Each day we hear the passing of people who served our great country during World War II. Some of these great ones were notable figures, others regular folks like me. Recently one of my areas local great ones took his last flight. William "Bill" Auburn became attracted to aviation at an early age. He was inducted into the Army-Air Corp in 1942 and spent a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force.
Like other members of the military Bill traveled the world including time in post-war Japan. He trained and certified mid-air refueling personnel on the KC-135. With his knowledge of this aircraft he was later stationed at Boeing in Seattle involved in KC-135 acceptance for the Air Force. Bill then spent many years involved in the SR-71 Blackbird program at Edwards Air Force Base in California, at the time a top secret military project. Bill retired from Edwards as Chief of Maintenance Operations.
My connection to Bill was through Stanton Airfield, one of his favorite hang-outs as well as mine. He would stop and visit several times a week, always following the same routine. Dressed in a suit and hat, he would stuff a few dollars in the donation jar, brag about doing several miles on the treadmill that morning, tell a few jokes while drinking a cup of airport coffee, and move on to his next stop which included visits to retirement homes or delivering a box of children’s toys to one of the local charitable organizations.
In recent years most of his aviation memorabilia and books were donated to a few Civil Air Patrol groups. At the airfield we have an SR-71 model and technical book proudly displayed in the glass cabinet provided by Bill.
You could say that Bill was not special or notable in the sense that you won’t see his name in the history books with the likes of Chuck Yeager, even though his hard work kept them flying. I’m sure many of you also know aviation greats who are just regular yet special people like Bill. Four years ago for Bill’s 90th birthday we treated him to a flight in one of the new Light Sport Aircraft. Bill’s final landing was this week at a small country cemetery near the airfield. Say hello and thanks to one of your local aviation great ones. Ron
