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noelf

Well Known Member
I have started thinking about paint schemes for my -6A. One of the things I have always wanted to include was a tribute / acknowledgement to my dad and his three brothers, plus a cousin who served in the military during WWII, Korea, Vietnam, peace time, etc.

These folks had a great influence on my desire to fly, so in tribute to them, their names and ranks will be factored into the paint scheme...somewhere.

So, the question is: Do I state their rank for their service in WWII (where most of the "stories" come from, or do I acknowledge their final rank as of discharge date / retirement from active duty?
 
It's your airplane....

Officially, the rank held at discharge/retirement etc. is the rank that is appropriate. However, many things were different in WWII. For example, many men achieved higher rank during combat than the rank they held when discharged. I'm not sure when the "field promotions" ended, but know they didn't exist in 1986. So, I say to honor them as you would like to.
 
Highest

I would honor them with the highest rank achieved.

The only restrictions are for commercial use (use of your name and grade cannot be used to promote commercial activity). However; for retirees,as an example, I could close this note with:

Major Donald Garrison, USAF (Ret)
 
It is good to hear of someone else doing this. The right skirt on my (slider) canopy reads, "In Memory of T/Sgt Myron Kelly and Capt. Bill Burkett." Myron was my dad (WWII) and Bill a best friend who was shot down in Viet Nam. Your airplane is a great billboard; thousands will see it. What better way or place to express your sentiments. I have had many comments, and all were good. Perhaps with mine, Bill should have come first, considering his rank. Dad had held that position for too long, however. Bless your efforts!

Bob
 
WW II Colors

My dad was a gunner in 466th Bomb Group (Hvy), a B24 outfit in 8th Air Force. He lives quietly in Oklahoma City, at age 86, and his group's colors are the only paint so far on my RV9, nearing completion. i am hoping he gets a kick out of seeing the red tail with the white stripe, even tho the vertical stabilizer on the -9 isn't the oval of the twin stabilizers on B24s!
 
Attention to Detail

I know that no one would intentionally make this mistake, but be sure to get the proper abbreviation for the various rank. Note that it various by branch for the same term of address.
DoD Officer Ranks
DoD Enlisted Ranks

[Important caveat: These are the current rank and abbreviations. I don't know if/ how it's changed since WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.]

A portion of the interstate loop around my hometown of Cincinnati was renamed in honor of Cincinnati native Matt Maupin, an Iraqi Freedom POW whose remains were found in April of 2008. The official memorial sign alongside the interstate read "SSgt Matt Maupin." (SSgt is the Air Force abbreviation for Staff Sergeant, an E-5. Maupin was an Army Staff Sergeant, an E-6, abbreviated SSG) My dad found this in very poor taste and mailed a letter to the DoT. They did the right thing and the sign was changed shortly thereafter.

Morale of the story: People notice the small things. I think what you're doing is great. Be sure to do it right to honor them properly.
 
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Right on!

Excellent posting by Torch76!

Great links, as well. Notice even that some abbreviations are all CAPS, while some are Caps and Lower Case.

All important.:)
 
noelf said:
I have started thinking about paint schemes for my -6A. One of the things I have always wanted to include was a tribute / acknowledgement to my dad and his three brothers, plus a cousin who served in the military during WWII, Korea, Vietnam, peace time, etc.

These folks had a great influence on my desire to fly, so in tribute to them, their names and ranks will be factored into the paint scheme...somewhere.

So, the question is: Do I state their rank for their service in WWII (where most of the "stories" come from, or do I acknowledge their final rank as of discharge date / retirement from active duty?
Click to expand...

As you can see by the other excellent responses in this thread, generally one should list the highest rank acheived.

However, since you wish the displayed data to reflect a specific period of service and give credit where credit is due, then I suggest that you list their name, rank, location, and date. I think that this method would get the point across a bit better than just the name and rank data.
 
Crossbow...I thought about the date part, but did not want to imply that any of the family died in battle. Our extended family has been very fortunate in that many family members have served, both male and female, none have died while serving their country.
 
Noel,

In your project, as yous described it (multiple honorees), I'd concur with the gang, and go with rank at retirement/end of service (and glad to hear everyone came home...thanks for their service!!).

The only curve ball I'd toss out is if one was doing an exact replica of someone's wartime mount. In that case I think I'd stick with the paint scheme, markings and rank/name just as it was during the war. In other words, if it was LT Joe Smith's Corsair you're recreating, put LT, even though he may have retired as a RDML (fictional character for the example). I think that would meet protocol, though I can't reference any authority on it. It would seem to be a more true recreation though...just sayin'! ;)

And great links by Torch, as was said before. Case matters, for instance, a Capt. and a CAPT are different animals (one gets saluted more, one gets to fly more! :rolleyes: :D)

Have fun with the labor of love!!

Cheers,
Bob
 
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