After James landed the Corsair on runway 12 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, he taxied behind the "Follow Me" truck that escorted them to his assigned parking spot on the flightline.
James parked the Corsair in his assigned spot. He placed the cowl, intercooler, and oil flaps to their proper setting. Propeller and carburetor controls were configured, and the throttle was set for 1,000 rpm. He then placed the mixture control to idle cut-off. After the propeller stopped rotating, he turned off the ignition switch.
James looked so proud while he released his harness and got out of the plane.
Thirty minutes later, Carl walked up to the plane with some lounge chairs and a small cooler of sodas and water.
"You made it in one piece," he said while he looked at his plane.
"Of course," James replied.
Then Diana and Teri walked down the flightline and up to the Corsair.
Teri gave James a kiss on the lips.
"Where's your mom?" he asked.
"Looking at some other the other planes on the flightline," Teri replied.
"How did my grandson do?" Diana asked Carl.
"He brought her here safe and sound," Carl replied.
Then Robert Eastman, with a hint of gray hair and Kathy Eastman, who stayed in great shape from years of jogging, walked up to the Corsair.
"Hi mom and dad," James said while he got up and gave Kathy a kiss on her cheek then shook Robert's hand.
"Carl let James fly the plane up here," Diana told them.
Teri looked a little worried overhearing that bit of news.
"How did he fly, dad?" Robert asked.
"Like I told your mother, he flew better than some of the pilots I was stationed with during the war," he said.
"That's my boy," Robert said while he placed an arm around James' shoulder.
Then a Jeep drove up and stopped by the Corsair.
"Carl, a little change in plans, you're going on right after the Thunderbirds," the driver told Carl.
"Got it," Carl replied.
The Jeep drove off, and in the background, the sound of the Thunderbird F-16 jets starting up was heard.
"We're going to walk closer to the runway and watch the Thunderbird show," Robert told Carl.
Carl and James stood up.
Diana walked over and gave Carl a kiss on their cheek. "Have a good show," she said.
Teri gave James a kiss on his lips. "Be careful up there in the air," she said still a little nervous.
"Oh things have changed, Grandpa Carl's doing the show," James told her and looked a little disappointed.
Teri looked relieved, then gave Carl a kiss on his cheek. "Be careful," she said.
"Always," Carl replied.
Robert held Kathy's hand; they walked away down the flightline with Diana and Teri.
"Go perform the preflight for me," Carl instructed James.
The folded up their chairs moved them and the cooler to the grass behind the plane.
Carl watched while James performed the preflight on his Corsair.
Later that day, the Thunderbirds were finished with their show, and Carl had his Corsair on the taxiway ready to perform his show.
Then the Thunderbirds taxied off the runway.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now have Carl Eastman of Santa Barbara perform some aerobatic maneuvers with his F4U Corsair. And what a beautiful airplane! Now, Carl was a Marine pilot in World War two in the South Pacific and fought the Zero's in a Corsair," the announcer informed the crowd from the loudspeakers.
Most of the crowd eyed the runway for Carl's Corsair. Amongst the crowd was Henry Foley, seventy-three years old, white-haired old man, who walked with a bit of a limp and the aid of a cane. The announcement the announcer made was of extreme interest to Henry.
He pushed his way through the crowd to get a closer view of the runway.
After receiving clearance from the tower, Carl taxied to the end of runway 12.
Henry watched while Carl's Corsair rolled down the runway and was soon airborne. After seeing that Corsair, it brought back so many good and bad memories for Henry.
From the spot where the plane was parked, James watched Carl's Corsair take-off from the runway.
Carl flew the Corsair away then banked and flew back to the runway.
"Okay ladies and gentlemen, Carl Eastman will now perform a Humpty Bump," the announcer said over the loudspeakers.
Carl flew the plane horizontally over the runway. He flew into a vertical climb. While in the vertical climb, he did a half a roll. He then flew half a loop and came straight down into a vertical dive. He came out of the dive at the same attitude he was over the runway. He flew the Corsair away from the crowd.
The crowd clapped over his performance.
Henry continued to watch Carl's plane with extreme interest.
"Carl will now perform an Immelmann," the announcer said over the loudspeakers.
Carl flew his airplane over the runway. He flew into half a loop, and when he reached the top of the loop, he went into half a roll. He flew away from the crowd.
Henry pushed his way through the crowd to get closer to the runway. He watched the air show for another ten minutes.
"For his grand finale, Carl will perform a Cuban eight," the announcer said over the loudspeakers.
The crowd looked up at the sky for the Corsair.
Carl flew his plane straight and level and went into a vertical climb. When he got to the top of the loop, he rolled the plane right-side up. He entered into a 45-degree dive and leveled out at the attitude he started the maneuver. Then he began a second loop, and when he got to the top of the loop, he rolled the plane right-side up. He then went off into a 45-degree dive and recovered at the same attitude he started the maneuver.
He flew away from the crowd.
Carl banked his airplane around and came back in for a landing.
He landed on the runway 12 and taxied near the announcer's stand.
"And a round of applause for World War II Marine pilot Carl Eastman and his beautiful Corsair," the announcer told the crowd.
Henry watched while Carl had his canopy back and he waved at the crowd.
Henry watched while Carl taxied his Corsair off the closest taxiway where a "Follow Me" truck waited.
Carl taxied his Corsair behind the truck that drove him to his parking spot. Carl shut down his Corsair.
Carl got out of the plane while some ground crew drove a tug up to the Corsair.
Carl watched while ground crew towed his plane back into its parking spot.
James walked over to the grass and grabbed the lounge chairs and coolers and brought them back to the front of the plane.
Carl and James sat and drank a cold bottle of water.
"Whew. That was fun," Carl said while he opened up a bottle of water then took a sip "Maybe you can perform next year," Carl said then sat down in his lounge chair.
"Are you serious?" James asked.
Carl looked at James and could see the determination in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm serious."
James was jumping for joy inside while he sat down on the other lounge chair.
Carl and James watched while people walked down the flightline.
"Great show!" a man walked up.
"Thank you," Carl replied.
Then the man walked around the Corsair and snapped some pictures.
Four other men and six young boys walked up and admired Carl's Corsair.
Then Henry walked up and looked at the fuselage. He then looked over at Carl. "Carl, is that you?" he asked while he approached Carl.
Carl looked over and saw Henry. He looked at Henry and didn't recognize him.
"Carl, it's me, Henry Foley. Remember?"
Carl thought for a few seconds then he remembered, but deep down, he wasn't that thrilled with meeting an old war buddy. "Ah, yes, Henry," Carl said while he stood up and stuck out his hand to be polite.
They shook hands then Henry glanced at the Corsair.
"She's a beautiful Corsair. Reminds me of our days at Engebi."
James got up and walked over to Henry.
"Hello sir, I'm James Eastman, Carl's grandson," James said while he stood up and stuck out his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, young man," Henry said with a warm smile while he shook James' hand.
"Ben Grayson was my real grandfather," James told Henry.
Henry looked confused for a few seconds then it dawned on him. "Ah, yes. I remember Ben being all excited about his wife giving birth," Henry said. "So, I take it you keep in touch with Ben's wife?" he asked Carl.
"I married her and raised Ben's child," Carl replied.
Henry thought for a few seconds. "That's right, I remember Ben telling us about your pact."
"What pact was that?" James asked, curiously.
"Your grandfather and Carl had a pact that if anything happened to Ben, Carl would marry his wife and raise their baby," Henry replied.
James looked surprised. "I never knew that," James said.
"Well, that's not something we want to tell everybody, as taking care of Robert was our top priority," Carl said.
James looked at Carl and was impressed. Then he looked at Henry. "Please have a seat. I've never met anybody that was stationed in the war with my real grandfather," James offered.
"I would love that," Henry said then sat down in James' lounge chair.
Carl sat down in his lounge chair. He looked at James and wanted to smack him, as he really didn't want to talk with Henry and bring up old South Pacific memories. But he decided to be polite and talk with Henry.
Henry looked at Carl. "Carl Eastman, I can't believe I ran into you." Then Henry thought for a few seconds. "What has it been? Fifty-one years?" Henry asked.
Carl thought for a few seconds. "Yeah, I guess it's been that long."
Henry chuckled. "I remembered that incident during that ball game at El Toro."
"What incident?" James asked, curiously.
"Oh nothing," Carl quickly replied, and everybody could sense he didn't want to talk about it.
Henry looked back at the Corsair. "I haven't flown one of these since the South Pacific. I'm glad to see you're still getting up in the air," he said.
"Yeah, I still love flying," Carl replied.
"After being shot at in the South Pacific, I couldn't wait to stay on the ground," Henry said.
"That's too bad," James said.
Then Henry chuckled. "I still remember your first mission," Henry said, followed by some more chuckles.
Carl glared at Henry with a look that he better not explain any further. Henry noticed and decided that it was still a sore subject and dropped the topic. Then his eyes widened and snapped his fingers when he remembered something. "Oh, guess who I saw five years ago in Philly? Remember Gunnery Sergeant Bud Sewickley?" Henry asked Carl.
Carl thought for a few seconds. "Oh yeah. He was that personnel guy at El Toro. I remember he had a permanent bar stool at the NCO club every evening," Carl replied.
"Yep, the one and only. He apparently owns a used car dealership in South Philly. I spent a few days on business and saw his commercial on the television. He stated he stared his dealership back in forty-six with two brothers. And he hasn't changed one bit. Except he had a cheesy white-haired mustache and is bald," Henry said. Then he looked at James. "This guy could get you just about anything you wanted. And I mean anything."
"He sure was a wheeler and a dealer," Carl added.
"Bud could even get you stateside orders for a high price. One brother worked in Marine Corps headquarters in the assignment section while his other brother worked in the Pentagon," Henry said.
James walked over to the cooler and opened it up. He grabbed a bottled water then looked at Henry.
"Sir, would like something to drink? Water or Coke?" he asked Henry.
"Thanks, James, I would love a coke," Henry replied, then looked at the fuselage.
Carl discreetly gave James a look of disapproval, as he really didn't want to spend all day chatting with Henry.
"I remember that day Ben was shot down like it was yesterday," Henry while James handed him a coke.
Carl stood up. "I'm going to head to the Porta Johns. I'll be right back," he said, then quickly walked away.
James looked a little concerned. "Did he get upset?"
Henry watched while Carl walked down the flightline. "No, it was hard for him to watch his best friend die, and there was nothing he could do to save his life," Henry said. "He probably doesn't want to relive it again." Then Henry looked a little sad. "Plus, I don't think Carl liked me too much since I would hang around with Ben. I think he was jealous of me believing I would steal away Ben's friendship," Henry added.
"That doesn't sound like grandpa Carl," James said then he looked at the plane. "I never heard exactly what happened the day Grandpa Ben died," James said while he sat down in Carl's chair and hoped Henry would share some information about the past.
"It was May eleventh, nineteen forty-four, and we were sent on a mission to escort some B twenty-fives. They were going to bomb some Japanese aircraft carriers believed to be heading to the Ailinglaplap atoll. We thought they had just built a new airstrip there and were sending in supplies," Henry said then sipped some more coke. "I didn't fly that mission because I acted stupidly that night before, so I wasn't in any shape to fly, so I was grounded," Henry said while he sipped his CCoke then he looked up at the plane.
"It was a horrible mission. It ended with Ben and Carl being the only survivors. But when they thought it was safe to return home, a Zero came out of nowhere and attacked Ben's plane. Carl ran out of ammunition and Ben told him to get back to base. Ben thought he could shake the Zero off, but he didn't. So Carl had to watch his best friend crash to the depths of the Pacific Ocean and then be powerless to stop that Zero from blowing up Ben's plane. War is so terrible!"
"Didn't that Zero come after Grandpa Carl?"
"No. Carl stated that the Zero just flew away," Henry replied.
"Wow. I never heard what really happened that day," James said.
"Everybody on the base really loved and respected Ben. He probably would have been awarded the Medal of Honor and been classified an ace if he lived," Henry said while he looked sad over talking about his past. "If I could turn back time, I would have prevented Ben from flying that day," Henry said.
"How?" James asked.
"I don't know. Maybe got him stinking drunk the night before or something. Broke his arm," Henry replied.
James thought about Henry's comment.
"We never found that new Japanese airstrip," Henry said and drank some more coke. "Then the next day after that happened, Carl started drinking heavily and got grounded from flying for doing some stupid maneuvers. I recall they discharged him and sent him home," Henry added.
Carl walked back the second Henry finished telling that bit of information.
James looked at Carl and felt sorry for him.
Carl opened his mouth to speak, but Diana, Robert, Kathy, and Teri walked up from the other direction. With them was Teri's mother, Nancy, a fifty-five-year-old woman, who stayed in shape by jogging just like her daughter. Nancy was a widow, as Teri's father passed away from a brain tumor five years ago.
"Great flying, honey," Diana said to Carl.
"We loved the show, dad," Robert said to Carl and gave him a little hug.
Henry saw Diana and stood up.
"Hello, I'm Diana Eastman," she said to Henry when she saw him.
"I'm Henry Foley. Are you Diana? Ben's wife?" he asked.
"Yes, I am. Do I know you?" she replied curiously.
"No. I was stationed with Ben and Carl in the South Pacific. So I heard Ben talk about you every day," he answered.
Diana smiled at hearing that comment from Henry.
"I'm Robert Eastman, and this is my wife Kathy," Robert said while he walked up to Henry.
"And that beautiful woman is my wife, Teri," James added.
"And this is my mother, Nancy," Teri said.
Henry nodded hello to everybody, then he looked at Robert. "Are you Ben's son?" Henry asked.
"Yes, sir."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I remember the day when Ben ran around Engebi telling everybody he was a father. He was so proud," Henry told him.
"Grandpa, grandma's ready to leave," Henry's nine-year-old granddaughter called out from the flightline.
They all looked over and saw his granddaughter ten feet away.
Carl looked relieved.
"Okay, darling. I'm coming," Henry called out to her.
"Well, Carl, it was nice seeing you again," he said, then stuck out his hand.
Carl shook it. "It was, Henry," Carl replied but lied, as he couldn't wait for Henry to leave.
"James, it was really nice to meet you," Henry said while he stuck out his hand.
James shook Henry's hand. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, sir," James replied.
Henry waved goodbye to everybody else and walked over to his granddaughter.
They watched while Henry held his granddaughter's hand, and they walked down the flightline to where his wife waited 50 feet away.
"Well, James, what do you say we fly her home? I have to catch a flight to Spokane for that conference next week," Carl said.
"Speaking of which, mom and dad want you to call them when you get there. They want to take you out to dinner since you'll be in town," Kathy said then gave Carl a kiss on his cheek.
"I will," Carl replied.
Teri gave James a kiss on the lips. "Fly safe, and I'll see you later tonight," she said.
"I will," he replied, then he looked curious. "Where's your mom?" he asked Teri.
"She's wondering around the air show," she replied.
Kathy gave James a kiss on his cheek.
Diana gave James a kiss on his cheek.
"I'll talk to you in a few days, dad," Robert said then he grabbed Kathy's hand.
Robert, Kathy, Diana, and Teri walked away down the flightline.
Carl and James gathered up the lounge chairs and cooler.
An hour later, James flew the Corsair back to Santa Barbara. While he flew, he couldn't stop thinking about Henry's talk of his real grandfather.
If I only knew him. James thought to himself while he flew the Corsair at 9,500 feet.
Then James had an idea since he was alone.
James flew the Corsair into a vertical climb for a loop. When he got to the top of the loop, he rolled the plane right-side up. He entered into a 30-degree dive and leveled out at 2,000 feet below the attitude he started. Then he began a second loop, and when he got to the top of the loop, he rolled the plane right-side up. He then went off into a 25-degree dive and recovered 1,500 feet below the attitude he started the maneuver.
James looked proud and knew he could do an excellent performance at an airshow.