BREAKING NEWS: ARIPEX 2018 TO HOST AMERICAN PHILATELIC SOCIETY ON-THE-ROAD COURSE.
“EFO’s and You: How Your Collection, Knowledge Base, and Exhibit Can All Benefit From Postal Blunders” is slated to take place on Thursday, February 15, 2018, from 9 AM until 3:30 PM in the Pomeroy Room at the Mesa Convention Center. This course will be lead by EFO expert Wayne Youngblood. Please contact the APS to sign up for this informative seminar.
ARIPEX 2018
February 16 – 18, 2018
MESA CONVENTION CENTER
263 NORTH CENTER STREET
MESA, ARIZONA 85201-6628
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 10 AM – 6 PM SUNDAY 10 AM – 3 PM
FREE PARKING – $5 ADMISSION GOOD FOR ALL THREE DAYS OF THE SHOW
SHOW THEME OF ARIPEX 2018: WORLD WAR I : Frank Luke, Jr. aka the “Arizona Balloon Buster”
Frank Luke Jr. (May 19, 1897 – September 29, 1918), aka the “Arizona Balloon Buster” was an American fighter ace, ranking second among U.S. Army Air Service pilots after Captain Eddie Rickenbacker in number of aerial victories during World War I (Rickenbacker was credited with twenty-six victories, while Luke’s official score was eighteen). Luke’s Rank was a Second Lieutenant but was posthumously promoted to First Lieutenant. Frank Luke Jr. was the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor. Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, a U.S. Air Force pilot training installation since World War II, is named in his Honor.
Frank Luke Jr. was born May 19, 1897, Phoenix, Arizona Territory. His family emigrated from Germany to America in 1874 and settled there. Frank was his family’s fifth child, and had eight other brothers and sisters. He grew up excelling in sports, working in copper mines, and participating in bare-knuckle boxing matches. Following America’s entry into World War I in April, 1917, Frank enlisted in the Aviation Section, U. S. Signal Corps, on September 25, 1917. He received pilot training in both Texas and California. Frank was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in March, 1918, and was deployed to France for further training. In July of 1918, he was assigned to the 27th. Aero Squadron.
The 27th. Aero Squadron was under standing orders to destroy German observation balloons. Luke, along with his friend Lt. Joseph Frank Wehner, continually volunteered to attack these important targets that were heavily defended by anti-aircraft guns on the ground. The two pilots had a remarkable string of victories together, with Luke attacking the balloons and Wehner flying protective cover. Wehner was killed in action on September 18, 1918 in a dogfight with Fokker D. VIIs which were attacking Luke. Luke shot down two of these aircraft and two balloons and as wells a Halberstadt Ctype observation plane of Flieger Abteilung, Luke’s official 13th. kill.
Between September 12 and September 29, 1918, Luke was credited with shooting down fourteen German balloons and four airplanes. He achieved these eighteen (18) victories during ten (10) sorties in eight days time, a feat unsurpassed by any pilot in World War I.
Luke’s final flight occurred during the first phase of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. On September 28, 1918, he landed his SPAD XIII at the French Aerodrome in Cicognes due to engine trouble, having achieved his 14th. and 15th. victories. He returned to the 1st Pursuit Group’s base at Rembercourtthe next day and was confronted by the commanding officer Lt. Grant, under threat of arrest for being AWOL. Despite this, Luke flew without authorization to a forward airbase at Verdun, where group commander Major Hartney, cancelled his arrest warrant order and gave him approval to continue balloon hunting. Luke flew to the front and attacked three balloons near Dun-sur_Meuse, six miles behind German lines. After shooting down enemy balloons, Luke was severely wounded by a single machine gun bullet filed from a hilltop above, one mile East of the balloon site he had attacked. He landed in a field just West of Murvaux, strafing a group of German soldiers on the ground near Ruisseau de Bradon. He made his way towards a steam leading to the Meuse River, trying to reach cover in the adjacent underbrush, where he collapsed about 200 meters from his airplane. He drew his Colt Model 1911 pistol, fired a few rounds, and then died.
On September 30, 1918, the Germans buried Luke in the Murvaux cemetery. His body was retried two months later by American forces. His final resting place is the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial, located East of the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.
Luke was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor that was presented to his father, Frank Luke, Sr., in Phoenix, AZ. in May 1919. The family donated the medal to the National Museum of the United States Air Force located near Dayton, Ohio. The museum has a small exhibit containing his flying goggles, the gunsight from his last SPAD, documents written by him, and other personal items.
Eddie Rickenbacker said of Frank Luke Jr. “He was the most daring aviator and greatest fighter pilot of the entire war. His life is one of the brightest glories of our Air Service. He went on a rampage and shot down fourteen enemy aircraft, including ten balloons, in eight days. No other ace, even the dreaded Richthofen, had ever come close to that.”
WE ARE HOSTING THE FOLLOWING PHILATELIC CLUBS AND SOCIETIES FOR ARIPEX 2018:
Collectors Club of New York
Arizona & New Mexico Postal History Society
Plate Number Coil Collectors Club
American Ceremonial Program Society
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
You can now follow ARIPEX 2018 through Facebook and you can favor ARIPEX on Twitter. Work with us as we too learn how to most effectively use these new dynamic tools.
The Arizona Federation of Stamp Clubs is proud to welcome you to ARIPEX 2018. From this site you will find everything you need to prepare for the show. If there is anything we can do to assist you, please feel free to contact us via the contact tab at the top right or contact one of the show committee members listed under the Show committee tab.
The Federation is proud to be holding the 60th consecutive show in Mesa, Arizona on February 16 – 18, 2018 at the Mesa Centennial Hall, located at 263 N. Center St., Mesa, AZ 85201.
The average daily high in February is 78 degrees, with 0.4 inches of rain and 25 days of sunshine so why stay in the snow or the blowing cold winds. Come to the Valley Of The Sun and work on your new suntan for 2017. You can attend Spring Training, bid on a classic automobile, and shop till you drop.
Thanks for visiting and we look forward to seeing you February 16 – 18, 2018!
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR FUTURE ARIPEX SHOW DATES:
ARIPEX 2019 – FEBRUARY 15-17, 2019 ARIPEX JOINT SHOW WITH AMERICAN PHILATELIC SOCIETY. THIS IS THE AMERISTAMP EXPO WINTER SHOW AND IS A JOINT SHOW WITH THE ARIPEX ORGANIZATION.
CURRENT CONVENING SOCIETIES CONFIRMED FOR ARIPEX 2019
Society for Czechoslovak Philately (SCP)
United Postal Stationery Society (UPSS)
ARIPEX 2020 – February 21-23, 2020
IF YOU ARE A PHILATELIC SOCIETY, WE WELCOME TO OPPORTUNITY TO HOST YOUR GROUP AT ONE OF OUR FUTURE SHOWS LISTED ABOVE.
PLEASE CONTACT THE SHOW CHAIRMAN AT kwkual@aol.com FOR FURTHER DETAILS