Captain Ed Heering Royal Air Force Years

Front - Captain Ed Heering, Back - Dick Kalman, Ford Larsen, Walt Okino

 In September of 1939, a notice appeared on the pilots' bulletin board at the Army Air Corp at Mitchell field Long Island. It stated that pilots with 500 flying hours would be accepted for flying duties with the Royal Air Force. Interested pilots were to report to the RAF office in New York City for an interview.

 .           At the interview an RAF wing commander reviewed the pilots' logs and determined that several had less than 500 hours and were unable to be considered for flying duties. In March of 1940, I was recalled for a second interview and was asked to report to Mr. Errol Boyd, who was with the Clayton Knight Committee at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

 .           During my interview with Boyd, he noted that my flying hours were less than what the Air Ministry in London required, however, he included me along with nine other American pilots to report to Mr. Hobbs in Montreal, Canada.

 .           I packed my bags and took the train up to Montreal where I was interviewed by Mr. Hobbs, and without a flight check prior to leaving the United States or Canada, was given the OK to leave for England. After a few days stay, I, along with nine other American pilots, boarded a Norwegian cargo ship that was carrying ammo to Britain, and departed Montreal on May 5, 1940. I was 21 years old, had 420 flying hours, and was off on the biggest adventure of my young life.

 .           Our ship was part of a 63-ship convoy and after 23 days of zigzagging across the Atlantic we finally arrived in Gourock, Scotland. There we were met by an RAF officer and escorted to the Glasgow Railroad Station where we took the train for the 12-hour trip to London which made frequent stops due to air raids.

 .           Once in London we ten Americans stayed at the Regent Palace Hotel in Piccadilly Circus. Due to many air raids we didn't depart for Whitchurch Airdrome Bristol until late June. During our stay in London, everyday we were told that Germany would invade Britain.

 .           Upon our arrival at Bristol, we were put up in the Grand Hotel and in the weeks following we were given flight checks by A.R.O. MacMillan in a Fairy Battle single-engine, two-seat Fighter/Bomber, powered by a Rolls Royce 1050 H.P. engine. After passing our flight checks, we were issued a gas mask, a Very Pistol with five flares, a steel WW1 helmet and a parachute. Then each of us was assigned to one of five British Overseas Airways pilots for familiarization flights in the single-engine Battle and Master, and the twin-engine Oxford, Anson, and Blenheim. I was teamed with B.O.A.C. Captain O.P. Jones, and after making several flights in each aircraft, I was certified and began ferrying.

 .           My introduction to four engine aircraft came in January 1941 when Captain Harold Cordiner and I, (as co-pilot), ferried three Liberators, (B-24s), and five Fortresses, (B-17s), from Prestwick to Speke near Liverpool. Each flight was approximately one hour and forty minutes. After that I was permitted to fly all aircraft through class five. My flying time then was 920 hours.

 .           After 7 months at Bristol I was transferred from #2 Ferry Pool at Whitchurch, to #4 Ferry Pool at Prestwick, and In February of 1941, the ATA school moved from Whitchurch to the former #13 EFTS RAF School at Whitewaltham. All ATA pilots at that time were required to attend refresher and conversion training at the school under A.R.O. MacMillan.

 .           In May of 1942, I was given command of the new #10 Ferry Pilot Pool established at RAF Lossiemouth in Northern Scotland, where I remained until the end of the war.

 .           During my five years in ATA I was qualified to fly all single engine, twin engine, and all four-engine bomber aircraft. I flew a total of 87 different types of aircraft. Flying for the ATA was an experience that I will never forget. During those five years I made many friends, some of which I still visit on my trips to the U.K. and here in the United States. Our camaraderie that we shared is among the memories that we often speak about when we get together each year at RAF Air Base Lyneham in Wiltshire England.

 .           After the war I was fortunate enough to be able to make a career out of flying. I was an airline transport pilot with the airlines and retired in 1986, exactly 50 years from the time I first took to the air. I have a total of 33,400 flying hours!

Dispatcher Walter Okino Eulogy

(Click on picture to enlarge)

WALTER M. OKINO  - Walter passed away on November 9, 2007 in Hayward, CA at the age of 75. He was a retired World Airways dispatcher. Walter was born in Hilo, Hawaii and moved to Hayward, California with his family in the early 1960's. He is survived by his loving family: wife, June; daughter, Lois and son-in-law, Will Dea; grandson, Kendall; brother Charles; sisters Hiroko Omura, Ruth Nakamura and Violet Hirata. He enjoyed fishing, orchids, gardening, and aviation. He will always be held close in our hearts. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 17th at 10:00 am in the Reflection Chapel at the CHAPEL OF THE CHIMES, 32992 Mission Blvd., Hayward. Donations can be made in lieu of flowers to the American Heart Association at 426 17th Street, Oakland, CA 94612 or your favorite charity in Walter's name. CHAPEL OF THE CHIMES 510-471-3363

Published in the ANG Newspapers from 11/13/2007 - 11/14/2007.

Walt's date of hire with WOA was 1/11/62 and his retirement date was 9/13/01.  

Walter Masayoshi Okino Eulogy - By Daughter Lois Okino

Walter Masayoshi Okino was born and grew up in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii. His parents, Yoshio and Masako Okino, owned a hotel on Kamehameha Avenue fronting Hilo Bay.  Being the 6th child in the Okino family, he became accustomed to having many older siblings. He reportedly was quiet and obedient and rarely got into “fights” with any of his brothers..His father, Yoshio, was an avid fisherman and as a young boy, Walter, accompanied his father and 3 brothers on fishing expeditions all around Hilo. In addition to learning all about shoreline fishing, he learned spear fishing and how to set and throw nets. Having learned fishing at an early age, it became one of his lifelong passions and throughout his life he would find every opportunity to fish. The crowning moment for his fishing experience would be the hooking and landing of his 50 pounds plus whopper King Salmon which he caught during a fishing trip in Alaska.. In 1946, when Walter was 11 years old, the big tidal wave hit Hilo. He saw the wave coming from the third floor of the Okino Hotel and managed to escape unharmed. His whole family survived, but the entire hotel was destroyed by the force of the waves.In high school, Walter was a good student and excelled in English and Chemistry. He made time for sports, got a “varsity letter” in tennis from Hilo High School and even practiced judo, competing in judo tournaments around the Big Island.Walt developed a fascination with airplanes and flying, which led him towards a career in the airline industry.  His first job after high school graduation was at Aloha Airlines as a baggage handler. He then joined the Territory of Hawaii Air National Guard, where he earned his jet pilot wings in 1955 after completing training at Williams Air Force Base in Chandler, Arizona and joined the 199th Fighter Interceptor Squadron. He enjoyed his time in the Air National Guard and loved telling stories about how he buzzed the Grand Canyon and the Punchbowl in his beloved F-86 Sabre.After his honorable discharge from the Air National Guard, he relocated with his family from Hawaii to Hayward, California to work for Transocean Airlines.  After Transocean closed in 1962 he began his career as a dispatcher at World Airways, based in Oakland, California. While working at the old Oakland Airport for World, Walt loved going to fish for stripers in the estuary across from work during his lunch break.While working at World Airways, he worked 12 hour shifts and often relaxed on his days off by listening to his favorite Big Band music and jazz. His daughter has fond memories of him listening to his music and playing along with his bongos and scratcher.Walt moved to Manassas, Virginia in 1990 when World Airways moved their offices from Oakland to Herndon, Virginia. While living in Virginia, he was able to indulge his aviation interests by visiting the Smithsonian Air and Space Museums many times as well as many other aviation museums and air shows. He also enjoyed visiting the various Colonial and Civil War historical battleground sites and looked forward to viewing the battle re-enactments occasionally held at these sites.He often flew back to Hayward to visit his family, always enjoying spending time with his grandson, Kendall. When his family visited him in Virginia, he loved taking them around to see the sights. During his grandson’s “train phase” he took his grandson to visit train museums near Virginia and arranged for him to ride on the local trains. He also took the family on a Fall Color Tour along the Blue Ridge Mountains and stopped along the road so that Kendall could collect colorful leaves that had fallen from the trees.After 39 years of service, he retired from World Airways in 2001 and drove across the country by himself in his trusted Ford Explorer, stopping to see the sights along the way.Once he was back in Hayward, he finally found the time to pursue all of his hobbies and interests. He enjoyed going trout fishing at Lake Chabot in Castro Valley and Quarry Lakes in Fremont. He loved to talk about fishing and was ever so willing to tell you about the latest hot fishing spot or the best bait to use. He would meet with his fellow retiree fishing buddies at the local donut shop to share a cup of coffee and donuts before heading out to their favorite fishing hole.He had a “green thumb” and enjoyed raising vegetables and fruits, which he loved sharing with others. His daughter and family always came home from visits with him with lots of fruits and vegetables grown with loving care. Walt also enjoyed sitting in his garden, watching the hummingbirds come and go from the backyard. He set up several hummingbird feeders and looked forward to their daily visits.He enjoyed raising orchids in his backyard and liked to share his love of them with others. He would have his sister, Violet, send orchids from Hilo to his friends and family all over the U.S.  He would cut the orchids he raised and place them in vases where his wife, June, could enjoy their beauty and color.Walt enjoyed watching his grand-dog, Kuzco. He always looked forward to seeing him and spoiling him with many doggie treats and walks around the neighborhood.He loved staying in touch with old friends and made every effort to attend high school class reunions, Air Force reunions and World Airways reunions.Walt was a loving husband, caring Dad, generous Grandpa, kind-heartened father-in-law, thoughtful uncle, kind brother, loyal friend, master story teller and wonderful dog sitter. Although he is no longer with us he will always have a special place in our hearts and memories.

Captain John Harper - Anybody remember the “Malaga 6”? Anybody wanna remember?

Here’s the story from my side, which no one has ever asked for.

Harper (me) plus 2, the cockpit crew, commercialed into Malaga Spain on the evening before the flight, as usual. We were to join 6 F/A’s that had gotten there sometime before. We had one more F/A with us. The next AM after I received my wake up call I tried call Ms. Dagmar Dzierden the Senior, to pass the wake up call on to the Flight Attendant crew. No answer. After conferring with the Hotel Manager I learned that Dagmar and crew had gotten rides to Africa and had gotten stranded. I waited until pickup time hoping to hear from them. I couldn’t imagine up a crew so I called Crew scheduling in Oakland to report their absence. During one of my numerous conversations with “Bush” he asked, in a conversational manner, what I though would happen to them.

The previous time I had a cabin crew not be available for a trip, because they were off touring, I’d taken the blame and told Bush that if anyone should be fired it should be me as I had told them they could leave. He was inquiring if I was going to accept the blame again. Bush had told me in one of the many conversations, that they’d been fired by everyone who could, and some who couldn’t. I, stupidly, sounded off and said that, “If they don’t fire them I’ll quit.” This was not a recommendation. We all knew that to miss a trip would get you terminated. Looking back on it I’ll admit that I should have kept my big mouth shut. But when have I ever been guilty of that? Fire them they did! They also stranded them in Europe  had them thrown out of their hotel, and refused to provide them with tickets home. I felt that this was wrong on the Companies part. I took them up to Frankfurt or Amsterdam on my plane without Company approval. They said they were broke and couldn’t get a check cashed. I gave them all the money I had for eats. To date no one has ever offered to repay the loan. I continued onto someplace and within the next day or two I was back to Frankfurt or Amsterdam and picked up the ‘ Malaga 6”, as they were now known, and gave them a ride back to Oaklan. I’d sent a message to dispatch telling them that I presumed that they wanted me to let them on the plane. I sent it to late to get a reply and took it on to myself to board them. I spoke with each of them and told them what I had said and done. None of them seemed to think it was my fault. Then.

I got back to Oakland and in a few days I walked into Bailey Raines Office and told him that he had screwed up big time. I told him that I believed he had every right to fire them, but to strand young women without funds far away from home and help, was wrong and would no doubt get the Airline sued! I suggested that he apologize to them and put them back on the payroll. I stopped in Flight Ops and re-iterated my opinions to my superiors also. I also submitted a new and revised Captains trip report with the same comment. My next stop was the Union Office in Oakland where I told T.N. (Alex) Alexakos what I had said and whom I had said it to. He would barely talk to me! Told me the Company had fired them because I said to! Yea sure! That would be the first and only time they ever did anything because I said to!

Suddenly they had gotten fired because I had demanded it. Not because they missed a trip. As this circulated around I started to get harassed by Flight Attendants. Mid crewrest wakeup calls…uncooked meals on flights. Xlax in my coffee. Like I couldn’t smell it. Silly and childish stuff like that.

There’s lots more to this story but it isn’t germane so I’ll skip it.

Never once in all the time it took to get this to arbitration did anyone from the Union ever call me or interview me as a possible witness. The Companies attorney certainly did. He’d read my Captains trip reports and began the interview with “You’re the only one that makes any sense in this case.” After talking with me he ended the conversation with “We’re (referring to the Company) screwed.” I’d told him of my conversation with VP Bailey Raines and that my position still was that they should put them back to work with full back pay and an apology and that’s the way I’d testify.

I expected the Union to call me, too. They never did. They just presumed that I was against them. Seems to me that any attorney or representative would interview even the most damning witness for the other side. It helps to know how the enemy will testify. What’s to be lost? 

On the day of the hearing I was ordered by the Company to stay at home by the telephone but not to come anywhere near the hearing unless called. I was never called to testify, by either side, and the “ Malag 6” termination stuck. I felt then that it was an injustice and still feel that way.

I caught a lot of flack over the whole thing and sometimes late at night I wonder what might have been if anyone had ever asked me for my side of the story.

Captain John Harper

To My World ;-)

Revised 3/1/2024