The photos below were taken of a display at the 390th Memorial Museum. The museum honors those who served in the 390th Bomb Group and is part of the Pima Air & Space Museum near Davis-Monthan AFB outside of Tucson, AZ. Click on a photo to enlarge it. To enlarge it further, click on it a second time.
A letter from the Secretary of the Caterpillar Club appears in the Summer 1991 issue of the AFEES newsletter, pg. 23.
The following is a letter from the Irving Air Chute Company to evader Lt. John M. Carah advising him that he was being enrolled on the roster of the Caterpillar Club. It appeared on page 45 in Achtung! Achtung! Die Flugfestungen Kommen! (Attention! Attention! The Flying Fortresses are Coming!), Memoirs of WW-II, by Lt. Col. John M. Carah and edited by Warren B. Carah, published by Elbow Lane Books, Brighton, MI, 2006. Our thanks to Warren B. Carah for permitting us to reproduce it here.
Some useful links about the Caterpillar Club are as follows:
- Caterpillar Club Goes Back to 1922 article: Sept. 1998 AFEES Newsletter, pg., 2.
- Caterpillar Club Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_Club
- Caterpillar Club: http://www.merkki.com/caterpillarclub.htm
- Caterpillar Club by Ken Wright: http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/general/articles/caterpillarclub.aspx
- Caterpillar Club: http://www.51squadron.com/CaterpillarClub.html
- Caterpillar Pins (AFEES Newsletter, March 1997, pg. 21: https://airforceescape.org/newsletters/
See also references to the Caterpillar Club in the AFEES newsletters at:
- Caterpillar Club (Caterpillar Assn.) – Spring 1988, pg. 11; Summer 1988, Part 4, pg. 2; Spring 1989, Part 2, pg. 12; Winter 1989-90, pg. 13; Summer 1991, pg. 23 (letter from secretary of club re need for addresses of members); Summer 1989; Spring 2003 (March), pg. 22-23; June 2003 (Summer), pg. 8 (Irvin company continues tradition);
There are more links to be found on the Internet.
Dear Members of the Caterpillar Club;
I would like to share with you the story of my father, Danilo Marques Moura, a World War II hero, who had his life saved by a parachute on Feb,4th 1945.
Danilo Moura was a member of the 1st Brazilian Fighter Squadron (1ºGAVCA), which became part of the 350th Fighter Group USAAF. He had flew 10 missions before having his P-47 Thunderbolt shot down in Castlefranco – Italy, during his 11th mission. This event triggered one of the, still, most well know histories of the Brazilian Airforce (FAB) during World War II, Danilo´s scape to reach back the Allied Force Base at Pisa after walking more than 450 km during almost 30 days.
Hopefully, after getting to know a little bit more about my father´s history you can include my his name in the Caterpillar Club, and grant us a pin in his memory. Please let me know how to apply, and I will be glad to share all proper evidence and documentation with you. Feel free to reach me at your convenience.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Regina Maria Moura
In the mid-1950s my father, Air Force Lt. Colonel Louis Albert Tester, ejected from his F100 jet off of the coast of Morocco, Africa when the jet’s engine failed. He was in the ocean for a period of time before being rescued by Moroccan fishermen. He passed away in 1998 after a 28 year career in the Air Force with service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and rests at Florida National Cemetery.
Yesterday I found a certificate that he was a member of the Caterpillar Club as a result of the Morocco incident. I cannot find his name in a search of the site. How do I make sure that his name is listed? Thank you for your assistance.
Regards,
Lana Tester
Dear Ms. Tester,
If the site you are referring to is that of AFEES, it may be that he never joined the organization. Or, if he did, because the indexing of the AFEES newsletters is not complete, we may simply have not yet indexed the newsletter in which he was mentioned. If you are referring to his membership in the Caterpillar Club, you would need to contact that organization at one of the websites listed above since it is a separate organization from AFEES.
Bruce Bolinger
Webmaster
Dear Mr. Batcock,
I do not know if there is anyone who can speak specifically about the Caterpillar Club. Nor do I know if any Caterpillar Clubs still exist. Since you are located in England, the one person I know of who might know and might come closest to what you are seeking would be Roger Stanton, executive director of the WW2 Escape Lines Memorial Society. See their website at http://www.ww2escapelines.co.uk/. He probably can come up with someone who can speak about escape and evasion in WWII if not specifically about the Caterpiller Club. In addition, perhaps one of the links on this page about the Caterpillar Clubs will help you.
Best wishes,
Bruce Bolinger
Webmaster
Good morning.
I am chairman of an ‘aviation enthusiasts Society’ – Air ACES – in Chichester, W.Sx..
My wife Alison has, this am., seen a book entitled – The Caterpillar, Goldfish & Guinea Pig
Clubs. (I had not heard of the first two, before).
I am also ‘talk coordinator’ for Air ACES, and my philosophy is to get many different aviation subjects as possible, for the interest of the Air ACES members.
In 2020, I have Alex Sewell, giving a presentation talk about the Guinea Pig Club.
My thoughts now are to try a ‘make a trilogy of talks, about these three subjects.
Can you please inform me, as to whom I can ask, to undertake a full presentation about the Caterpillar Club & its members.
In anticipation of a hopefully positive reply,
I thank you very much.
Kind regards,
David Batcock.