Falcon Composite Squadron 305 members turned out to help pay tribute to 23 Royal Air Force cadets from Britain who lost their lives in Mesa, Arizona, during World War II while training for overseas combat they never had a chance to engage in.
The event at City of Mesa Cemetery honored the fallen cadets of the No. 4 British Flying Training School, as well as the more than 2,300 Air Cadets in all who trained at Falcon Field during wartime. Along with the 12 Arizona Wing cadets and 14 adult members, descendants of the RAF cadets and members of 20 organizations were present.
The Falcon squadron cadets escorted dignitaries who placed wreaths in honor of those buried in a small plot.
“Falcon Squadron has taken its place as part of this event and in preserving this history for future generations,” said Sharon Grey Vehon, chair of the RAF Cadet Memorial Committee.
The ceremony began with music by the Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band, followed by the Post 81 Scottish American Military Society’s presentation of the colors. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Band played the national anthems of the United Kingdom and the U.S. Bill Quehrn, representing Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona, offered welcoming remarks.
After calling for a moment of silence, the Wings of Flight Foundation and Arizona Aviation Historical Group conducted a flyover of four World War II planes, with the PT-17 Stearman biplane symbolially deploying smoke and falling out of formation. As the planes shrank in the distance, Richard Cosway, descendant of an RAF cadet, read the “Roll of Honour” naming each of the fallen.
Falcon members then took their places to escort those placing 10 wreaths at the gravesites. Dignitaries placing wreaths included Paul Rennie, British consulate general in Los Angeles, and members of the Relatives of the Fallen, the Commemorative Air Force, and several other historically oriented British and Scottish societies.
When all the wreaths had been placed, the American Legion Post No.17 rifle team performed a 21-rifle salute. Then came the playing of “The Last Post” and taps by representatives from Buglers Across America and “Amazing Grace” by the pipe band, followed by retirement of the colors.
“CAP’s presence as the Air Force auxiliary was instrumental in executing a successful public event at the Mesa Cemetery held on Remembrance Day,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Tim Brown, CAP-USAF Southwest Liaison Region commander, who attended the ceremony.
“Many of the British boys who came to Falcon Field to learn to fly wouldn’t have been much older than the CAP cadets themselves,” Brown said.
“It was hugely important for our cadets to honor the memory of our allies who served in World War II as well as the (Army Air Forces) pilots who trained them and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the sacrifices that our veterans have made to protect the freedom we all enjoy,” he said.
Falcon Field can trace its roots to a familiar figure in Civil Air Patrol and military aviation history. Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, chief of the U.S. Army Air Corps, initially proposed the Civilian Pilot Training plan. Several such training bases were constructed in Arizona with the assistance of a group of investors and Hollywood actors.
One of these facilities became the No.4 British Flying Training School in Mesa at what the Army Air Corps named “Thunderbird II.”
The British RAF had no idea what a thunderbird was and decided the airfield should be renamed for a bird they were familiar with. Groundbreaking ceremonies were conducted the same day — July 16,1941— for both Falcon Field and Williams Field, its sister air training base to the southeast serving the Army Air Corps. Falcon Field opened that September.
After the war, Falcon Field was deeded to the city of Mesa with the expectation that the land would never be used for anything but an airport. Now, 80 years after its establishment, Falcon Field Airport serves as one of the busiest general aviation airports in the nation and is also home to Boeing’s Apache helicopter plant. A Boeing Stearman P-17 made the first training flight at Falcon Field._____Maj. John BryantCommanderFalcon Composite Squadron 305Arizona Wing
