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ASSEN JORDANOFF

Assen Jordanoff was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, the son of the Director of the Bulgarian Agriculture Bank. He was educated at the Gymnasium College, Military Academy, School of Engineering, University of Sofia.

Jordanoff flew with the 1st Air Squadron in the Balkan War, 1912-13; was Lieutenant in the Bulgarian Air Force in World War I when he flew 180 missions. He was awarded various Bulgarian military decorations.

Coming to the United States, Jordanoff was employed as Engineer and Designer by LWF Engineering Company, College Point, N.Y., Chance Vought, Long Island City, N.Y., Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, Garden City, N.Y., Curtiss-Wright Flying Service, Garden City and Curtiss-Wright Export Company, New York City. He worked as a flight instructor from 1922 to 1930; as an aviation writer from 1930 to 1941. He founded the Jordanoff Aviation Corporation, New York City in 1941. He was engaged in various research projects over the next few years, and in 1953 became President of the Strato-Port Corporation of America.

Assen Jordanoff wrote many well known aviation books, among them, "Flying and How To Do It", "Your Wings", "Through The Overcast", "Safety in Flight", "Men and Wings", "Dials in Flight", "Power in Flight", "Jordanoff's Illustrated Aviation Dictionary". He held U.S. Federal Commission Flying License No. 2624.

Assen Jordanoff Died October 18, 1967.
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JOE ROSWELL FORKNER

Joe R. Forkner was born October 2, 1892 in Mount Vernon, Illinois. He was educated at the University of Washington. In his youth he had become interested in the cello, so upon graduation he went to San Francisco to study music. While there he visited the Christofferson Flying School and decided to take lessons. In due time he soloed and qualified for his Aero Club of America FAI Certificate No. 554.

In 1916, he joined the Navy in Seattle and was sent to San Diego for his boot camp training. From there he went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was given special course in aviation and commissioned ensign. His next assignment was at the Naval Air Station, Key West, Florida where he spent the rest of the war.

Upon his release from active duty, he joined his father who operated Forkner's Funeral Home in Seattle.

Two years before Pearl Harbor, he again went on active duty with the Navy. He served at the Naval Air Stations at Sands Point, Kansas City, Corpus Christi where he became Executive Officer at Rodd Field. Next he became Operations Officer at Naval Air Station, San Juan, Porto Rico. When he resigned in 1948 he had attained the rank of Lieut. Commander. He returned to Seattle and took over the funeral home. He was married to Elethel Hyatt in 1939. He had a daughter, Mrs. Allan Justason; a son, Charles Malcolm; and four grandchildren. Upon his retirement, in 1956 he moved to Palm Springs, California and indulged in his hobby of painting.

On March 13, 1968, he passed away. Death was caused by carcinoma. He left many beautiful paintings of the desert, mountains and redwoods. He was interred in the Evergreen Cemetary in Seattle.
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[[image - black & white photograph of a plaque Early Birds plaque honoring Frank Purdy Lahm]]
[[caption]]Early Bird plaque located in the Lahm Memorial Building, Mansfield, Ohio.[[/caption]]

[[contents of the plaque]]
[[image - Early Bird logo]]
HONORING
BRIG. GEN. FRANK PURDY LAHM, U.S.A.F.

IN RECOGNITION OF HIS LIFELONG DEVOTION 
TO AVIATION AND AERONAUTICAL SCIENCE

BORN NOV. 17, 1877
DIED JULY 7, 1963

1901 GRADUATED FROM WEST POINT. ASSIGNED TO U.S. CALVARY UNIT.

1906 SENT TO FRANCE TO STUDY AERONAUTICS. WON FIRST GORDON-BENNETT BALLOON RACE, PARIS, FRANCE TO YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND.

1907 ASSIGNED TO U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS AERONAUTICAL LIAISON. ASSISTED IN PROCURING FIRST U.S. MILITARY AIRPLANE FROM WRIGHT BROTHERS.

1909 ASSISTED IN TESTS OF FIRST U.S. MILITARY AIRPLANE FORT MYER, VA. FIRST MILITARY OFFICER TO FLY WITH ORVILLE WRIGHT. SOLOED OCTOBER, 25. F.A.I. LICENSES: AIRPLANE 2, DIRIGIBLE 2, BALLOON 4, EXPERT AVIATOR 15.

1912 ORGANIZED FLYING SCHOOL FOR U.S. SIGNAL CORPS, FORT WILLIAM McKINLEY.

1916 SECRETARY SIGNAL CORPS AVIATION SCHOOL, NORTH ISLAND, SAN DIEGO, CALIF.

1917 ORDERED TO FRANCE AND ENGLAND TO INSPECT AVIATION OPERATIONS. ORGANIZED AND COMMANDED AIR SERVICE, SECOND AMERICAN ARMY. WORLD WAR I ACTION AT FRONT, AWARDED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL.

1920 ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROMOTION OF U.S. MILITARY AVIATION.

1926 ORGANIZED AND COMMANDED THE FIRST AIR FORCE TRAINING CENTER "WEST POINT OF THE AIR" AT RANDOLPH FIELD, TEXAS.

1931 APPOINTED AIR ATTACHE TO FRANCE, SPAIN AND BELGIUM.

1935 BECAME AIR OFFICER SECOND CORPS AREA, GOVERNORS ISLAND, NEW YORK.

1941 RETIRED AFTER FORTY YEARS OF ACTIVE MILITARY SERVICE.

1949 ELECTED PRESIDENT OF "THE EARLY BIRDS OF AVIATION."

1955 ELECTED ELDER STATESMAN OF AVIATION BY NATIONAL AERONAUTIC ASS'N.

1963 ENSHRINED IN THE NATIONAL AVIATION HALL OF FAME, DAYTON, OHIO.

SPONSORED BY

THE EARLY BIRDS OF AVIATION

AN ORGANIZATION OF PIONEERS IN AERONAUTICS
WHO FLEW SOLO PRIOR TO DECEMBER 17, 1916

DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 9, 1967
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CHARLES EARL HESS

Charles E. Hess was born October 13, 1885 in Bellville, Ohio. Although his formal education was limited to grammer school, he had learned to study and so continued his education until it was the equivalent of any college course. He married Eleanor Fisk, March 16, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. They had one daughter, Caroline.

One day in 1905, Charles Hess heard an airship fly over his house in Toledo, Ohio and followed it to the local fair grounds. There he made the acquaintance of Roy Knabenshue. When Lincoln Beachey arrived in Toledo, Hess met him also and was engaged to help construct a new airship. Beachey did not fly the ship at Toledo upon its completion, but shipped it to Pittsburg. This left Hess out of a job, so he joined Tony Nassr, who was building a dirigible in Toledo. After working for Nassr a short time, Hess received a call from Lincoln Beachey to come to Pittsburg where Beachey and his brother Hillery were at work on a new ship. Earl went to Pittsburg, helped complete the new craft and was initiated in the piloting of airships.

Hess filled a large number of exhibition engagements until the end of the 1907 season, when he joined Knabenshue and Charles K. Hamilton who were working on a three-man
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ship in Toledo. The big ship with a gas bag 105 feet long was completed in the Spring of 1908 and on May 23rd was taken up for trial flight with Knabenshue as engineer, Hamilton as rudder man and Hess as runner or elevator man. The three were flying nicely when the eingine quit. They immediately lost their dynamic lift and, maneuvering as a free balloon, came down on the bleachers at Swayne Field where a baseball game was in progress. The frame struck the top of the bleachers and broke in two. So did the ball game.

As a result of the misfortune, Knabenshue's exhibition business fell off. Hess quit flying and in 1909 joined the Union Supply Company of Toledo, servicing motorcycles. After that he became a motorcycle racer. The year 1909 ended his exotic career, and the remainder of his life was spent largely in the glass manufacturing business. When he retired in 1950, he was a sales executive with the Libbey-Owens-Ford Company.

On March 19, 1964 at Kingsland, Georgia, Charles married Nancy Mae Franklin, and was living in Kissimmee, Florida when he suffered a heart attack and died February 25, 1968. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Mae Hess; a daughter, Mrs. Caroline H. Witte; two grandsons and a granddaughter.
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