Indiana Chapter of the Ninety-Nines, Inc.
International Forest of Friendship - 2008
 Nancy with Bruce's plaque on the Memory Walk |
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In June my thoughts always turn to Atchison, Kansas and the International Forest of Friendship. While I have attended the annual ceremony there many times over the years, this year would be special. My late husband, Bruce Warren, a Marine fighter pilot and recipient of the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross in WWII, would be inducted into the Forest of Friendship. A granite plaque bearing his name would be placed next to mine in the Memory Walk that winds through the forest of trees from every state in our nation, plus 35 foreign countries. Embedded in the walk are over 1200 names of honorees who have contributed to all facets of aviation and aerospace.
My friend, Linda, and I planned to depart for Kansas on Thursday, June 19. On Wednesday I cleaned the bugs off the Cardinal, added a quart of oil, completed the flight planning, and turned my attention to the weather forecast. It didn’t look promising. However, the briefing from Flight Service early Thursday morning forecasted good weather for our entire route, so we headed for the airport. Lifting off at 8:10, we turned west after clearing the restricted area. As expected, headwinds slowed our speed over the ground, but the day was so beautiful with silky smooth air and great visibility, that we were content to “go with the flow” and watch the lush green farmland pass slowly beneath our wings. After a fuel stop at Moberly, MO, we landed at Amelia Earhart Airport at 1:00 pm.
The next day was spent seeing old friends, meeting new ones, checking out all the changes in the little town, shopping (of course!), and visiting the birthplace of Amelia Earhart, now a museum maintained by the 99s, International Organization of Women Pilots.
Saturday dawned clear and beautiful for the ceremony at the Forest.
There is always a special feeling for me upon entering the Forest of Friendship. As I followed the winding path of the Memory Walk through the trees, pausing to gaze again at the tall bronze statue of Amelia Earhart, and reading the names engraved on the plaques in the walk, I thought about the love that bonded us together…the love of flight. Standing before the gazebo built in honor of Fay Gillis Wells, I could feel her presence there in this small part of the world where her dream of promoting world friendship through flying first began. The forest, beautifully maintained by those who shared Fay’s dream, continues to draw us to it, year after year, just to experience its beauty and peacefulness.
On Sunday morning, we headed home. Linda earlier had commented that “our flight to Atchison was uneventful”, an observation that definitely didn’t apply to the return flight. This time, we would have to deal with a weather mass covering a large portion of our route home. As we neared Moberly, I noted that the attitude indicator had suddenly “tumbled”, and immediately checked the suction gauge. It had dropped to zero, suggesting a vacuum pump failure. Since the vacuum system controls the attitude indicator and the directional gyrocompass, those primary instruments were now inop, so navigation would be by partial panel. For the remainder of the flight, my GPS would be our best friend! After a fuel stop and check of the radar at Moberly, we headed north to get behind the trailing edge of the weather system, then turned east once we were clear of everything except some light precipitation. The rest of the flight was uneventful.
As I drifted off to sleep that night, I thought of Bruce and smiled into the darkness. We would always be side by side there in the Memory Walk, in the International Forest of Friendship, in Atchison, Kansas.
Nancy
 Look at those sundaes! |
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 Linda and Nancy |
 Norah and Nancy |