Seven Marine Raiders Honored by United States Air Force Academy

Ervin Kaplan, MD (2EH)

Of the thirty six World War II veterans invited to the 20-24 April Falcon Heritage Forum of the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, to commemorate the end of that war, seven were Marine Raiders. They were hosted by the Center for Character Development, Directed by Colonel Joseph W. Mazzola, USAF, with the support of the Association of Academy Graduates.

These distinquished veterans shared their experience, wisdom and values with the 4,000 members of the cadet wing, By individual presentations to 125 member Cadet Squadrons. They attended classes with the cadets, ate meals with them and and participated in special activities such as riding in flight simulators. Several special speeches were made by selected veterans before the Cadet Wing and at the Friday evening banquet. Each veteran had an assigned cadet escort, who were expert guides and attended to the veterans needs.

Contact with the Marine Raiders was made by Chaplin, Major James M. Glass USAF, Chief, Excelencce Division, Center for Character Development, US Air Force Academy, with Dr.
Ervin Kaplan as alerted by the USMRA web site, who assisted Major Glass in contacting the invited Raiders. Raiders attending were Shirl P. Butler, James Gleason, Melvin Heckt, Ervin Kaplan, Frank A. Kemp, George Mac Rae and Charles Meacham.

The veterans honored at this event were Marine Raiders, Bataan death march survivors, PT boatmen, Doolittle Raiders, Womens Air Force Service Pilots, Tuskegee Airmen, B-17, B-24 and B-29 air crew members, glider pilots, 101st Airborn Division members and Skylighters. Of the above many were authors of books and articles or had participated in documentaries.

The attendees were highly pleased by the very gracious hospitality of their Air Force hosts.