore. Moore graduated from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene in January 1940. He was hired by the FBI after graduation and worked in Washington. In the fall of 1944 he joined the OSS and was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy although he didn't go to OCS. OSS training occurred on Catalina Island, CA. In Kunming, China he worked with Chang Kai Shek (Nationalist troops) developing informants and demolition experts. He was supposed to go in with General Li Wen Li to the Wei Shin interment camp but didn't until after the war was over. He was in Kunming when the war ended. Discharged in June 1946 at Shanghai. Worked for the CIA after the war.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Ken Marks. Marks joined the Army Air Forces in December 1941 and was sent to Aircraft Mechanics School at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas. From there he trained at a Flight Engineer and Gunnery School in Harlingen, Texas, graduating in June 1942. From there he went to Boise, Idaho where he was Assistant Flight Engineer on a B-17. He trained on B-24s in Fort Worth, Texas. He left Christmas morning 1942 on his first flight overseas in a B-24, heading to the 7th Bomb Group in Pandaveswar, India. They were assigned to the 9th Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Group. He flew missions bombing Japanese targets in Burma. After the sixth mission they were transferred over to the 492nd, a newly formed squadron. He was there for less than two years and completed 59 combat missions, 479 combat hours. He flew missions over Burma, China, Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Bangkok. He discusses one of his toughest missions over Rangoon encountering Japanese Zeroes. Upon completing 59 missions he was sent to Tezpur, completing 16 round trips flying gasoline over the Hump to Kunming to the 14th …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Thomas Phillips. Phillips joined the Army and after training was sent to Burma where he joined Merrill's Marauders. He was also assigned to the 613th Field Artillery Battalion. Phillips relates several experiences dealing with the mules in the jungles while attached to this artillery unit. When the war ended, Phillips was in Kunming, China. He stayed on in China and helped with the negotiations between the communists and nationalist Chinese with General Marshall.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Edgar Wolf. World joined the Army Air Forces in January, 1942 and trained at Biloxi, Mississippi before heading for Lockheed in California to learn about P-38s. He went to Officer Candidate School and earned a commission before being assigned to the Air Transport Command in New York. With the ATC, Wolf learned loadmaster techniques and air traffic control procedures before heading for Chabua, India. At his base he was responsible for transient aircraft. He also served at Agra and at Karachi. Wolf was in India for 27 months and returned home in September, 1945 and received his discharge.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Perry, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.