As the wings and rest of the aircraft were coming apart, Norton and his bombardier finally bailed out very close to the ground, but as they landed, so did the plane not far away, and the unexploded ordinances blew up, killing Norton and the bombardier. His aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire, and even knowing his plane was doomed, Norton kept it flying long enough for most of his crew to parachute out. On May 27, 1944, while flying an A-20 Havoc plane – a twin-engine bomber – Captain Norton led a raid against a German railroad yard near Amiens, France. In March of 1942, Leland joined the U.S Army Air Force (it was still under Army control), and due to his bright mind and knowledge of flying, he quickly moved up the ranks. But that was not the requirement in Canada. At that time, in 1941, a pilot had to have at least one year of college, Leland did not. Leland always wanted to give more than he received, and when World War II broke out, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Handsome, athletic, and had a great sense of humor, women loved him – for a moment, I thought Docent Dudley was talking about me – but I digress. He was born in 1921 in San Bernardino, and as Docent Dudley explained, Leland was a man’s man. Norton Air Force Base was named after a true hero and local boy, Leland Francis Norton. All were smiling ear to ear – a caption below the photo stated, ‘At last we don’t have to freeze our butts off anymore.’ There is a cheery black-and-white photo of the crew of that last flight. “The last trip was in 1992, and the base officially closed in 1994.” “No, we have research stations and needed to resupply the people living there.” “I guess the NCO club needed a lot of ice,” I said.ĭocent Dudley just rolled his eyes. I also discovered that Norton used to have flights to Antarctica. That is one big plane, and anyone who could pilot such a beast is a stud or studette. I soon discovered La Sauce was the first woman to pilot a C-141 Starlifter. This revelation called for a little more research. “Not only that but she was also inducted into the Women in Aviation, International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2016.” “That’s very impressive,” I replied while looking at La Sauce’s flight suit, which is on display, as well as about a billion awards earned by her. She eventually became the first woman aircraft commander at Norton.”

“She was in the first group of female airplane pilots who graduated in 1977 from the Air Force. I was going to mention that I hadn’t but was a fan of certain bearnaise sauces, but I figured this was not a moment for fun. He led me to a large display concerning Lt. This Docent, Dudley, was a fount of knowledge of everything Air Force to pretty much everything else.Īt the end of the tour, I was so impressed with his knowledge, I asked if he knew the winning Lotto numbers for the next drawing. A nice thing about a boutique museum, such as Norton, a visitor gets their very own guide. The image of him swapping stories with other like-minded fellas, and grabbing a few cold beers at the bar seemed a real possibility.ĭocent Dudley would be my tour guide. I wondered momentarily if my father had straddled a stool sipping a cold one after work on a hot summer day when this was the NCO club. He had been a flight engineer before retiring from the Air Force and served at Norton AFB from 1973 until 1982. “I understand this place has had a lot of visitors through the years.ĭocent Dudley would know. “It used to be the NCO club,” Docent Dudley stated. Before that year, the entire building, not just the museum, had been neglected for years.

Of course, the room did not have rafters but instead featured a drop ceiling which had been constructed when the museum concept came to fruition in 2012. One large rectangular room filled to the rafters with every sort of memorabilia a lover of military history would find enthralling. But we are filled with a lot of memories of both the men and women who served at Norton and all those from around the world who found themselves here for a long or a short period.” Beyer, served until he retired from decades serving in the United States Air Force.ĭocent JoAnn explained, “We are a small boutique museum. It was my first visit to a museum that opened in 2013 on the very base my father, George T.

“No, in fact, my father was stationed here in the 60s, and I make it a habit to visit the museum to remind me of the times I came out to the base with my father as a young boy.” Nothing was expected of me, but I thought there should have been. “Welcome to the Norton Air Force Base Museum,” the friendly female docent said as I entered through the double glass doors. One nice aspect of visiting a museum you have not been to before is that you are a newcomer.

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