Thor996 Posted January 9, 2014 Share #1 Posted January 9, 2014 US Naval Air Station Hutchinson Kansas Matchbook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneydave Posted January 9, 2014 Share #2 Posted January 9, 2014 I've always liked this design. I became friends with a vet named Virgil Grier who trained at that NAS. He and I exchanged many, many, emails. My interest was the Disney insignia created for the ship he served on. He passed away, totally unexpected...was diagnosed with throat cancer and died two weeks later, on Valentine's Day of all days. Shortly after his passing I received an email from his daughter. She said her father wanted me to have a few things as he knew I harbored an interest in military history and Disney's war contributions. Among the items she sent me: a photo of him in uniform, and an American Pottery figurine of the Disney parrot Jose Caricoa that his wife bought him when they got married in San Fran shortly before he shipped out (he took that figurines to sea). What caught me off guard though were two additional items she said he wanted me to have and which she also sent: the Christmas 1942 edition of the base newsletter featuring their then-new Disney insignia design. Virgil said that newsletter was the first official use of the design at the NAS. And she said he also wanted me to have ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneydave Posted January 9, 2014 Share #3 Posted January 9, 2014 This item...the original, finished, watercolor illustration created at The Walt Disney Studios and sent to him for use by the ship. The design features Jose Caricoa floating atop a 50-gallon drum with a gas pump attached. The "E" in the pump's globe was for USS Escambia, a fast fleet refueler that provided bunker fuel and high octane aviation fuel for ships and planes serving in the South Pacific. I own a couple of finished pieces of Disney insignia art as well as quite a few of the pencil versions. This piece, though, holds a special place in my collection. Virgil told me Escambia's Captain authorized a recreation of the design to be pained on Escambia's funnel. Virgil said the painting drew many an admiring look and comments from sailors aboard ships Escambia serviced while on duty. If anyone ever locates a photo of Escambia with this design painted on her funnel, please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COOKIEMAN Posted February 15, 2014 Share #4 Posted February 15, 2014 Thanks for sharing your NAS Hutchinson Match Book. I have been collecting military stuff from Kansas since 1981, and very rarely run across anything from NAS Hutchinson. Attached is a decal, which I believ e would have been used to make a "decal on leather" flight jacket patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor996 Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted February 15, 2014 That's really neat!!! Disney Dave really is the one to thank bc without this Disney thread, a lot of us [myself included] would not know this stuff existed- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneydave Posted February 21, 2014 Share #6 Posted February 21, 2014 Nice decal COOKIEMAN. I've never seen the design in decal form before. If you ever come across another, plese let me know as I'd like to add one to my own collection. Thanks for the kind words Thor996. I've been at it for a lot of years and it's nice to share what I've discovered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COOKIEMAN Posted April 22, 2014 Share #7 Posted April 22, 2014 AS I stated in an earlier thread, I have been collecting military things from Kansas since I moved here in 1981. While sorting thru some files the other day, I ran across another Disney / Navy insignia from Kansas. It is a large leather patch from NAS Olathe. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneydave Posted April 27, 2014 Share #8 Posted April 27, 2014 Love the patch cookieman. Just great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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