Each is a long-time supporter of McChord Air Force Base open house events, with their combined air show experience totaling some 25 years. With each, it's obvious the open house and air show events are a labor of love. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of details must be worked, beginning several months or even a year in advance. Zawada probably holds the base's corporate knowledge on vintage aircraft static displays - who to get, where to put them, what they need in the way of support.
Radial engines love to burn oil.
But it's the people he remembers the most. I've met a Luftwaffe ace from World War II, an astronaut who went to the moon, World War II American aces, Medal of Honor recipients, hundreds of veterans, the Cascade Warbird group, and many more just to name a few. They're all special to me. But his most outstanding air show memory involves Bataan Death March survivor and former prisoner of war Master Sgt. The C-46 China Doll' needed a couple of scanners, and Bryce and I got to go up with them.