Not your average senior citizens

Clyde East

By: Cindy Libonati

Stroll into a classroom full 5^th grade boys and you’ll likely find a consortium of hodgepodge personalities, class clowns and painfully veracious adolescents.  Walk into the West Hills Wendy’s on a Monday morning and you’ll find a cartel of veterans that remain strikingly similar.  But beneath the façade of pithy comments and relentless remarks, these Vet’s contain thousands of remarkable anecdotes. From flying B-24’s in a formation of 2,000 airplanes to door gunners in Vietnam, this group of vet’s have established what they call, “Wing’s over Wendy’s.”

On any given Monday, 70 to 80 Veterans congregate to sip coffee, eat doughnuts and sustain their camaraderie as U.S. Veterans.  The leader of the madness is Art Sherman, a fearless commander of this bunch who, among other things, leads their weekly raffle.  The most coveted item this week?  Hand sanitizer.

Amongst the many gallant members, “Wings over Wendy’s” is lucky enough to have Clyde East.  East is currently honored in the Reagan Library for taking some of the only photos of Cuban weapons that later uncovered the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Roger Ewing, Elmo E. Maiden, Art Sherman, and Cindy Libonati (left to right)

Elmo Maiden, a B-24 pilot stationed in England who flew 35 missions in 1944 and 1945, still flies to Sacramento to visit his family.  He is 90 years old.  But spend a few brief moments with Elmo and he’ll surely dazzle you with his abundant energy and warm spirit.

Charles Slezak and Neil Houston are seasoned airplane mechanics that worked on sea planes and labored for over 30 years under the now waning American Airlines.  Both Houston and Slezak are not the torpor, languid seniors you may envision.  These guys abound with energy in their old age.

After spending a brief hour with 80 veterans, I walked out to a breezy parking lot and began to reflect on the myriad of stories these old lives maintain.  It is an experience I won’t soon forget. I’d like to extend my gratitude to those who courageous sacrificed for our United States.

Thank you to all those who served our country.

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