Not your average senior citizens
Clyde East
By: Cindy Libonati
Stroll into a classroom full 5th grade boys and you’ll likely find a consortium of hodgepodge personalities, class clowns and painfully veracious adolescents. Walk into the West Hills Wendy’s on a Monday morning and you’ll find a cartel of veterans that remain strikingly similar. But beneath the façade of pithy comments and relentless remarks, these Vet’s contain thousands of remarkable anecdotes. From flying B-24’s in a formation of 2,000 airplanes to door gunners in Vietnam, this group of vet’s have established what they call, “Wing’s over Wendy’s.”
On any given Monday, 70 to 80 Veterans congregate to sip coffee, eat doughnuts and sustain their camaraderie as U.S. Veterans. The leader of the madness is Art Sherman, a fearless commander of this bunch who, among other things, leads their weekly raffle. The most coveted item this week? Hand sanitizer.
Amongst the many gallant members, “Wings over Wendy’s” is lucky enough to have Clyde East. East is currently honored in the Reagan Library for taking some of the only photos of Cuban weapons that later uncovered the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Roger Ewing, Elmo E. Maiden, Art Sherman, and Cindy Libonati (left to right)
Elmo Maiden, a B-24 pilot stationed in England who flew 35 missions in 1944 and 1945, still flies to Sacramento to visit his family. He is 90 years old. But spend a few brief moments with Elmo and he’ll surely dazzle you with his abundant energy and warm spirit.
Charles Slezak and Neil Houston are seasoned airplane mechanics that worked on sea planes and labored for over 30 years under the now waning American Airlines. Both Houston and Slezak are not the torpor, languid seniors you may envision. These guys abound with energy in their old age.
After spending a brief hour with 80 veterans, I walked out to a breezy parking lot and began to reflect on the myriad of stories these old lives maintain. It is an experience I won’t soon forget. I’d like to extend my gratitude to those who courageous sacrificed for our United States.
Thank you to all those who served our country.
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CINDY,
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ARTICLE. I GO THERE EVERY MONDAY AND SIT NEXT TO CLYDE. HE AND ALL OF THE VETERANS THAT COME ON MONDAY ARE GREAT. I DO A LOT OF VOLUNTEER WORK FOR THE GROUP AND ENJOY GOING EVERY WEEK. WE HAVE A MEMBER ALBUM AND I HAVE PHOTOS OF ALL OR MOST OF THE MEMBERS. IT IS HARD TO GET ALL OF THEM BUT I TRY. I ALSO HAVE AN ALBUM OF SPECIAL SPEAKERS AND EVENTS THAT ARE ATTENDED. WE ALSO KEEP TRACK OF EVERYONES BIRTHDAYS SO WE CAN CELEBRATE THEM EACH MONTH. I TAKE CARE OF ALL THE GET WELL AND SYMPATHY CARDS THAT I AND A COUPLE OF THE OTHER LADIES PASS AROUND AND MAIL OUT. ONCE A MONTH WE HAVE A FOOD BANK DRIVE FOR THE WEST HILLS FOOD BANK. WE CALL AND E-MAIL ALL THE MEMBERS TO REMIND THEM OF THAT AND ANY SPECIAL SPEAKERS THAT ARE GOING TO COME TO THE MEETING. THE FOOD BANK WAS STARTED BY MEMBER TOM RICHARDS LAST YEAR AND HAS BEEN A REAL SUCCESS. HE JUST RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT LAST YEAR IN FEBRUARY THE FOOD BANK WAS READY TO CLOSE BUT WITH OUR HELP THEY ARE ABLE TO KEEP GOING. IF YOU EVER WANT TO DO ANOTHER ARTICLE IT WOULD BE NICE TO LET EVERYONE KNOW HOW ALL THESE VETERANS ARE STILL OUT THERE DOING THINGS TO HELP OTHERS.
THE LADIES WHO COME THERE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP OUT AND THE MEN REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF THEM.
SINCERELY,
SHIRLEY ANDREWS
HONORARY MEMBER
SHIRLEY ANDREWS
Thanks Shirley, it’s great to see you are out there helping our honorary vets. Say hello to Clyde!
Dear Shirley,
I see you there when I am able to attend and God Bless you for that. We owe so much to our dear Veterans. Any help I can give, please let me know.
I will see you again soon!
Blessings,
Cindy Libonati
Ewing & Associates Sothebys