Tuesday, December 18, 2012 10:37 am

COL. JAMES STONE

Dr. William (Bill) Jennings is the Squadron Commander of the newly chartered Sons of the American Legion Post 279, Squadron 279.
Squadron Commander Jennings assumes command of the thirty member Squadron, of which 28 are charter members.
The first meeting of the Squadron was on Thursday, December 13, 2012. During this meeting Squadron Officers elected were: Commander-Dr. William (Bill) Jennings; Adjutant-Daniel Hass; Finance Director-James E. (Butch) Stone; Sergeant-Of-Arms-Donnie Swann; the position of Chaplain-an appointed position will be filled at the January meeting.
The Sons of Squadron 279 and the members of the Auxiliary are separate organizations, and function separately. These two organizations support the American Legion Post 279, all working as one dynamic team, to support our Veterans, our youth, and our
community.
Commander Jennings stated that it was a great honor to be selected as the first Commander of Squadron 279. He emphasized
that this was a great way for the sons to honor the military service of their fathers and grandfathers. His father Marvin
Jennings served in World War II, as a crew member on a B-17, with the 8th United States Army Air Corps, later 8th United States Air
Force. His father was on a mission to ferry B-17 aircraft across the Atlantic to Europe. His B-17 crashed into the top of a mountain in IceLand. The crew survived the crash and survived the sub-zero weather for over a week before they were rescued by the men from a distant and remote village. I remember that it took
five years for me to convince Marvin Jennings to tell this amazing story of survival to the students at our Cannon County High School Veterans Day Program. Being an Aviator myself, I can attest that the odds of surviving an airplane crash, and then to survive for over a week in sub-zero weather before being rescued, is about as low as you can get. Very seldom does anyone survive the crash alone, and very seldom does anyone survive over a week in sub-zero weather. I also remember that Robert (Bob) Fuller, another Woodbury man, who was serving in the United States Army as a MP (Military Policeman) in Greenland got word of the crash and visited Marvin in the Hospital while recovering.
Commander Bobby Ferrell, American Legion Post 279,congratulated Commander Bill Jennings on assuming his new