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Political Candidates Speak Out, Page A6 VISIT www.
Volume 14, No. 52
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, October 13, 2022
Photo by Dave Rees
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan two-place advanced trainer was the classroom for most of the Allied pilots who flew in World War II.
Retired Local Navy Pilot Makes Return Trip to Tailhook By TARA BARNWELL
In 1991, the infamous Tailhook convention scandal took place. “There was some harassment of female pilots at that convention in Las Vegas,” said Dave Rees, Milford resident, business owner and former Navy pilot. “The whole thing got turned upside down. A lot of people didn’t get promoted because of that convention. I was not in attendance at the time.” Since then, things have changed for the better at the Tailhook Symposium, and Rees recently returned from Reno, NV, where he attended the convention that celebrated the 100th anniversary of aircraft carrier aviation and reunited former Marine and Navy fliers. “You have to be a member of Tailhook to go to these conventions and, in order to be a member, you must have physically landed [a plane] on an aircraft carrier,” he added. “There were 1,000 basic attendees this year. Of those 1,000, around 800 were active duty members. With
spouses and families, there were over 4,000 participants ranging in age from 23 to 100. “I really enjoyed talking with the younger aviators, the active duty people,” he said. “Our country is in good shape. Relative to the Marine Corps Aviation and Naval Air Force, the equipment and pilots are in great shape.” Rees began his Navy career in the early 60s. “I joined the Navy in 1964,” Rees said. “I went into flight training; it was actually navigator training because of my eyes. My eyes weren’t bad, but the Navy medical personnel thought they would eventually get bad. So, at that point I wasn’t eligible to be a pilot.” “I flew 130 missions over North Vietnam as a navigator in the back seat. Eventually I was able to get an eye waiver that allowed me to move up to the front seat as a pilot,” he said. “I flew three years over the Mediterranean as a pilot; this was all off of aircraft carriers. “I’ve had 500 landings on aircraft carriers. I lost a lot of friends during this time, but luckily I came home,” Rees said.
CSO Returns for Its 69th Season
INSIDE ► Honoring Rural Women, page A4 ► A FEW THOUGHTS ON IMPORTANT THINGS: Our columnists and letter writers this week ask if correlation implies causation, focus on encouraging students and celebrating fall,pages A4, A5
New Concerts and New Leadership Kick Off Orchestra’s Next Chapter By IAN KENYON
► Political candidates speak out on Member of Assembly, 122nd District job, page A6 ► meet darla youngs, our newspaper’s new General Manager, page A9
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“On one mission, my executive officer was shot down right in front of me,” he continued. “During that mission, there were 30 missiles fired at 30 airplanes. We had three planes coming after us and we were going through gyrations that literally snapped the plane upside down,” he said. “All kinds of emergency lights were blinking; we did get it straightened out and we were able to land on the carrier.” “I didn’t know on one mission that I’d been hit. I landed and went to go back up a couple of hours later,” he said. “When I did my walk-around of the aircraft before taking off, I noticed a flash in the engine. We had taken a bullet in the engine. I had been hit and didn’t know it. Needless to say, I didn’t fly that aircraft that day,” he said. Missions are always concerning, depending on the situation. “A number of tough situations we had was when our government called a ‘bombing pause.’ That’s when governments get together for a peace treaty and while Continued on page 7
Photo by Gary Herzig
This Week’s Fall Photo Fall foliage in beautiful downtown Oneonta is especially vibrant along the railroad tracks.
Catskill Symphony Orchestra Chair Sarah Patterson cites the Russian writer, Alexander Blok: “With your whole body, with your whole heart, with your whole conscience, listen to the Revolution…This is the music everyone who has ears should hear.” With this excitement, the CSO announced its return for a blockbuster 69th season at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 15 at the Foothills Performing Arts Center in Oneonta. After halting concerts during the pandemic and successfully completing a thoughtful return in 2021, the 202223 season presents a brand-new concert series carefully crafted under the direction of Maestro Maciej Żółtowski, now in his third season with the CSO. Saturday’s concert, “The Revolutionaries,” opens the CSO’s next chapter with an invigorating celebration of the “Great Revolutionaries,” Ludwig von Beethoven, Continued on page 9
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD