Cesar Chavez, California State Holiday

1927	Cesar Chavez is born on March 31, 1927, in Yuma, Arizona, to a poor Mexican American family. They run a farm, grocery store, garage, and pool hall.
1938	The Chavez family is evicted from its land after losing their livelihood in the Great Depression. They become migrant farm workers in Arizona and California.
1942	Chavez quits grammar school to work full-time in the fields.
1946	Chavez enlists in the Navy, where he serves for two years in the Pacific.
1948	Chavez marries Helen Favela. Over the years, they have eight children. Chavez works as a ranch hand and at a lumber yard in San Jose, Calif.
1952	Chavez joins the Community Service Organization (CSO) in San Jose, Calif., and becomes an organizer in the Mexican American community, spearheading voter registration drives and fighting racial and economic discrimination.
1958	Chavez becomes executive director of the CSO, and moves to its headquarters in Los Angeles.
1962	Chavez founds the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in Delano, Calif., with labor leader Dolores Huerta. The organization is dedicated to the rights of migrant workers, including a minimum wage, insurance, and collective bargaining.
1965	The NFWA, primarily made up of Mexican Americans, joins the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), primarily made up of Filipino Americans, who had begun striking against grape growers in Delano. It is the beginning of the five-year Delano grape strike, which received much national attention. Chavez advocated strikes, picketing, boycotts, marches, and other non-violent means to achieve the union's aims, modeling his movement on Gandhian philosophy. Dorothy Day of the Catholic Workers Movement and Martin Luther King's philosophy on civil disobedience were also inspirations.
1966	The strikers march 250 miles from Delano to Sacramento, California's capital, to present a list of their demands. Several grape companies agree to sign a contract with the union. These were the first contracts for American farm workers. That same year, the NFWA and AWOC merge, forming the United Farm Workers (UFW), which becomes an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
1968	Chavez leads a national boycott of California table grape growers, which becomes known as "La Causa." By the end of the boycott in 1970, 17 million Americans supported it, including many political and civil rights leaders. Robert Kennedy was a particularly strong supporter. Chavez goes on a 25-day hunger strike, which attracts enormous national attention. The fast reaffirms his movement's belief in non-violence.
1970	The UFW signs a contract with most California table grape growers, ending the strike. Chavez organizes a nationwide lettuce boycott.
1972	Chavez undertakes a 24-day fast.
1973	The UFW organizes a lettuce growers strike.
1975	The California Labor Relations Act goes into effect, allowing farm workers the right to boycott and to collective bargaining.
1988	Chavez undertakes a 36-day "Fast for Life" to call attention to the health hazards farm workers and their children face by exposure to pesticides.
1993	Chavez dies on April 23, 1993.
1994	President Bill Clinton awards Chavez a posthumous Medal of Freedom.
2000	California establishes a state holiday on Chavez's birthday to honor him.

“Flying Fortress”

This past week-end the B-17 Liberty Belle arrived in town. For a paltry $430.00 you could take a 30 minute ride. I realized right away that the cost of riding in this plane was not in the family fund's. So, I settled on taking my camera out and took picture's.

Arriving at Meadow's Field

Flying overhead

Landing gear down

The Boeing B-17 is by far the most famous bomber of World War II. In 1934 the Boeing Aircraft Company of Seattle Washington began construction of a four engine heavy bomber. Known as the Model -299, first flight was achieved on July 28th 1935. As a result, the U.S. Government placed an order for production of 13 of these aircraft and began to take delivery of the 13 production aircraft between January 11th and August 4th 1937.

The B-17, dubbed the “Flying Fortress” as a result of her amount of defensive firepower, underwent a number of improvements over its ten-year production run. B-17 Models ranged from the YB-17 to the B-17G model. Throughout the war the B-17 was refined and improved as the combat experience showed the Boeing designers where improvements could be made. The Final B-17 production model, the B-17G was produced in the largest quantities (8,680) than any other previous model and is considered the definitive “Flying Fortress”. With its 13 .50-caliber machine guns, Chin, top, ball and tail turrets; waist and cheek guns the B-17 was indeed an airplane that earned the respect of its combatants. In addition, the flight crews loved the B-17 for her ability to take and withstand heavy combat damage and return safely home.

The above picture is looking forward from the door opening which is on the right side of the plane about a third way from the rear.

This picture was shot from the same door looking to the rear of the plane. This is the hole the tail gunner had to climb through to get into position. The hump is the rear wheel recess.

During WWII, the B-17 saw service in every theater of operation, but was operated primarily by the 8th Air force in Europe and participated in countless missions from bases in England. A typical B-17 Mission often lasted for more than eight hours and struck targets deep within enemy territory. During the war, B-17’s dropped 640,036 tons of bombs on European targets in daylight raids. This compares to the 452,508 tons dropped by the B-24 and 464,544 tons dropped by all other U.S. aircraft. The B-17 also downed 23 enemy aircraft per 1,000 raid as compared with 11 by B-24’s and 11 by fighters and three by all U.S. medium and light bombers.

There were a total of 12,732 B-17’s that were produced between 1935 and May 1945. Of these 4,735 were lost in combat. Following WWII, the B-17 saw service in three more wars. B-17’s were used in Korea, Israel used them in the war of 1948 and they were even used during Vietnam.

Today, fewer than 100 B-17 airframes exist and fewer still are in airworthy condition. At one time, more than 1000 B-17’s could be assembled for mass combat missions, now less than 15 of Boeings famous bombers can still take to the sky.

This gentleman's name is Robert Charles Osborne. He is a local veteran that was a gunner on this specific plane. He told me that he had flown 16 missions on this plane. He has a book titled "Bail Out"
I asked him about his book title and he told me a story I could not understand, I guess I will need to go buy the book and read it.

Thank you Mr. Osborne and all veterans for your service to our country.