The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Class of 2016 Induction Ceremony

Well, we did it! On October 28th Dick was inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society. He was among 28 individuals who had been nominated for this honor. They all went through a rigorous selection process. "The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame recognizes and honors our Arizona veterans who have made significant civic contributions at the local, state, or national level. Honorees are veterans who serve, or have honorably served, their country through military service and who also serve and inspire their fellow citizens with deeds and accomplishments outside their military service." [excerpt from the program]

Michele Reagan, Arizona Secretary of State and 
Colonel Wanda Wright, Arizona Department of 
Veterans Services Director
presented the medallion and plaque to Dick 
and all the other inductees.

 Here is Dick's biography from the program: Born in Hildreth, Florida in 1939, Lieutenant Colonel Dick Jonas served in the US Air Force as a combat fighter pilot/instructor who retired in 1986 with 21 years of service. For 15 years Dick served as an aerospace science instructor at Cactus High School, Glendale; and Mohave High School, Bullhead City; during which time he volunteered the equivalent of a school year guiding the cadets to drill meets, field trips, and summer camps. An active lifetime member of the Military Officers Association of America the the Air Force Association, Dick advocated veterans issues to Arizona's Congressional delegation, increased scholarship donations, and actively supported several veterans StandDowns. A military folk musician, Dick Jonas has traveled to Germany, Japan, and Korea to entertain the troops and to perpetuate the legacy of the warrior musician."

We appreciate Ron Perkins for successfully nominating Dick for this honor. 

Also we want to thank all the family members and friends who made the time to join us for the ceremony.

I am extremely proud of Dick for receiving this recognition.

Exciting News

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Dick has been selected for the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame. The Society recognizes "distinguished Arizona Veterans who have dedicated their lives on behalf of our citizens." The Induction Ceremony will be held on Friday, October 28th, 2016 at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, 5401 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85250 at 11:30 AM. If you would like to join us in the celebration go to the Unified Arizona Veterans web site at www.azuav.org for registration information.

The 144th Fighter Wing's Heritage Week

Entertainment will be provided by LtCol (ret) Dick Jonas who will perform songs about his experiences in Southeast Asia from the fighter pilot's perspective.

Brig. Gen.(ret) Robert "Earthquake" Titus will be the honored guest at the 144FW's Heritage Week Dinner. The general will discuss events that shaped the Air Force and his illustrious career that spanned more than 30 years and more than 500 combat missions.

The dinner will be Saturday, April 2 at 7:00PM - 9:30 PM PDT 

at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District: 808 4th Street, Clovis, CA 93612

Seating is extremely limited so register early! Tickets are $25.00 per person and may be obtained by visiting The 144th FW web site. http://www.144fw.ang.af.mil

Thank you to the 144th FW for doing such a thorough job of providing information about this event. I merely rearranged the information and copied it here.

New Friend

Multiple congratulations to Bryan "Cage" Zumbro. He was in charge of Haboob Havoc plans at Luke AFB and responsible for inviting Dick to perform. Then there was the 21st FS plane crash and he became responsible for undoing those plans and helping the 21st FS arrange the memorial for the lost pilot. Not an easy assignment on short notice but he managed and the memorial came off.

The other congratulation is that Bryan is about to be on his way to the "Swamp Foxes". That was Dick's last active duty assignment so naturally they bonded right away.

Add to that that Cage was a member of the Juvats and what more can be said.....

Luke AFB, 22 Jan 2016

Dick was invited by the 309th FS to perform at the Haboob Havoc on 22 Jan. Unfortunately, a student pilot from the 21st FS crashed near Bagdad, AZ on Thursday, 21 Jan. The powers that be decided Haboob Havoc would have to wait and a memorial for the Taiwanese pilot would be more appropriate. Here are some pictures from the memorial.

The shot glasses are filled with Kao Liang for the toast to "Gold" 

Dick prepares to sing Nickel on the Grass

The Piano - Ponch explained the WW II story
behind burning a piano when a pilot doesn't return.

Then they did.