Photo By Candy Pafford | Naval Air Station (NAS) Joint Reserve Base (JRB) Fort Worth’s Commanding Officer,...... read more read more
NAS JRB FORT WORTH, TX (Dec. 16, 2021) — Naval Air Station (NAS) Joint Reserve Base (JRB) Fort Worth’s Commanding Officer, CAPT Mark McLean, was guest speaker at the monthly Roll Call event, held Dec. 10 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Nearly 325 veterans from military campaigns since WWII, including veterans from the Korean War, Pearl Harbor, and Vietnam Era, attended the monthly Roll Call luncheon. Numerous volunteers also attended the event to help prepare and serve lunch, decorate and set up tables, donate and pass out gifts, assist veterans with mobility and much more.
MSgt (Ret) Mary Staffeld, president of Roll Call and Air Force veteran, said the primary mission of Roll Call is to bring veterans together for comradery.
“There are all kinds of great veteran organizations that do all kinds of things for folks, but nobody really brings them together where they can meet, talk and share their stories,” said Staffeld. “If we don’t share [our stories] they don’t get shared.”
According to Staffeld, Roll Call’s monthly luncheon is just one aspect of the program. They work with other organizations to take the veterans out to various events from public speaking engagements, memorials, parades and more.
“Anywhere they are invited, we want to take our veterans because we never want their stories to be untold,” said Staffeld.
The luncheon also provides opportunities to have others come in and speak to the veterans and other Roll Call members, such as this month’s guest speaker, CAPT McLean.
“Thank you for your service, for paving the way of who we are and what we are able to do today,” said McLean, native of Bullard, Texas. “I couldn’t be more proud to be here, coming from the young boy who would come up to Carswell Air Force Base and stand on the flight line to watch aircraft up in the air, till now… leading the men and women that serve at ‘Carswell Air Force Base.’ It changed to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in 1994, although it’s still known as ’Carswell’ by most.”
During his presentation, McLean gave a brief history of NAS JRB Fort Worth by showing various photos of the base from its beginning in 1930 as Tarrant Airfield, to Fort Worth Army Air Field (FWAAF) in 1942, and then to Carswell Air Force Base in 1948. Throughout his presentation, McLean shared various stories, including how 200 PBY Catalina patrol seaplanes used Lake Worth as a stopping ground on their way to Britain in the 1940’s, and how the FWAAF Air Force Day displayed P-80 Shooting Star Jet-propelled Fighter aircraft in 1946.
McLean was met with a round of applause as he talked about Convair’s B-36 Peacemaker Strategic Bomber aircraft used by the U.S. Air Force from 1949 to 1959 and then Convair’s B-58 Hustler’s nonstop flight from Carswell AFB to Paris.
Another photo in McLean’s presentation showed President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy, as they signed autographs outside of Hangar 1410 at Carswell AFB on their way to Dallas Love Field prior to the fatal motorcade in which President Kennedy was assassinated. Hangar 1410 is still operational and used by Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 473 at what is now NAS JRB Fort Worth.
Concluding his presentation, McLean talked about current military units and operations of NAS JRB Fort Worth.
During the monthly event, veterans eat a free lunch with drinks and dessert included. Other attendees pay a small fee. Veterans receive raffle prizes, donations, watch musical performances, and listen to various guest speakers.
Mel Sumerall, WWII Marine veteran, said he attends Roll Call because it “feels like your home,” and that he most enjoys talking to people who have been through the same thing in life that he has.
Mike Windham, Marine veteran who served during Vietnam, said his favorite part of Roll Call is getting the opportunity to meet WWII veterans.
“It’s a highlight of mine, because there are not a whole lot of them left throughout the world—fewer and fewer every day,” Windham said. “I really enjoy hearing speakers give their own personal accounts of their experiences of various wars. Also, it’s amazing to me to see the support staff… from the people in the kitchen, to servers—the young people especially. Sometimes we see the ROTC come and perform the flag caring honors. I am just amazed at the volunteers that come here.”
Staffeld said Roll Call started in 2014 when a veteran named Kevin Boldt decided to take 15 WWII veterans to lunch. The lunch became a regular thing, with more and more people, veterans, their families and people not associated with the military attending.
“We now have over 900 members,” said Staffeld. “Nobody pays anything to be a member of Roll Call. We have people who are civilians—they have never been in the military a day in their life, but they have a heart for the veterans, so they want to be here to fellowship with them and hear their stories.”
According to Staffeld, Roll Call is not just for our older veterans and that all are welcome to join them at any time.
“We do have a lot of Gulf Era veterans and military members attend,” said Staffeld. “It is not as many as we like because most are still working and cannot always get off to enjoy a luncheon. But if they can, I always tell them, just come once. You will love it and want to come back. These are the people that paved the way.”
Staffeld commented on a recent opportunity Roll Call had to send 10 Roll Call veterans to Hawaii for the 80th Commemoration of Pearl Harbor.
“One of those veterans was one of our female veterans,” said Staffeld. “When I sat with her before she left, my thing was that she paved the way for me to be able to do what I am doing. Part of what we should be doing as younger veterans is letting [the older veterans] know that their stories and scarifies matter. It paved the way for us… because of what they did. Every generation of warriors that has come before us, paved the way for us.”
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.16.2021 14:50 |
| Story ID: | 411339 |
| Location: | FORT WORTH, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 324 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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