The fifteen volunteers shown below are but a few of the many outstanding volunteers who work hard and well on USS Midway Museum's aircraft exhibits.

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Frank Warren gives the aircraft restoration group more volunteer hours per week than any other volunteer, and he has a wealth of experience and knowledge to give.  Frank is a retired US Navy Master Chief Aircraft Maintenanceman who was involved in all aspects of aviation maintenance from hands-on work on a wide variety of Naval aircraft to supervision of aviation maintenance activities ashore and afloat.  He was the Maintenance Chief of VF-161 on USS Midway in the mid-1970s.  After retirement from the Navy, Frank stayed involved in aircraft maintenance by working for a civilian contractor at Top Gun at NAS Miramar and maintaining US Customs' fleet of aircraft at NAS North Island.  Just about any day of the week, you can find him at the restoration hangar or on the ship making sure the other volunteers are supported and ensuring the exhibit aircraft stay in the best possible condition.  Frank is the restoration group's volunteer crew leader on the Midway and is a former USS Midway Museum Volunteer of the Month.

On 6 April 2006,  Frank was presented with the The David Flohr Award.  The David Flohr Award is given annually to the USS Midway Museum Volunteer of the Year.  One would be hard pressed to find a more deserving recipient of this award.  View more information and a photo of the award ceremony.

Bill Brown was USS Midway Museum's Volunteer of the Month for the month of July 2005.  He has given over 2000 hours of his time to both the aircraft restoration group and the ship.  In one week alone in 2005, Bill volunteered 87 hours.  Utilizing experience gained during his ten years in the Navy as an Aviation Structural Mechanic, he has restored 15 aircraft ejection seats for display on the Midway.  These seats have become very popular with Midway's guests.  He also restored several aircraft tow tractors, one of which was used to tow our A-4F in Coronado's Independence Day parade in 2005.  Bill is the Saturday team leader at the restoration hangar.

The restoration of older aircraft, especially ones that have deteriorated over many years, requires unique skills and remarkable craftsmanship on the part of our volunteers to salvage them and bring them to exhibit appearance.  Very few possess the necessary knowledge, skill, patience and experience to do this kind of work, but our restoration group is very fortunate to have volunteers who do.  One of the foremost of these is Dexter Ezernack.  The beautiful SNJ Texan exhibit on the ship is an example of his work.  It was assembled from a collection of SNJ and AT-6 parts and parts that Dexter and others manufactured.  (Look for his name painted on the side of the fuselage.)  We received the F9F-5 Panther and SBD-1 Dauntless in very "challenging" condition, but with Dexter's help, these aircraft will appear to be battle ready by the time they arrive on the Midway for exhibit.  Prior to volunteering with our restoration group, Dexter restored aircraft for the Flying Leatherneck Museum at MCAS Miramar.  (Dexter's photo by Frank Warren.)

Ben Johnson is one of few USS Midway Museum aircraft restoration volunteers without prior military aircraft maintenance experience. No matter. Go look at the SBD-4 and Ford Tri-Motor at San Diego’s Aerospace Museum and the F-14 on the Midway. All bear evidence of Ben’s outstanding craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Ben started volunteering at the San Diego Aerospace Museum in 1990. Timothy Cunningham, that museum’s former restoration supervisor, has high praise for Ben. He worked for eight years on their Ford Tri-Motor and four years on the SBD-4. While working on these aircraft and others, Ben acquired valuable warbird restoration experience and developed contacts in the aircraft restoration community nationwide to assist with information and parts acquisition. Now, Ben is using these talents and resources in the restoration of Midway’s aircraft.

On any one of his volunteer days, Ben can be seen doing what needs to be done from sweeping floors, repairing a tool, or restoring a vintage aircraft’s instrument panel. However, Ben’s current focus is on the difficult task of restoring Midway’s SBD-1. It is certain to be an impressive representation of carrier aviation history when it is exhibited on the USS Midway Museum.  (Ben's photo by Frank Warren.)

When you look at the condition of the Panther and Dauntless, you have to wonder how it is possible that someday these aircraft will appear to be mission ready when they are exhibited on the Midway. With volunteers like Joe Steinmetz working on them, not only is it possible, it is almost routine.

Joe is one of the most experienced, skilled and innovative aircraft restoration volunteers. He retired from the Navy in 1978 as a Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic after maintaining A-4s, A-7s, S2Fs, R5Ds, C-118s, P2Vs, Beechcrafts, F-4s, F4Js and a stint at the Naval Aircraft Rework Facility North Island where he developed sheetmetal skills. After retirement, he worked for Top Gun at NAS Miramar on F-5s and F-16s. When Top Gun left Miramar, Joe went to work for US Customs and maintained their Citations, Aerostars, Cessna Centurions, Blackhawks, etc. After retirement from US Customs, Joe still didn’t have enough of maintaining aircraft, so he volunteered with the restoration group in 2002 and has about 800 volunteer hours to his credit. Joe has played a significant role in the restoration of every aircraft displayed on the Midway and continues to make the impossible look easy as he works on our current projects at the restoration hangar. (Joe's photo by Frank Warren.)

Our aircraft restoration group is fortunate to have a core of volunteers who have accumulated vast amounts of aviation maintenance experience while on active duty and elsewhere. We depend on these volunteers not only for their expertise and exceptional craftsmanship, but for their invaluable help to less experienced volunteers and USS Midway Museum staff as well. Bob Pool is a key member of that core group.

Bob was a Senior Chief Aviation Machinist’s Mate when he retired from the Navy in 1983 after more than 23 years of service. Since then he has maintained engines at Pacific Southwest Airlines’ engine maintenance facility and a variety of aircraft as a civilian contractor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) and U.S. Customs.

Bob began volunteering with our aircraft restoration group in 2002 and has given USS Midway Museum over 800 hours of his time. He has been a major contributor in the restoration and maintenance of most of the aircraft presently exhibited on the Midway, and is playing a key role in the restoration of future exhibits such as the TBM-3, SBD-1, F-8K, H-34, F9F-5, EKA-3B and others.  (Bob's photo by Frank Warren.)

If you view the photos in this site of aircraft being restored, you will see aircraft with broken, corroded or missing skin sections. Some of these sections require a simple patch to repair, while others require fabrication of new panels having complex compound curves, numerous fastener holes, etc. The photos can give the impression that the prognosis for some of these aircraft appears hopeless, yet those aircraft will be exhibited on the Midway looking as new as if they rolled off the factory floor. Dave Stanley is one of the restoration volunteers who has the skills and experience to make that happen. He's a master metalsmith.

Dave learned his craft in the Navy. He entered in 1954 and became an Aviation Structural Mechanic and worked on a wide variety of aircraft including fighters, bombers, helicopters and patrol aircraft for over 22 years. He was also a flight crewman on Skywarriors during the 1960s. After Dave retired in 1976 as a Senior Chief Aviation Structural Mechanic, he obtained a bachelor’s degree, worked in real estate and on a modification field team for Lockheed Martin. He began volunteering with our restoration group in 2003. That was a good year for our group.

Dave is also a supporter and volunteer member of The Fleet Reserve Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, USS Midway Museum, San Diego Aerospace Museum, San Diego Navy Yacht Club and VFW Motorcycle Club. We aren’t sure what he does in his spare time, if any. (Dave's photo by Frank Warren.)

Every aircraft restoration group ought to have a volunteer who can remodel the volunteer lunch room, paint an insignia on an aircraft, organize a tool room, fabricate sheet metal panels, be a crew leader, repair equipment and sweep the floor. We have many volunteers who will do some of those things, but we have only two or three volunteers who will expertly do all those things and more. Bob Modell is one of those.  Bob's photo by Frank Warren.

Bob entered the US Navy when he was 17. We’ll not say when except to say he was trained as an Aviation Electronics Technician and worked on F3H Demons and F-4B Phantom II’s. In the early 1960s, he was assigned to VF-21 and made two WESTPAC deployments with them in USS Midway. 

After ten years in the Navy, Bob decided to try civilian life again and went to work for Univac. After thirteen years with Univac, Bob worked for the County of San Diego, California where he retired after twenty years as an Information Technology Manager.

Hankering to get his hands dirty on Navy aircraft again, Bob started volunteering with the Midway’s aircraft restoration group in May 2001. He’s helped restore just about every aircraft now exhibited on the Midway, and he has contributed in many, many other ways to our restoration effort. He enjoys working with us, and we enjoy having him around.

This fall, Bob had given over 1000 volunteer hours to our group. In recognition of this milestone, Adm. Mac McLaughlin, USS Midway Museum President, and Laurie Switzer, USS Midway Museum Volunteer Coordinator, presented Bob with a leather flight jacket at a meeting on Midway’s hangar deck on 25 October 2005. (See photos.) We are waiting to see what Bob gets for 2000 hours.

Bob was USS Midway Museum Volunteer of the Month for April 2007.

Don Williams worked at the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP) on NAS North Island for 34 years. After he retired, he couldn’t get NAS North Island and working on airplanes out of his system, so, after a short period of volunteering on the Midway, he started working with our aircraft restoration group. SDACM Midway is very fortunate he did. (Don's photo by Frank Warren.)

One of the first restoration projects Don worked on was the F/A-18 Hornet. When that aircraft arrived at the restoration hangar, it was in bad shape. Many sections of skin and other parts were missing or damaged. Don showed great tenacity, patience and skill as he worked on this bird, and with each week, obvious progress was made. Today, thanks to Don and a few other volunteers who worked with him, the Hornet is proudly displayed on the Midway in what appears to be mission ready condition.

Don has lived in San Diego since he was four years old. He spent three years in the Navy and served on a destroyer as an Electronics Technician. As soon as he got out of the Navy, he started working at Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF, later changed to NADEP.) North Island and retired in 1997 as an Electronics Integrated Systems Mechanic Aircraft Examiner. Don and his wife of 35 years, Joyce, have two sons, Glenn and Marc.

With the Avenger, Dauntless, Skywarrior and Seabat all presently undergoing restoration at the hangar, there is no shortage of projects for our skilled and dedicated volunteers. We are very happy that Don is part of that group.

Toney Herlevic is another of our aircraft restoration volunteers who wasn’t in the Navy, but he’s been involved with Naval Aviation for many years.

Toney was born and raised in San Diego and went into the U.S. Army out of high school. After training in El Paso, TX, he was stationed in Germany with the French Air Force at a Nike missile site. When he left the Army he went to work for the Naval Air Rework Facility, now NADEP, at NAS North Island in 1966 as an Electronics Mechanic Apprentice. There, he was mostly involved in working on E-2 Hawkeye airframe issues.

In 1980, Toney transferred to Naval Air Station Miramar and the Naval Aviation Engineering Service Unit (NAESU). He spent the next 20 years training and assisting Navy technicians in the repair and maintenance of the Hawkeye’s complex avionics systems, both ashore and afloat. Toney had a very positive influence on the readiness of the E-2 community on the West Coast.

After retirement from NAESU, Toney learned that the Midway’s aircraft restoration group was restoring an E-2C. Toney couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stay in association with the Hawkeye, so he started contributing his time and skills to the effort. The day he started was another good day for the aircraft restoration group. Toney’s skill and hard work helped produce an outstanding exhibit.

With the completion of the E-2C exhibit, Toney continues to play a significant role in our restoration projects. His contribution to the restoration of the F/A-18 Hornet was major, and, with five other restoration projects now underway in the hangar, we are very happy he is with us.

Toney and his wife, Judy, have been married more that forty years. They have two sons, Samuel and Matthew.

When you view the photo galleries in this site, you will see Toney’s name in many places. He has contributed many excellent photographs to this web site.

Ed Martin grew up in Glendale, California, and attended Glendale Junior College briefly before joining the Navy in 1953. While in the Navy he became a submariner, specializing in diesel engines and auxiliary equipment, and later, the nuclear power program. After serving in eight submarines and earning a Bachelor’s degree, he retired in 1974 as a Lieutenant Commander. Ed then worked in the mortgage lending field for over twenty-five years before retiring in 2002.

Ed has been part of the Aircraft Restoration Group for over three years, when we were getting the first group of airplanes ready for when Midway arrived in San Diego. Ed is an aberration in the aircraft restoration field in that he was a submariner with no aviation background other than making a night launch and recovery in the back set of an S2F. His mechanical skills and interest in airplanes enabled him to fit in with the skilled aircraft mechanics already on board in the restoration crew, and he was a quick study. He has participated in the work on nearly every plane that’s on the ship, as well as the cut-away Pratt & Whitney R2800 radial engine on display on the hangar deck.

Ed and wife Betsy have been married 43 years and live in Pacific Beach. They have three grown children, Brad, Karen, and Linda and four grandkids.

Ed Martin, and another aircraft restoration volunteer, Lou Gutzman, were selected as Volunteers of the Month in a selection process sponsored by The San Diego Padres Baseball Club and Volunteer San Diego.  The presentation of the awards took place at the San Diego Padres baseball game on 5 April 2006 at Petco Park.  Congratulations to Ed and Lou for this well deserved award.   View photos.

Jim Redfield is one of SDACM Midway’s pioneer aircraft restoration volunteers. He was on the volunteer list for the Midway years before the ship arrived, applying at the former Midway Office on Harbor Drive in the Holiday Inn complex in the mid ‘90’s.

After a 36-year career in the aerospace industry including Boeing, Ryan Aeronautical and General Dynamics Convair plus some independent consulting projects, he retired and started supporting various non-profit efforts. He joined the Convair Retirement Association and became a member of their restoration team at Gillespie Field, which was associated with the San Diego Air and Space Museum. Utilizing his aerospace background and his Naval Reserve career, from which he also retired after 30 years, Jim became a valuable contributor to many Aerospace Museum projects. These included restorations of an L-19 Birddog, AV-8A Harrier, a F-102 Delta Dagger and several Tomahawk missiles.

The late Captain John Irribino of SDACM Midway, who had spent considerable time acquiring aircraft for restoration, initially contacted Jim. Some time after the Captain’s demise, the South Dakota native was again approached by Midway (the Aircraft Committee) and solicited his help in the creation of a restoration center.

Calling upon his aerospace background, especially in setting up mini “skunk works” type projects, his military service and restoration experience, Jim accepted the challenge and set about to initiate operations in Hangar 805 at NAS North Island which had been leased for that purpose, in the spring of 2001. He agreed to a temporary position as Restoration Coordinator.

He interviewed dozens of potential volunteers, acquired equipment and supplies, coordinated security clearances and the aircraft restoration facility soon became a reality. The budget for this activity was virtually non-existent in the early days but with some creative financing by carrier aircraft-oriented Board members, resources appeared and progress commenced.

The restoration team succeeded in getting three airplanes (the E2, A-6 and A-7) onboard Midway when she docked at North Island in January of 2004 for the “Bay Crossing” event. Six months later, a total of eight aircraft were ready for the “Grand Opening”, representing about 20,000 volunteer hours expended during the intervening three years.

Jim has long since turned over his responsibilities to his successor, Aubrey Brittian, but still acts in a consulting capacity. He has fostered several mutual support projects between Midway and the San Diego Air and Space Museum. The latest effort involves the restoration of dive brakes for the SBD in turn for the provisioning of inert ordnance for the aircraft on display at the Gillespie Field facility.

Jim attributes his accomplishments to the synergy of his diversified team of dedicated volunteers and the continuous involvement and support by Midway’s management team of Mo Peelle, Walt Lester and David Flohr. Additionally, he cites the overwhelming contributions of many organizations at NAS North Island as significant factors. To this, he adds, the plethora of material and service contributions received from dozens of San Diego businesses, too numerous to mention - - all in the early years when the arrival of the Midway was still a dream yet to materialize.

This Life Member, along with his wife Joan and son John, long time residents of Point Loma, are very proud to be a part of the efforts to revive the "magic" of Midway. (Source: Jim Redfield)

If you attended the San Diego Padres baseball game at Petco Park on 5 April 2006, or if you are a regular visitor to this web site, our currently featured Midway Air Wing volunteer, Lou Gutzman, should be no stranger to you. At that baseball game, Lou and another volunteer were recognized for their outstanding contributions to our restoration efforts. (View photos.)  Lou is also mentioned in this site in connection with his role in restoring a R-2800 engine cut-away display that is now an impressive exhibit on the Midway. If you are in Midway’s Air Wing, there is no doubt that you are well aware of Lou’s outstanding contributions to our efforts.

Lou is no stranger to naval aircraft. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1952 to 1972 and was involved in the maintenance of a variety of avionics systems. After leaving the Navy, Lou was an Electronics Tech Supervisor, GS-12, working at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake on several aerial target programs. He worked there until 1989 after fifteen more years of government service.

Lou began volunteering with Midway’s Air Wing in 2004. Many of the aircraft exhibits on the Midway are evidence of his craftsmanship and attention to detail.  As we prepare our Skyraider, Cougar, Avenger and the very challenging Dauntless for exhibit, we are fortunate that he is a regular at the restoration hangar.

Nick Thompson was born in London, England in December 1948. He emigrated with his family to the US on the Queen Mary in 1952 and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 1969, he joined the Navy and in 1972 he was stationed on the USS Ranger, CVA-61. Nick was an aircrew man with the ships C-1A. He served in Vietnam. He got out of the Navy in 1973. Then in 1987, he joined the Navy Reserve, and served in Operation Desert Storm. In 2001, Nick was recalled to active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. At which time, he was stationed in Pensacola, Florida. After 20 years of service, Nick retired from the Navy in March 2003.

In February 2003, Nick joined the USS Midway Museum volunteer corps, within the Aircraft Restoration Department.

Nick continues to work for the Navy as a Civil Service Employee in Avionic Components Division. He lives in Spring Valley with two cats, and his wife of thirty-five years, Kathy. (Source: SDACM Midway)

Nick was the October 2006 USS Midway Museum Volunteer of the Month. Nick's photo by SDACM Midway.

Aircraft Restoration Group Volunteer Kirk Bakke was the USS Midway Museum's Volunteer of the Month for December 2007. Photo provided by Laurie Switzer, USS Midway Museum.

Kirk was born in North Dakota and raised in Denver, Colorado.  After high school he enlisted in the Navy and served from 1952 to 1956.

He was an Aviation Electronics Technician, serving as a plane captain and air crewman on the S-2 Tracker in VS 23, stationed at North Island.  He made one WestPac deployment on the USS Princeton CVS 37.  He also served in VF 111 at Miramar and FAETUPAC at North Island.

After the Navy, he attended University of Colorado majoring in Business.  He then entered the retail furniture business with Ethan Allen stores, in Denver, as manager and interior designer.

The family moved to La Jolla in 1973 to continue work in the furniture industry.  He managed Ethan Allen stores and VJ Lloyd Interiors. He also worked in commercial sales and design and owned an importing  company, before retirement.

Kirk joined the Midway team at the very beginning, handing out brochures on Harbor Drive. He joined the Safety Team, working primarily at the entrance, greeting guests as they came on board.  He then joined the Aircraft Restoration Team at North Island. He works primarily on restoring cockpits and instruments, but does anything necessary to get the restoration complete.

He has lived in Coronado for fourteen years with Sharon, his wife of 51 years. They have four grown daughters, three of whom live locally, five grandchildren and one great grandson.

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Page last updated on 04 June 2008