Because of my love for Pin-Up art and aircraft Nose Art, I've met some really cool people, two of them are listed below.

I guess it was about eight years ago I got an e-mail from a U.S. Air Force Veteran down in Florida named Charles Hinton aka: Chrly. Charlie was an Air Force navigator who had served with the 13th Bomb Squadron during the Korean War and he wanted to know if I would be interested in recreating some of the 13th's insignias? At the time I knew nothing about the 13th Bomb Squadron or what I was getting myself into, but looking back, it has been some of the most rewarding and interesting work I've done in my life. Charlie and I have become great friends and have worked on many projects over the years. Knowing Charlie has enriched my life both in history and creativity. Things I learned while working on 13th Bomb Squadron projects have benefited me in my professional career as a graphic design and in my illustration. Things I learned while working with Chrly have been invaluable to me and are one of the main reasons for the high quality of my vector art.

Around the same time I became acquainted with an Air Force Tech Sargent from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri named Dan Vargas. Dan and I became fast friends. Dan had a dream about creating a Pin-Up for each of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers at Whiteman AFB. This was a project that I could really sink my teeth into!

While all this was going on, a tough old Air Force Master Sargent who served in WWII and later in the Korean War named Bill Cowan, known to his friend as ORB (Old Rotten Bill) was stubbornly leading a one man lobbying effort with the top brass of the Air Force to reactivate the 13th Bomb Squadron. Never underestimate the persuasiveness of a Grim Reaper or ORB, the Air Force agreed to reactivate the 13th that had been dormant since the Vietnam War. The modern 13th became a reality at Dyess AFB, Texas flying the "Bone", the B-1B Lancer! the 13th has always been blessed with great leadership and the 13th at Dyess was no different and was skillfully lead by Lt Col Robert McCormick, LT Col Gerald Plourde and then followed by Lt Col Buck Shawhan. Buck Shawhan would be the last B-1 commander of the 13th at Dyess. The 13th was again put on a shelf only to be reborn a year later as one of the two B-2 Spirit Stealth bomb squadrons with the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Missouri. At Whiteman the 13th was lead by Lt Col Thomas Bussiere and then Lt Col Bill Eldridge. The 13th had come full circle, from it's humble roots in 1917 to WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and now the current GWOT.

The above patches and coins are a visual history of the 13th Bomb Squadron. Going left to right, is the first Friday Patch I designed for the 13th at Whiteman AFB. This patch was designed with Lt Col Paul W. Tibbets and features the squadron's WWI insignia with the B-2. Next is a 13th challenge coin also designed with Lt Col Tibbets. The second challenge coin was designed with Charlie Hinton for the 13th Bomb Squadron Association. Next is the 13th's air show patch that was designed with Capt Luke Jayne. The patch in the center is a recreation the famed "DOOM Pussy" patch from the Vietnam War that was designed by Bob Galbreath. The 2 bottom patches where design with Capt Luke Jayne for use by the 13th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron when it was deployed to Anderson AFB, Guam. All of these are laying on 13th flying scarf from the Dyess AFB era. All the patches and coins feature the original 13th Aero Squadron insignia designed by 1st Lt Earl Richards that was painted on Capt Charles Biddle's SPAD XIII when he became the squadron's first ACE in WWI.

Next week the 13th Bomb Squadron will get it's 3rd commander since being reactivated at Whiteman. I want to congratulate Lt Col Eldridge on a job well done and to wish his replacement the best of luck with this historic squadron!
FEAR THE REAPERS!

To learn more about military patches, read Phil Patton's interesting article at: [link]