Weekly Optimist Meeting 01-16-2020

Our guest speaker our own Roy Mantz who is celebrating his 92 birthday and 39 years in the club.

Kirk Henry met Roy thru Optimist Club and Coronado Round Table. Roy handled all computer documents and data entry the Round Table Assc.

But if you want to really get to know Roy, read his book which is on sale on Amazon…Once a Jock Always a Jock…Recollections of The Flying Midshipmen. A book of fun and interesting stories.

Roy wanted to be a pilot and took a battery of tests to get into college and become a pilot under the ROTC program. His official day of enlistment was January 1, 1946, which gave him the status of WWII Veteran without out seeing combat.

He started his early life attending USC when Admiral Holloway instituted a program in 1946 to bea apprentice seaman. Roy was part of this program called The Flying Midshipmen at USC. He completed two years of school while doing active duty flying too.

There were Lots of restrictions with this program… for example you could not get married.

Roy after his first two yrs aviation midshipman program he was sent to first squad and the co did not know what to do with them and his fellow pilots. Administration did not see them as qualified to be officers yet too they were not enlisted. These midshipmen were surely.not trusted to fly on and off of aircraft. Base gate guards stopped the midshipmen as they thought they were impersonating officers.

Significant names that will be recognized as part of this program from 1946 and 1950 Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, our own Leslie Crawford’s dad, Don Hubbard.

And from our own Optimist Club members who too were midshipman: Admiral Paul Speer, Casey Reynolds, Ed Crown, and Larry Reisick,

Roys favorite plane was the Cougar and it sounds like the time he was flying a seaplane…not so great. He was able to finish his school studies and expected to return to USC, but there was no longer the ROTC program at USC. He was sent to Kansas University…some of the best time of his life.

Roy met his lovely wife, Kathleen down in Florida with friends. During their time of getting to know each other it was found that Kathleen’s only relatives who lived in North Hollywood were Roy’s neighbors… what a small world.

Roy and Kathleen settle in Coronado after a marvelous 28 yrs of Navy life..with three boys who have married lovely ladies giving them 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

After the Navy, Roy and other Flying Midshipmen were not represented appropriately by the Navy. The Flying Midshipmen Association was created to make sure those still active could receive equity pay and representation with the Navy. The association was a success and decommissioned in 2011 …the same year of 100 years of Aviation History was celebrated.

I have know Roy for my 26 yrs as an Optimist with our club…he is an amazing person…we have so many in our club…with wonderful stories…I say let’s have more Coronado Optimist tell their stories…

Thank you Roy for your service to our country, our community and to Optimist.!