Rescue! Is the Theme, Heroes Are the Speakers During the Fall Lecture Series at San Diego Air & Space Museum
(August 30, 2006) - There's a little bit of hero in all of us, but there's a lot of hero in the speakers being featured in the 2006 fall Lecture Series, Rescue! at the San Diego Air & Space Museum beginning Thursday, September 14th. This series features men and women who performed their duties above and beyond, and even beyond that.
You’ll want to mark your calendars to hear these incredible people tell their valiant stories few of us could ever imagine – whether they involve daring nighttime raids, saving people from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, or during dicey conditions in the frozen tundra of the South Pole.
Beginning Thursday, September 14th, you have a front row seat at the cutting edge!
Hurricane Katrina Helicopter Rescues
LCDR Connie Avery
Thursday, September 14th, 7:30 p.m.
Lieutenant Commander Connie Avery flies the Navy’s advanced SH 60B Seahawk helicopter with the Scorpion squadron. A graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, she enlisted in the Navy in 1990 and has been flying helicopters for the past thirteen years. As part of Task Force Katrina, LCDR saved more than 60 victims from the floodwaters of New Orleans one year ago, receiving an Air Medal for her work. This past January, LCDR Avery and her crew performed an at-sea rescue using new techniques to rescue mariners in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Avery will discuss contemporary helicopter rescue, and will share her first hand experiences flying Hurricane Katrina relief operations.
Secret and Dangerous: the Son Tay P.O.W. Raid
William "Bill" Guenon
Thursday, October 19th , 7:30 p.m.
A thrilling eyewitness account of the secret humanitarian mission in 1970, by one of the air commando pilots who flew the amazing 'C-130' aircraft on the edge of a stall, at night, Guenon led six helicopters in close formation deep into North Vietnam for a daring rescue attempt of POWs being held in the shadows of Hanoi. Guenon has written the only personal account of the raid, and provided technical expertise for the History Channel's recent documentary on the raid. After the lecture, Guenon will sign copies of his book, Secret and Dangerous: Night of the Son Tay POW Raid, a two-part story and describes the same raider-pilot's return to Son Tay prison 24 years after the raid, in broad daylight with only camera in hand, including his high-anxiety confrontation and arrest by North Vietnamese police. Included are 64 rare pictures and diagrams, most never declassified or previously published until now.
C-130 Ski Operations at the Poles
Colonel Graham Pritchard
Thursday, November 9th, 7:30 p.m.
Colonel Graham Pritchard, Jr., is a former Commander of the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard. The Wing maintains the nation’s only fleet of ski equipped C-130 cargo aircraft supporting military and scientific operations in the polar regions. During his command, they also took over airlift responsibility for the U.S. Antarctic Program from the Navy. In that very first season of responsibility, the Wing made international news with a very high profile rescue – recovering South Pole Station Doctor Jerri Nielsen due to a rapidly progressing illness. The South Pole’s extreme conditions mean a limited window of opportunity. Colonel Pritchard served as Mission Commander for that challenging – and successful – mission. He will share this and other exciting stories of operating at the ends of the world.
Registration is required and the fee is $10 per lecture for Museum members/$15 for nonmembers. Students, as guests of AIAA/SDAM members, and AIAA Student Branch members at UCSD and SDSU, are admitted free. Come early at 6:30 p.m. for food and drinks in the Museum prior to the lecture. It’s a chance to unwind, enjoy the exhibits, and meet interesting people including the speakers for just $10 more! (619) 234-8291, Ext. 19 For more information log on to www.aerospacemuseum.org.