The Dixie Wing's Dauntless Dive Bomber

I think it was Garth Brooks who once had a song in it where the words were "some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers".  

As a young man, I grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot in the Navy or the Air Force (I wasn't picky).  I felt as though God did not answer those prayers, because the Air Force turned me down because of my eyesight, and the Navy accepted me into the Naval Flight Officer Program, but because I didn't want to ride in the backseat, I declined the offer.

I was able to successfully get a job at Eastern Airlines, but that was not piloting a 727, but a Ford F 350 Lavatory Truck.  

While that job did pay for college and my flying lessons, I should note that it was not the ideal job for one to use to obtain the prerequisite flying job.

Many years later, upon finishing law school, I met my flying mentor, Bill Baldwin, a member of the Commemorative Air Force in Peachtree City, Georgia.  Bill introduced me to the PT26 Cornell, a World War II aircraft trainer, and the rest was history.  After gaining a lot of experience in the PT26 and the North American T6, I was able to move my way up to the Douglas SBD-5 Dive Bomber, the aircraft that sank the four Japanese Aircraft Carriers at the Battle of Midway.   I'm privileged that I get to fly this flying museum piece, and the Commemorative Air Force's P-51 Mustang, "Old Red Nose", so I guess you can say in a round about way that God wanted me to fly fighters, just not jets, and I'm sure not going to complain.  The Dixie Wing's Dauntless was assigned to us by the headquarters of the Commemorative Air Force in 1991.  How it got to the CAF is an interesting story.

                                     "Speedy D" shortly after restoration.

The Dixie Wing's Dauntless

Our Dauntless, BuAer 54532 was delivered to the US Navy in April of 1944, and in August of 1944 was assigned to the Bureau of Aeronautics General Representative in Los Angeles where it was likely used as a personal transport aircraft until June of 1945 when it was transferred to the Bureau of Aeronautics Representative (BAR) in Baltimore.  It was assigned to the BAR Baltimore until December of 1946 when it went into the pool at NAS Norfolk.  There is no evidence that this particular specimen made its way aboard a U. S. Navy carrier and it was stricken from Navy inventory on February 8, 1947 as “transferred to another agency”.  The “other agency” turned out to be the War Assets Administration (WAA), and when the Dauntless was registered in 1947 as NL1339V, later N1339V, the construction number was given as 6046, the SBD-5, BuAer 54532.  A review of sale documents from the WAA however, list the serial number as 42-54532. 

N1339V was registered to none other than Andy Stinis of the Skywriting Corporation of America.  Interviews with Stinis’ relatives indicate the Dauntless was initially purchased to be a high altitude Skywriter, but as the fuel consumption was more than double that of Skywriting’s AT-6’s, the airplane was sold.  Of note is the fact that the Dauntless was painted in Pepsi's colors, Red, White and Blue.

         N1339V was sold to CIA Mexicana Aerofoto on October 18, 1951 and six days later the US registration was cancelled as ‘exported to Mexico’.  Mexicana Aerofoto registered the Dauntless as XB-QUC.  From 1951 to 1966, the Dauntless racked up hundreds of thousands of miles flying as an aerial photo ship for CIA Mexicana Aerophoto.  Flying with the company founded by Luis Struck, the pioneer of aerial photography in Mexico, the Dauntless was one of the aircraft Struck used to take countless photos for Pemex, the Mexican Oil Company, the Mexican Electricity Commission and even the U. S. Department of Agriculture in a study of the Mississippi Delta.

                                                "Speedy D" during her time in Mexico.

            After operating for many years with Mexicana Aerophoto, on January 11, 1966 the Dauntless was sold for $1600.00 to Ed Maloney of the Movie World Planes of Fame Museum, who displayed the SBD in his museum from 1966 until he sold it on March 4, 1971 to the very colorful Robert Griffin, one of the Confederate Air Force’s early donors who nicknamed the Dauntless “Speedy D”.  Griffin, of San Antonio, was one of the CAF’s first Dauntless pilots and he is responsible for purchasing and donating not only the Dauntless, but the SB2C “Helldiver” and an FM-2 “Wildcat”, which is currently undergoing restoration in Reno, Nevada.

       In 1975, the Dauntless finally made its way aboard an aircraft carrier, participating in the retirement ceremonies for Admiral Ralph W. Cousins, Commanding Officer of the Atlantic Fleet on board the USS Nimitz.  The Dauntless, sporting a new paint job in the colors of Adm. Cousins, was hoisted upon the flight deck next to the Navy’s newest F-14 Tomcat fighter, which at the time was just entering the fleet.  Admiral Cousins, credited with a hit on the Japanese Carrier Shoho during the Battle of the Coral Sea, was reportedly very pleased and surprised that “Speedy D” was aboard for the ceremony.

                                             SBD in Action in the South Pacific in WWII.

             In the late 70’s and 80’s, “Speedy D” soldiered on, but never having been properly restored, it was becoming the Hangar Queen of Harlingen, Texas, the CAF’s Headquarters.  A decision was made by General Staff of the CAF to assign the Dauntless to a unit that could completely restore the airplane to pristine condition.

 The Dixie Wing’s restoration team, led by Mike Rettke, Gerald Carlson, Tex Layton, and many others spent many years restoring the Dauntless to a condition that would make the workers at the original Douglas Aircraft factory in El Segundo proud.

           On a cold February morning in 1999 “Speedy D” took to the air for the first time in almost a decade.  With Mike Rettke at the controls, the Dauntless took to the air and actually lived up to it’s nickname, quickly outrunning the T6 “chase” plane that had assembled to assist with the maiden flight.

Other than a handful of museum examples, she is one of only two Dauntlesses that continue to fly.  Let’s all hope she flies another 65 years.

A Brief Combat History of the "Dauntless"

One of the great carrier planes of all time, this rugged Douglas dive- bomber was one of the few American naval aircraft not inferior in performance to its enemy counterparts at the outbreak of World War II. Designed by a team headed by the famous Ed Heinemann, the SBD made its first flight on May 1, 1940. The Dauntless was the only U.S. combat aircraft to see action in every major naval engagement of the war in the Pacific. It sunk more enemy ships than any other aircraft, and had the lowest loss ratio of any carrier-based plane. The Dauntless’ greatest day was June 4, 1942, when during the battle of Midway, SBDs from the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Yorktown sank four Japanese carriers. Though not designed as fighters, SBDs were credited with downing 138 enemy planes in air-to-air combat, versus a loss of about 86 Dauntlesses. A total of 5321 SBDs were built for the Navy, Marine Corps and Army Air Forces at Douglas’ El Segundo plant at Mines Field (now Los Angeles International Airport), where production peaked at 11 aircraft a day. An additional 615 A24-Bs (the equivalent of the SBD-5) were built and delivered to the Army Air Force at Douglas’ Tulsa, Oklahoma plant bringing the total produced during the war to 5,936.  There are currently two airworthy Dauntlesses in the world, one with the Dixie Wing and the other with the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California.  

US Navy Photograph

                                          

Basic Courtroom Procedure for Georgia, Part 2

The process of a trial is unknown to a great many of my first time clients.  Most clients only know courtroom legal procedures from watching "Law and Order" on TV.  Most of the TV shows will get some of the terminology right, but other than that, it's pure Hollywood.  In Georgia, the following procedures are very likely to occur in most situations.  I hope this is informative for you.  Once again, this is not to be construed as legal advice, unless you and I have entered into a contract for representation. 

How Most People View Court

Pretrial Procedures

• There are a number of things that can happen to a criminal case. It can be dismissed by the prosecutor, you can enter a pretrial intervention program, you can plead guilty, or the case can go to trial. Under certain circumstances your attorney may be able to get your case dismissed via a nolle prosse or dead docket.
• If you're convicted following a trial or if you plead guilty, in addition to facing possible jail time, you may be subject to fines and probation.  If you're not a citizen,  you may also be subject to deportation. If you're convicted of a felony, you may also lose some of your civil rights, such as the right to own a firearm.
• Criminal cases can take a long time to conclude. They depend on the seriousness of the charges, the amount of cases a particular judge has on his calendar, and whether you're going to accept a plea or go to trial. There are "speedy trial rules" governing the amount of time the prosecutor has to be ready for trial, but it is not uncommon for these cases to take 6 to 12 months, or longer, to go to trial.
• Delays can result from any number of reasons; crowded court calendars; busy prosecutors and defense lawyers or delays in getting documents from the prosecutor or police, that your attorney needs in order to prepare for trial. Each case is different and  requires different preparation. There are certain procedures that must be followed. Your lawyer can explain this more fully as it relates to your case. I know the wait can be frustrating, but there's little that can be done to speed things up.
• One of the biggest delays in the system is due to trial preparation. It's far better to have the delay than go to trial without adequate preparation, even if you're in jail. Your attorney will most probably prepare a Motion for Discovery, requiring that the state turn over to the defense all information and documents that the defense would be entitled to regarding your case. The attorney may also consider filing a Motion to Suppress certain evidence on the grounds that it was obtained in violation of your rights. In addition, there are also certain "dismissal" motions that may be considered, where appropriate. There will usually be hearings on the suppression motions.
• If your case is set for trial, there will usually be a pretrial conference scheduled between the prosecutor, the judge and your attorney to discuss your case to see if it can be disposed of without a trial. There will probably be a plea offer by the prosecutor. If the plea is refused, the case proceeds to trial.
• Trial is usually an uphill battle for the defense. The prosecutor normally has better resources, like the police to investigate and get witnesses to cooperate and experts "geared to" strengthening the prosecutor's case. Even if your lawyer has spoken to your witnesses, sometimes it's difficult to get them to cooperate, especially since most people just do not want to get involved.
• The prosecutor also has public opinion on their side. Even though the law says that you're presumed to be innocent, and that the burden of proving your guilt is on the state, jurors do not always understand or follow the law. Unfortunately, nowadays, many prospective jurors have been exposed to crime, either personally or through the media, and tend to presume you're guilty and expect the defense to prove your innocence, especially if you're minority or poor.
• There are several types of hearings, called pretrial hearings, or suppression hearings, that may occur before a trial jury is selected. Not every case has pretrial hearings. It depends on the evidence against you. These hearings are named after landmark cases, such as Miranda v. Arizona, which says that the police have to give you your rights before asking you any questions, IF they intend to use your responses against you in court.  After the hearing, the judge decides whether or not to let the prosecutor use certain evidence against you at trial. If the evidence in question is the only evidence against you, your case may be dismissed if you win the hearing.
• A Jackson-Denno hearing is to suppress statements allegedly made by you to a law enforcement officer, prosecutor or their agents, on the grounds that you were not advised of your constitutional right to remain silent or were forced to make the statement, either by threats or coercion. It is highly unlikely that the police will admit that they failed to read you your rights, or that they threatened you at a Jackson-Denno hearing. They will probably testify that they read you your "Miranda" rights, and deny that they used any force or coercion. Unless you are the pastor of the First Baptist Church, the judge usually believes the police when their version of what happened differs from the defendant's.
• After pretrial hearings are completed, your trial begins at which time a judge or jury listens to evidence and decides if you are guilty or not.
• You are entitled to a jury trial in all felony and misdemeanor cases unless your case is a Municipal Court Violation and there is no corresponding State charge. Even if you're entitled to a jury trial, you may waive that right and be tried by a judge. This decision depends on the specifics of your case and which judge will be conducting the trial.

The Trial

• If you are having a jury trial, the first part would be to select the jury. This is called voir dire. Prospective jurors are brought to the courtroom from the jury panel. The judge explains some general principles of law to them. From that panel, 12 or more at a time, are called into the jury box to be questioned by the judge, the prosecutor and the defense attorney.
• The purpose of the voir dire is to give each side a chance to determine whether or not prospective jurors can be fair. The defense attorney can also use this process as a means of educating prospective jurors about your case.  More often than not, the prosecutor and defense attorney are really looking more for jurors they feel may be sympathetic to their side, and if that doesn’t work, they then look for someone they feel can be fair.
• After each round, the attorneys "challenge" the jurors they do not want. It's more of a process of elimination than one of selection. Each side has a specific number of peremptory challenges depending on the criminal charges. These are challenges that do not require the attorney to give a reason for asking that a potential jury member be dismissed. If either side can show that a potential juror cannot be fair, that juror can be challenged for cause. Challenges for cause are unlimited.
• The final jury selected usually consists of 12 jurors in a felony case and 6 jurors in a misdemeanor case.  Sometimes if the trial will be more than a day, alternates can be chosen in case a juror becomes ill or for any reason, a juror cannot continue to serve.
• After the jury is selected, the judge will explain their duties and warn them not to discuss the case with anyone until it's over.
• When the jury is seated, the prosecutor makes their opening statement in which they tell the jury what they intend to prove during the trial. When the prosecutor is finished, the defense attorney, usually, makes their opening statement. I say usually, because no opening statement from the defense is required. The defense is not obligated to prove anything during the trial. Whether or not your attorney does make an opening statement is a matter of strategy.
• Following opening statements, the prosecutor presents evidence, consisting of testimony from witnesses and exhibits. When the prosecutor questions their witness, it is referred to as "direct examination." When the defense attorney questions that same witness, it is referred to as "cross-examination." You can also have "re-direct" and "re-cross."
• When the prosecutor finishes presenting their case, your attorney can present a defense but, again, it is not required. In some cases, a defense attorney puts on no defense because they feel they have successfully "discredited" the state's case or impeached a number of the state’s witnesses.
• In cases where a defense is presented, a major decision is whether you will testify at trial. Even though the jury is told not to hold it against you if you don't testify, they often do hold it against you. The decision is especially harder if the prosecutor will be allowed to cross-examine you based on a prior criminal record. In any false allegation case, a great deal of the matter will come down to your word against the word of the accuser. In most cases, a jury "demands" that you testify so they have the ability to make up their minds of whether you are or are not guilty. To acquit, a jury usually must hear the accused testify that they are innocent and the jury must believe them.
• When the defense concludes its presentation, the prosecutor may present evidence to rebut something the defense has raised in its case. If this happens, the defense may present evidence to rebut that. When both sides finish presenting their evidence, they rest.
• Following all testimony, the prosecutor and defense attorney give closing arguments. Normally, the prosecutor gives their closing, the defense attorney gives his and then the prosecutor gives a final and brief summation.
• When all closing arguments are complete, the judge explains the law to the jury and sends them out to deliberate until they reach a verdict.
• The jury cannot discuss the case with anyone who is not on the jury and any verdict must be unanimous. If, by some chance, the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict no matter how long they deliberate, the judge may declare a mistrial based on a "hung jury." If that happens, you can be tried again. If you're acquitted, you cannot be charged or tried again for the same case. There is case law in Georgia that allows in certain cases, the prosecutor and the defense attorney may elect to take a non-unanimous verdict.
• Following a guilty verdict, your attorney may entertain filing motions for a new trial or motions appealing the verdict.
• Also, following a guilty verdict, the accused is sentenced.
• If you're convicted after trial, your lawyer must file a "Notice of Appeal" for you within 30 days of the sentence date to insure your right to appeal. If you're indigent, (without funds), a lawyer will be assigned to do your appeal. Appeals take a long time to be heard. Part of the delay, especially if you're indigent, is the length of time it takes the appeals lawyer to get the trial transcript. Assigned lawyers usually handle a lot of cases, so it usually takes longer for them to get to your case. It sometimes takes years for an appeal to be heard. If you can afford to pay an attorney and can afford to pay for the trial transcript, you can speed up the process. On some occasions, bail is allowed pending your appeal, but most defendants wait in jail until their appeals are heard.
• If the higher court denies the appeal, there are other areas of "post-conviction" relief the accused may consider, such a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.

Basic Courtroom Procedure for Georgia, Part 1

The following information is presented as a courtesy, and I need to throw in a disclaimer that nothing in this article constitutes legal advice unless there is a written and signed agreement for representation between me and you.  

The First Appearance

• Following an arrest, you will most probably appear at a First Appearance hearing. This is simply a formal hearing at which you will be informed of the specific charges against you, advised of your rights and where the court will set a bail.  Among the factors that a judge uses when setting bail is the severity of the crime, your contacts in the local area, your prior record, and are you likely to threaten any witnesses.  The Judge may also ask you at this point if you want to hire your own attorney of if you want the court to assign you a court appointed attorney. 
• The judge will set your bond and in most cases bond can be posted by a bail-bondsman, cash or property. If you elect to use the services of bail-bondsman, they will usually require a "fee" amounting to 15% of the total bond amount, plus surcharges. If bond is set by the court at $25,000.00, the bonding company would charge approximately $3,750.00 as their "fee," plus they may require some type collateral for the balance to assure they would not suffer any loss in the event the accused failed to appear. None of the money paid to a bonding company is ever recoverable. If, however, property or cash is put up as bail,  the property is returned at the conclusion of the case, assuming that the accused did not "flee" the jurisdiction of the court. and nothing is lost. If you are unable to "make bail," you remain in jail until your case is disposed of, via trial or plea. It is theoretically possible to get an "O/R bond", which means on your own recognizance, but you better be a well known local minister charged with a minor crime, because the truth of the matter is, Judges in my area of practice don't do it. Also remember, whether you post bond, or someone you loves posts your bond, if you decide to run from the authorities while on bond, the person who "posted" your bond forfeits their cash or property.
• In addition, bail (bond) jumping is a separate crime in itself. It is almost impossible to defend that charge and it may give the prosecutor extra leverage in dealing with your current case. If you do not appear for trial, in addition to having a bench warrant issued and forfeiting your bail, the likelihood that you will ever get a bond again is pretty small. Sooner or later, chances are that you will be found and arrested. The fact that you fled the jurisdiction can be used against you in court. 
• It is not uncommon at all at the arraignment for your attorney and the prosecutor to discuss your case with the judge. Often times, valuable information is obtained from the prosecutor at this "bench conference." There may be some discussion about a plea-bargain and in some cases, charges are actually disposed of or felony charges are reduced to misdemeanors. Your attorney will discuss any offer from the prosecutor with you.
• If the charges are serious felonies, most probably they will not be disposed of at the arraignment. The prosecutor may give notice that they intend to present your case to a Grand Jury.  At the Grand Jury, the District Attorney (or the Assistant District Attorney) will present he case against you, and you have no right to be present.  In some cases if you are a law enforcement officer charged with a crime, you may be able to attend.  

The Preliminary Hearing

• Let's say you don't get out of jail on bond.  What next for you?  A preliminary hearing is in your future.  A preliminary hearing can benefit your case because your lawyer learns what evidence the state has against you.  Of course, it can benefit the State if you get up and testify.  Most prosecutors can create confusion in the average client, therefore I recommend my clients maintain their silence at this stage of the proceedings.  The state puts on evidence to establish probable cause to show the court why the matter should be set for trial and the defense attorney has the ability to cross-examine witnesses. Some prosecutors would rather avoid a preliminary hearing because they do not want to expose their witnesses at that early stage and elect to go to the Grand Jury instead. 

The Grand Jury

• A Grand Jury consists of a number of local citizens, usually 16 to 23, who hear evidence presented by the prosecutor and decide if that evidence is strong enough to support an indictment. Never forget that the Grand Jury is an "arm" of the prosecutor's office. A prosecutor normally has no problem in getting an indictment because the Grand Jury usually only hears one side; the side of the prosecution. There is no judge to rule on the admissibility of evidence or defense lawyer to cross-examine the witnesses, and they usually hear nothing from the defense.   Grand Jury proceedings are secret and defense lawyers can only be present in certain situations as noted above. In most cases, the Grand Jury is a rubber stamp for the District Attorney, and most of the time they just use the case detective or investigator as a witness.
• You, personally, have no right to testify before the Grand Jury. Sometimes, if you hire a lawyer soon enough in your case, your lawyer can meet with the District Attorney's Investigator before the case has been presented to the Grand Jury.  Sometimes your lawyer can give the State information about you or about the incident that can minimize the impact of a Grand Jury Indictment, and sometimes even keep an Indictment from being handed down naming you as the Defendant.  That is a great reason to get a lawyer working on your case as soon as possible.

The Indictment

• The indictment is a formal accusation that identifies the specific charges against you. The difference between an indictment and an informal accusation complaint is that an indictment is based on sworn testimony and a "accusation" is an "affidavit" signed against you by the prosecutor. Indictments are usually required for serious crimes.  
• Occasionally cases are presented to a Grand Jury before anyone is arrested. If the Grand Jury indicts,  you won't be notified that your case is being presented to a Grand Jury. If you are indicted this manner, a bench warrant is usually issued for your arrest and you are jailed until you can post bond.

Plea-Bargaining

• Plea-bargaining is nothing more than negotiating the disposition of a case and sometimes, it is appropriate. Whether you take a plea or go to trial is an important decision that you should make and not your attorney. It is your life. Once your attorney knows enough about the evidence against you, they can evaluate the chances of your winning at your trial. They will balance your odds of winning, against the amount of time you could get if you lose trial, and the sentence being offered in the plea-bargain. Once you do agree to plead guilty, you cannot change your mind later and "get back your plea," so make sure that it is honestly in your best interest.
• The decision is difficult, especially if you're innocent and the evidence against you looks strong. There are provisions in the law for a person to plead guilty without admitting guilt. One is referred to as an ALFORD plea.
• Sometimes it's hard to admit guilt if you're innocent, but some defendants do it because their chances of winning are so slim they'd rather take the sure thing, usually amounting to probation or low jail time, than risk a long jail sentence. If you do go to trial and lose, you will normally get more time than what was offered in the plea-bargain. No matter how experienced or skillful your attorney is, there are absolutely no guarantees of winning a trial, so some defendants take pleas to avoid the uncertainty of trial. Defendants who are in jail awaiting trial usually are more likely to take pleas than defendants who are out of jail, because they just want to get out of jail.

Tomorrow Part 2 on Courtroom Procedure

Common Courtesy in the Courtroom

It never ceases to amaze me as to how people act in court regardless if it is the attorney or the client.  As with all things in life, common courtesy and respect are skills that will take you far.  But sometimes what I think is second nature to people are things that others just don’t think about or simply don’t know because no one has ever shared this knowledge with them. So please allow me to share some basic courtroom etiquette with you.
“Please” and “thank you” are always good basic starters.  Think about how wonderful you feel when you go to hold the door for someone and they say “thank you”.  It kinda gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.  The same thing is true if you are dealing with your attorney, the prosecutor, the government's trial attorney, or the judge.  All these people are human beings who liked to be treated with kindness and acknowledged that you are on their turf taking their time.  Even if they are not courteous to you, you should still exhibit basic manners and say please and thank you.  Why?  Because it is a sign of respect.  You are in their courtroom and the judge is the one in charge.  You are asking for his help to accomplish your legal goal and one of the best ways to get off on the right foot is to do this to show respect.
I always instruct my clients that they should say yes sir and no sir, or yes ma'am or no ma'am, along with please and thank you.  It is a matter of showing respect for the chain of command and the position that the prosecutor and/or judge hold.  For those of you who do not think this makes a difference I would humbly disagree.  When I was a young lawyer, a client of mine was ready to enter a plea where he was to get probation, but because he answered "yeah" in a very disrespectful manner to the judge, the judge made him sit down for over three hours thinking about how to exhibit common courtesy in the courtroom.  You can be sure that while he was sitting down, I spent the time tutoring him on how to act in front of a man that could put him in prison.
I now take nothing for granted prior to a plea or any appearance in front of a judge, and go over the basics of courtesy with my clients for all court appearances.

The question that comes up is about the dress.  How do I dress for court?  Always ask your attorney as local standards may vary.  In most courts I appear in here in Georgia, whether it be Municipal Court or Immigration Court, the dress code is casual to business casual.  Jeans are fine unless they have holes in them, or you are wearing them so low that your underwear is showing.  I know of several courtrooms where if you are wearing baggy pants, you must pull them up and tuck in your shirt or you won't be allowed in.  If you can't get into court, there is a contempt fee for being late.  So be advised.

No matter what courtroom you appear in always stand as the judge enters or leaves the courtroom unless instructed otherwise.  If you are not sure what to do,  watch the attorneys in the court.  If the attorneys stand up at the beginning of court, you should too.  My last tip is if you chew gum, don’t for court.  Nothing burns up a Judge more, and is more disrespectful to the Judge, that chomping on some gum while trying to speak.  Spit it out before you go to court, and no, don't put it under the seat.

As it states in the Bible under Matthew 7:12, do unto others as you would want done onto you.  Think about how much better the world would be if all us practiced common courtesy and respect.
These tips are not going guarantee that you will have a perfect case nor does it guarantee a perfect experience.  These tips are just one more tool in your arsenal to help you obtain you goals.

Remember that knowledge is power and the more knowledge you have about courtroom etiquette the more power you will have to gain the respect of those you will be dealing with in court.