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Local aviators group honors World War II pilots

By Robert Perry/Contributing Writer

Two local men who distinguished themselves in combat in World War II, flying some of the most destructive weapons of the war, were honored Saturday for their heroism by the Santa Ynez Valley aviation group Sport Aviators.

Lee Kendall, 88, and James K. Kunkle, 87, received certificates of resolution from the group as well as honors from Congressman Elton Gallegly at a barbecue dinner on July 4 at Santa Ynez Airport.

Assisting with the presentation, Col. Lavanson “LC” Coffey, the new commander for the 30th Launch Group at Vandenberg Air Force Base, spoke to the crowd of 80 people on a cloudless Fourth of July at the group’s Santa Ynez Airport hangar.

Coffey spoke of his roots in the military, his time at the Air Force Academy and the “freedom this country has afforded me in allowing me to attain success through the Air Force.” He also expressed how honored he was to be in the presence of the two World War II aviators.

Kunkle was recently honored by President Obama and other heads of state at the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe on June 5, 1944.

Kunkle flew missions in support of Allied troops in a P-38 Lightning, eventually earning the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military award after the Medal of Honor, for his actions against multiple enemy fighters near Aachen, Germany, on Sept. 16, 1944. He was shot out of his burning fighter after he brought down two of the attacking German fighters, saving his squadron from a surprise attack.

Kendall served in the Pacific theater at the end of World War II, flying the famous P-61 night fighter the “Black Widow.”

He is credited with the final downing of an enemy aircraft of the war, less than 24 hours after the declared end of the war in the Pacific, without firing a shot from his heavily armed twin-engine aircraft, Lady in the Dark.

Although the Japanese fighter aircraft was reported as having hit terrain by witnesses near Ie Shima, off Japan’s southern coast, Kendall was not recognized with a military award until 1990 when the Air Force awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross for his combat air patrols at the end of the war in the Western Pacific.

Sport Aviators, the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), holds annual July 4 activities with aviation themes. The day’s activities this year began with a fly-out of nine aircraft to Harris Ranch, about 120 miles north of Santa Ynez.

As the pilots returned from the short flight, they participated in a spot landing contest on the runway at Santa Ynez Airport.

This year’s winner, Los Olivos pilot Scott Millard, nailed the landing by putting his Cessna 172 within 40 feet of the designated line on the runway, displaying his superior piloting skills to more than a dozen other participating aircraft as well as a crowd watching and judging by the taxiway adjacent to the runway. Millard will have his name engraved on a perpetual trophy on display in the airport office.

Sport Aviators meet on the third Saturday of each month at hangar J-6 at Santa Ynez Airport to conduct chapter business and hear aviation speakers. Attendance is open to any member of the community interested in aviation, whether a pilot or not. E-mail inquiries may be sent to secretary@eaa491.org.