PAST EVENTS
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LUNCH & LEARN - September 25THJoin us for our September Lunch & Learn on Wednesday, September 25th! This month, Mike Bonham will take us on a fascinating journey through the history of silent film production in the Bay Area. Discover the story behind the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum and learn about Charlie Chaplin's early film career during his time in Niles. Don’t miss this insightful look into a unique time in cinematic history!
-Wednesday, September 25th, 2024 -Moffett Field Museum - Bay 3 -FREE with Museum Membership -$10 to attend for Adults, Seniors, & Children. -Includes Museum Access -12pm - 1pm -Sodas and Water Provided -Bring Your Own Lunchation Coming Soon! |
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LUNCH & LEARN - August 28THSpeakers Loreen & Matt Gibbons share the epic tale of the ditching and recovery of the crew of Moffett Field-based VP-9's Alpha Foxtrot 586 in the Northern Pacific, October 26, 1978. This presentation offers a unique perspective on the background of events leading to their emergency, the confluence of engineering changes, training gaps, and design oversights that led to the loss of five lives that day. He connects the Accident Investigation Board lessons learned into the safety improvements that the P-3 community eventually implemented. The presentation traces the crew’s journey from Adak, into two life rafts, their rescue/recovery by Soviet fishermen, their stay in Siberia, and their return to Moffett. It salutes their Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard rescuers while providing the origin story of the Jerry Grigsby Survival Training Center in Pensacola, Florida.
Loreen Gibbons is a former Navy wife, remarried Navy widow, and retired elementary school teacher. Her debut book, “All Eternity Lies Before Me,” started out as letters written to her older grandchildren so they would come to know the grandfather they never got to meet. She lives with her husband Matt in the beautiful hill country of California’s Central Coast. Matt Gibbons arrived at Moffett Field in July 1976, completing his training at VP-31 and joining VP-9 in October 1976. Two years later, he was the Tacco on a mission call sign Alfa Foxtrot 586. He is one of 28 living survivors of a P-3 Orion ditching. He is a member of the UK’s Goldfish Club, the honorary society formed after the Battle of Britain to commemorate those individuals who survived a ditching at sea. |
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Lunch & Learn - JULY 24THSpeaker Rita Lucas shares the astounding accomplishments and history of the Airforce Service Pilots of WWII, known as the WASP. They were little known for over 35 years, yet they were crucial to the efforts of WWII. They were a civilian women pilots’ organization founded by Jacqueline Cochran, the famous aviatrix. They ferried aircraft across the US, flew every military plane, flew targets and tracking missions, and tested aircraft which then freed up male pilots for combat during the war. Of the 25,000 applicants, only 1,074 earned their wings as WASP. They trained for 5 months at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, TX and later were stationed at various army bases across the U.S. They were finally granted military status in 1977 by President Carter. They received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009 awarded to persons "who have performed an achievement that has an impact on American history and culture that is likely to be recognized as a major achievement in the recipient's field long after the achievement."
Rita Lucas grew up in Los Altos, CA where she currently lives with her husband. She spent 35 years working as a Director of Revenue at various High-tech companies in Silicon Valley. Her mother was a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) and taught her to fly at age 15. She co-authored a chapter on her mother in the book “WWII Memoirs” by Brenda Love, PhD. Her interests include studying paleontology, astronomy, and space and aviation history. |