Former "Flying Tiger" and Test Pilot Vernon Henderson has scaled down to driving Motorcycles!

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Friends and neighbors,

We have a kid in the form of Vernon Henderson living among us with fun written across his smiling face. He was the second homeowner in Marbella, having moved here in 1984. Vern is an ardent motorcycle enthusiast. He was visited recently at his home on Camino Ramillette by some of his fun loving friends wearing black leather jackets and pants and riding 14 fancy looking motorcycles. They brought excitement into our sedate community, so I grabbed my camera and took a few photos. Vernon and his buddies were having a great time, and when I asked a group of them if they were members of "Hell's Angels", they roared with laughter. It turned out that they are members of the "Romeos" (Retired Old Men Eating Out), and they meet twice a week for lunch. Last year, BMW awarded a "300,000 Mile Award" to Vernon in recognition of his achievement of riding 300,000 miles or more on BMW motorcycles. May the good times keep on rolling for Vernon!

Vernon had an amazing career as a pilot. He was in the Flying Tigers. This was the nickname of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) that operated within the Chinese Air Force in 1941 and 1942. The volunteers were former United States Army (USAF), Navy (USN), and Marine Corps (USMC) pilots and ground crew, and commanded by Claire Chennault. The AVG consisted of three fighter squadrons that trained in Burma prior to the American entry into World War II to fight against Japanese forces.

The Tigers' shark-faced fighters remain among the most recognizable of any individual combat aircraft of World War II, and they demonstrated innovative tactical victories when the news in the U.S. was filled with little more than stories of defeat at the hands of the Japanese forces.

The group first saw combat on 20 December 1941, shortly after Pearl Harbor. The Flying Tigers achieved notable success during the lowest period of the war for American forces, and gave hope to Americans that they would eventually succeed against the Japanese. The Flying Tigers were credited with destroying almost 300 aircraft with a loss of only 14 pilots on combat missions. The AVG was disbanded in July 1942, to be replaced by the U.S. Army 23rd Fighter Group, which was later absorbed into the U.S. 14th Air Force with General Chennault as commander. The 23rd Group went on to achieve similar combat success, while retaining the nose art and mascot of the volunteer unit.

As shown in a framed document hanging in Vern's home (see photo), Col. V. J. Henderson, USAF, is a member of the "Society of Experimental Test Pilots". Other members included Howard Hughes, Charles Lindberg, and Gen. James Doolittle. Vernon earned his membership by flying the famous Blackbirds (SR-71 and F-12) at more than three times the speed of sound in level flight (Mach Three Plus). Photos of one of the Lockheed Blackbird series planes and a Certificate of Recognition by the "Mach Three Plus Club" are shown above. Vernon's home is filled with such trophies.

What an interesting man! A delight to get acquainted with.

[Editor's note: most of the historical information about the Flying Tigers was copied and pasted from Internet sources at the risk of violating copyright laws. A lawyer should know better.]