Guy LEYENDECKER

La tour de contrôle en construction
(The tower under construction)
Années 50 (50's)
(Carte - Map)

Première rencontre: Croix rouge (secouristes) et pompiers
français - américains - allemands au "Fire Department" de la base.
De gauche à droite:
2eme rang:
Inconnu (Allemand), Georges LEYENDECKER, Mr le maire THIRY
(Carte - Map)



Base Commander Albert J. MC CHRISTY,
à sa droite,
le sous préfet Charles HEINTZ et d'autres personnalités
franco-américaines.
Photo prise au sommet de la tour de contrôle
(Base Commander Albert J. MC CHRISTY,
to his right: Charles HEINTZ and other french and US personnalities
Picture taken at the top of the tower)
(Carte - Map)



Le Mess des sous officiers
(NCO's mess hall)
(Carte - Map)

Présentation des installations de la base à des personnalités
locales et régionales . L'on reconnait la plupart des maires de l'époque.
(Show of the installations to a couple of local and regional VIP)
(Carte - Map)



Une soeur de la congégation du Saint Esprit de Saint Brieuc concentrée
au "Booling" de la base lors d'une visite.
(Carte - Map)




F-86 D SABRE Interceptor - Chasseurs pour missions d'interception
à des altitudes très élevées. Stationnés à Phalsbourg.
Photo prise au dessus de Sarrebourg (Etang Lévêque en fond)
(F-86D SABRE Interceptor - Jet Fighter for high altitude interception missions.
Picture taken over Sarrebourg city - Lévêque lake)
(Carte - Map)


Caractéristiques du F86D SABRE
(F86D SABRE specifications)



Rencontre franco-américaine "Au sommet local"
Dr Hansch - Sarrebourg, G. Thomas - Phalsbourg.
Mess officier.
(American and french meeting.
Officer's mess hall)
(Carte - Map)

Réception d'adieu 26/11/1966



Accueil de personnalités françaises par le base commander
(French VIP welcome by the base commander)



Présentation de l'affiche des portes ouvertes du 18/05/1958.
Voir l'affiche: PAGE 1, PAGE 2.
(Armed forces day poster: 1958 May 18th)
(To see the poster: PAGE 1, PAGE 2.)



Cours de code de la route par le gendarme de l'air SIAR
et moi-même. (Georges LEYENDECKER)
Ces cours furent destinés aux nouveaux arrivés US à la base.
(Lessons about traffic rules for US newcomers)



Orchestre de la 17e Air Force stationnée en RFA à Ramstein, lors
des nombreuses receptions à la base de Phalsbourg
(17th Air Force Orchestra based on Ramstein, here for a reception
on Phalsbourg air Base)



Phalsbourg Falcon Vol. 2, N° 3 Friday February 7, 1958



Phalsbourg Falcon Wednesday, August 20, 1958



Journée des portes ouvertes à la base de Phalsbourg
(Armed Forces Day - Phalsbourg Air Base)



Russell L. SCHWEICKART
Ses vols
Il fut stationé à Phalsbourg Air Base avant d'être sélectionné en octobre 1963
par la NASA comme cosmonaute pour un vol dans l'espace.
(Stationed on Phalsbourg Air Base then selected in October 1963 by the NASA
as an astronaut for a space flight.)
Russell L. SCHWEICKART
See his website
Biographical data - NASA site



???



Base Commander Col. CLARK



Colonel GRIFFITH
3150 heures de vol.
Base Commander de 1956 à 1957
Biographie du LCL GRIFFITH
(Lieut. Col GRIFFITH biography in french)




Visite du musée de Phalsbourg
A gauche: Georges LEYENDECKER
(Visit of the museum in Phalsbourg city)


Visite du musée par des groupes de l'USAF de Phalsbourg
(Visit of the museum by a couple of USAF men of the base)



Des députés au féminin du Congrès de Washington en visite au musée,
Georges LEYENDECKER dans son rôle de guide et d'interprète.
(Members of parliament of the congress, visiting the museum,
with Georges LEYENDECKER as a guide and interpreter)



Remise à la ville (Phalsbourg) d'un sabre souvenir, éxécuté par le Mjr ANNEREAU,
en présence de O. GERARD, maire et les intimes de la base.
(Souvenir given to the city (sabre), made by Major ANNEREAU,
in the presence of O. GÉRARD, mayor and the close friends of the base.)



Autours du sapin de Noël, place d'arme. communautés françaises et US
de la base réunies pour des chants de Noël.
(The Christmas tree, on the square of Phalsbourg. French and US communities of the base gathered for Christmas songs.)


Cadeaux de Noël offert par la base USAF aux nécessiteux.
(Christmas presents given by the base to the needy persons.)



14 Juillet 1962. Revue sur la place d'arme. Au premier plan, les porte drapeaux US
et pompiers de Phalsbourg.
(1962, 14th of July, Phalsbourg square. In the foreground, US and Phalsbourg firemen
flags.)



"Independance Day" 4 Juillet 1962. Revue des troupes sur la place d'armes.
(Independance Day" 1962. Ceremony in Phalsbourg)

Jeu de football américain au stade David WEILL
(Football in Davil Weill stadium)

Garage Simca Robert JOOS



Rencontre amicale pompiers Phalsbourgeois et américains
au retaurant Prud'homme. Capitaine CIANFERANI et Lieutenant HAUTER.
1er Rang en partant de la droite: 2eme personne: S/SGT Francis KOROB

(Meeting of french and US firemen at the Prud'homme restaurant).

Second from the right first row: S/SGT Francis KOROB:

"I was stationed there 1961 to 1962  .Looking through all the pictures of that time I saw a picture of French & US Firemen at a wonderful dinner they had for us at the Prud,homme restaurant,I am the second from the right first row. That sure brings back memories"

Certificat de Mr Charles CIANFERANI



Georges LEYENDECKER
Ici à gauche
(On the left side)

Sur la droite
(On the right side)

Ici à gauche
(On the left side)

Sur la droite
(On the right side)

Sur la droite
(On the right side)



Jambe en plâtre
L'aumônier de la base, père ENRIGHT.
(Left side: father ENRIGHT from the base)

Certificat de traducteur bénévole de Georges LEYENDECKER
(Unofficial interpreter certificate)

Certificat de Mr Pierre HERHARD

RF-84F Thunderflash

Vesheim (France)

Paris

VIDEO

Portes ouvertes - 1962
Film 8mm
(Air Forces Day - 1962) (8mm movie)
Film original de Pierre WEIL (via LCL DUPIN Dominique)

1962 - Phalsbourg Air Base - Air Forces Day (Sur Dailymotion)

envoyé par Phil57400

CEUX QUI ONT SERVI (THOSE WHO SERVED)

- Glenn E. SCHMIDT (242nd Infantry Regiment of the 42nd "Rainbow" Division)
- Albert G (Jerry) ROGERS (USAF)
- Richard J. TONER (USAF)
- Ernest A. BEDKE (USAF - Pilot)
- Thomas E. LACY (USAF - Pilot)
- Randall H. (GIL) GILLESPIE
- Ole C. GRIFFITH (Pilot)
- Alan P. LURIE (Pilot)
- Robert Sakaye “Bob” UTSUMI (USAF - Pilot)

Bob ELEK (A1C, A.G.E)
1965-1967

"I arrived at Phalsbourg AB in June, 1965 as a 23 year old airman and remained there until March, 1967 ( by choice) and was one of the final 10 US military to leave Phalsbourg AB. During those final months, we lived at a hotel owned by a local woman who had risked her life to be friend US soldiers during WW II. Amazingly, and heroically, she gave them shelter in her hotel attic, while, at the same time, German soldiers were living there and using her hotel as their base of operations.
I remember when our Base Commander, Colonel Ballinger, learned of her incredible story, he arranged a very special dinner on the base in her honor.
But I will have to research my files to refresh my memory on all the details. .Hotel des Truites, or something close , in Lutzelbourg. was her hotel, if I recall correctly.
But you must know her story."

(Je suis arrivé à la base aérienne de Phalsbourg en Juin 1965, âgé de 23 ans et j'y suis resté jusqu'en mars 1967 (Par choix) et je fus l'un des 10 derniers militaires américains à quitter Phalsbourg. Pendant ces derniers mois, nous vivions dans un hotel tenu par une femme du coin qui risqua sa vie en entretenant des relations avec les soldats américains pendant la seconde guerre mondiale. Héroiquement, elle les abrita pendant que des soldats allemands utilisaient son hotel comme base opérationnelle.
Je me souviens quand notre commandant de base, le colonel Ballinger, apprenant son incroyable histoire, arrangea un repas en son honneur. Mais je dois fouiller dans mes dossiers afin de me rafraichir la mémoire ... Hotel des truites, ou quelquechose comme cela, à Lutzelbourg, c'était son hotel, si je me souviens bien.
Mais vous devez connaitre son histoire.)

Colonel Ole GRIFFITH
1956-1957

Ole Griffith, born in Pittsburg, spent his early years in and around Pennsylvania, his military years all over the world, and his last three and a half decades based in Phoenix, Arizona. Fascinated by and engaged in aviation throughout his life, Griffith has been privileged to meet many of his early heroes and larger than life aviation personalities and other notables. At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s DLC Auditorium on Thursday, October 18, at 7 PM, Griffith shares a well mixed, multi-media program on the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan and video of the 65th Raiders’ Reunion. Everyone is welcome at this free, public event.

As a child he and his sister engaged in aviation imagination play. They followed the news of Lindberg, Earhart, Doolittle, and other aviator’s flights and feats. A member of youth aviation organizations, Ole was a prize-winning model airplane designer and builder and an amateur aviation photographer. He was destined to make his interest in photography a valuable part of his early military career.

With a BS degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Carnegie Institute of Technology, Griffith was commissioned from ROTC as 2nd Lt. US Army Corps of Engineers in 1942, but his sights were on aviation. Shunning as alternate course and immediate promotion, he leapt at the opportunity to be detailed to the Army Air Corps for pilot training, which was partly secured under contract through Embry-Riddle in Florida. After completing his pilot training in December 1943, he was assigned to the 1st Photo Group flying photo and mapping missions throughout Central and South America in 1944 and 1945. This assignment placed him in Panama, Chili, Peru, and Brazil, which allowed him to experience these cultures and practice his Spanish in addition to his flying experience.

Griffith had longed to fly the P-38, but spent his career flying nearly fifty other aircraft, principally 0-47s, B-24s, B-17s, C-47s, C-45s, F-2s, T-33s, and his favorite, the B-25 named “My Happiness,” which ended up in the Doolittle Raiders’ exhibit at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Griffith’s career took on more land-based responsibility, but he stayed current in flying until late in his military career.

The Air Force provided Ole Griffith opportunity for advanced degrees, which he pursued with relish. He secured advanced engineering degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology (1946-47) and Stanford University (1947-48) and graduated from Air Command & Staff College in 1950.

The love of aviation, which was practically born in Griffith, has continued to grow throughout his life. This pursuit has taken him many places, allowed him to serve his country and his fellow man, and provided many joyous encounters. Some military, political, and aviation notables Ole Griffith met, served with, or with whom he developed friendships include: Jimmy Mattern, explorer and aviator; Al Williams, Naval Marine aviator; Ben Howard, airplane designer, builder, and racer; Vice President Hubert Humphrey; Generals Omar Bradley, Curtiss Lemay, and Jimmy Doolittle and many of the eighty Doolittle Raiders; test pilot Chuck Yeager; several astronauts including Gus Grissom and Frank Borman; several of the Tuskegee Airmen; many World War II flying aces including Francis Gabreski, Joe Foss, Jack Purdy, Joe Forster, and Tex Hill. In 1947, while a student at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Ole Griffith’s roommate there was Captain (later Colonel) John Paul Stapp, M.D., who was exploring and testing the human body limits for positive and negative “Gs.” While there, Griffith had a chance meeting with Orvil Wright followed 50-years later by a planned, private tour and videoing of the Wright Mansion interior.

In the mid 1950s, then Lt. Colonel Griffith was Base Commander at Phalsbourg Air Base in France. While stationed there, he and his wife Vickie were the guests of honor for the City of St. Die Vosges’ 1958 Godmother of America Celebration. At this and other assignments, his native intelligence, family and educational backgrounds, ability to grasp the big picture while inspiring and managing for success on the details, and his winning personality supported Ole Griffith on a path of service and satisfaction in aviation.

Griffith feels blessed to have lived and worked in the many and varied locations and positions of his career. Looking back, he selected several places to highlight. “I would have to name Wright Patterson Air Force Base as the most significant and treasured because it has been a place of focus all of my life,” Griffith said, when asked about special places. “It is where I met my beloved wife Vickie, where I received excellent education at the Air Force Institute of Technology, where I have met so many wonderful people involved in the field of aeronautics, and where ‘my’ B-25 is exhibited to honor the Doolittle Raiders,” he added. His postings, all over the world, always included his family. He went on to tell about his ten years of service in Washington DC at the Pentagon and Andrews Air Force Base. Griffith delighted in this decade of living in a Virginia suburb because it afforded him and his family an opportunity to explore much of the early history of this nation. Upon retirement from military service in 1970, he and the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to accept a civilian job with AiResearch Mfg. Co. where he retired two decades later. Arizona, because of its great weather, home to his family, the many memorable experiences flying with friends, and deep friendships, is also truly treasured by Griffith.

While living in Phoenix, the Griffith family has extended to the fourth generation to include a great granddaughter and a great grandson along with three grandsons and four granddaughters along with the original three children—Jeff, Jennifer, and Julie. Intelligence, beauty, generosity, and graciousness abound in this family, which counts among its number Miss Arizona 2006 Hilary Griffith, who hosts the mid-morning show on Prescott based KGCB Radio Shine.

Yavapai County with its many attractions is special to Ole because of the air shows at Love Field, the opportunity to get away to the cool hill country when the temperatures shoot above 110 degrees in Phoenix, and the family’s annual retreat in Sedona. Ole was a guest at the VIP tent at Prescott’s Skyfest 2006 where he met new friends and renewed old acquaintances. The Arroyo Roble Resort family getaway in Sedona began with one timeshare and expanded to three as the family grew. This family dons an almost von Trapp appearance each summer as they occupy their three timeshare villas there. Dressed in matching winter attire, each year the entire group poses for the famous Griffith family Christmas photo during their July or August visit.

A published writer and photographer, Griffith is a national and local member of American Aviation Historical Society (AAHS) for which he served two 2-year terms as president of the Phoenix Wing and currently serves on that board. He also worked to facilitate the AAHS National Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1996. He is a member of the Air Force Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, American Photo Mapping Association, Phalsbourg Air Base Reunion, Doolittle Raiders’ Reunion, Daedalians, and the Commemorative Air Force.

Griffith’s love of family, photography, travel, and aviation are well supported by his able embrace of modern technology such as computers, the Internet, E-mail with attachments, CDs, DVDs, and digital and video photography. This has allowed him to stay in touch with friends and fellow aviation enthusiast, collectors, and museum curators who have benefited from his connections for receiving aviation memorabilia. For Ole Griffith, the fascination continues. He is engaged in aviation of the past and the present, while ever looking into the future of flight.

LOI (LAW)

Affectation d'un aérodrome à l'ALAT
(Allocation of an airfield to the Army Aviation)
18 mars 1970 (march, 18th)