CIVIL AIR PATROL

Connecticut Wing
Congressional Gold
Medal Recipients
Semper Vigilans
Always Vigilant

Honorees
Norman Allgeier Loering Johnson

Welles Bishop Thomas Lockhart

Judith Calandrelli Ernest Markham

Joel Fairfax Andre Maye

Helen Sarr-Hill Hyland Tasker

Nancy Hopkins-Tier
 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Lockhart

Thomas Lockhart was born on January
9, 1911 in New Haven, CT. He was serving as
Commissioner of the Connecticut Depart-
ment of Aeronautics when the Second World
War broke out in 1941.

An alumni of the Staunton Military

Academy (class of 1929) and St. Louis Univer-
sity, Lockhart, a licensed pilot, answered his
nations call to service and was appointed the
first Commander of Connecticut Wing. It was
under his leadership that Connecticut's first
squadrons were formed.

In 1944, he joined the US Marine Corps

and commissioned a lieutenant. He served as
an Operations Officer in Marine Air Group
22, seeing action in the South Pacific, notably
during the Battle of Okinawa.

After the war, Lockhart resumed his po-

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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

sition as Commissioner for one year and then

went on to a successful career in advertising.
He died on December 4, 1992 and is laid to
rest in Princeton, Mass.

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Lockhart,

First Commander of Civil Air Patrol’s
Connecticut Wing (1941-1944).

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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Norman E. Allgeier
Norman Allgeier began his Civil Air Pa-
trol career by joining a squadron in Cincin-
nati, Ohio where he attained the grade of
sergeant and was awarded the One Thou-
sand Hour service medal.

Though far removed from the U-boat

menace, Ohio squadrons undertook a variety
of missions on behalf of the war effort.
Squadrons conducted scrap metal drives and
aerial patrols over coal, oil and gas resources.
They flew fire watches over forestlands and
also served as aerial couriers during the war.

Sergeant Allgeier served with Civil Air

Patrol senior member Mary Jo Fromeyer,
who later became Mrs. Allgeier. Their son
Thomas recalls talks with
his dad who said “we did
our job, and we did it
well.”
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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Welles Bishop
1st Lt. Welles Bishop was an avid birder
and owner of the Bishop Bird Feeder Compa-
ny. His love of birds might have led to his in-
terest in aviation. During the 1920’s he
earned his private pilot’s license at Meriden
Airport. When the war broke out, Wells de-
cided to do his part and joined Civil Air Pa-
trol. He was put on to active duty, and joined
his fellow “Nutmeggers,” flying submarine
patrols off of Bar Harbor, Maine.

On Feb. 2, 1943
Bishop took off on a
routine patrol when
his plane crashed into
the Atlantic Ocean.
Although wearing rub-
ber bail-out suits, he
and his observer, 1st
Lt. William Hites, died
from exposure.
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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Judith Calandrelli
Judith Calandrelli was an 18 year of ad-
mirer of Amelia Earhart in 1944. Working at
Norwalk Aircraft as a welder, she saw a mag-
azine advertisement to join Civil Air Patrol.
She was hooked and soon became part of
the home-front effort to win the war.

In addition to learning how to spot ene-

my aircraft, drill and other civil defense skills,
she was one of three women chosen to earn
free flying lessons at Danbury Airport.

After the war,

Calandrelli worked
for C.R. Gibson and
the Westport Public
Library.

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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Joel Fairfax
Joel Fairfax is a charter member of Con-
necticut Wing’s Danbury Squadron. He was
assigned to perform coastal patrols in Bar
Harbor, Maine, but his job in the defense
manufacturing industry, making machine
tools for aircraft, was deemed too important
to the war effort for him to take time off.

Fairfax flew many missions with Civil Air

Patrol, freeing up Army Air Corp crews for
combat.

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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Loering Johnson
Loering Johnson was a member of a
high school affiliated Civil Air Patrol program
in 1942 in Belfield, North Dakota.

Although a long way from the threat of

enemy attack, Johnson and 12 of his class-
mates helped the war effort by completing
courses in aeronautics, served as aircraft
spotters, collected aluminum and copper for
the scrap drive and even collected milk weed
for use in life preservers.

Although he wished to join the air

corps, he ended up in the 88th Infantry Divi-
sion serving in Italy.

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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Ernest Markham
Major Ernest L. Markham began his ca-
reer in 1919 as a second class aviation ma-
chinist mate on flying boats at the Naval Sta-
tion in Chatham, Mass. An alumnus of the
Pensacola Flight School (class of 1921) Mark-
ham served as a naval aviation pilot. He be-
came the first airport manager of Meriden
Airport, Meriden, Connecticut in 1928.

Markham was appointed to the com-

mittee to organize Civil Air Patrol’s Connecti-
cut Wing in 1942. In 1943 he deployed to Civ-
il Air Patrol Base No. 20 at Bar Harbor, Maine
and served as temporary commander and
operations officer. He played a significant role
with other Connecticut Wing members in
countering the German U-boat threat to U.S.
shipping.

After the war, Markham served as com-

mander of the Meriden Squadron and
worked as airport manager at Meriden Air-
port. On July 14, 1962 the airport was re-
named Meriden Markham Airport in honor
of Markham’s 32 years of dedicated service.
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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Andre Maye
Lieutenant Andre Maye
joined Civil Air Patrol eight days
following the attack on Pearl
Harbor. The father of three chil-
dren, he was not eligible for the
draft but felt he must join the war effort.

He took a leave of absence from his po-

sition as a tool and die maker at GE and went
on active duty at Bradley Field where he
served as a pilot, flying courier missions for
the Army Air Corps.

On September 14, 1943 Maye and a

passenger, George Menzel, a mechanic at
Bradley Field, were on a flight from Bradley
Field to Grenier Field when his Taylorcraft
Cub began to smoke. He attempted an emer-
gency landing but both men were killed on
impact. He is one of two members from Con-
necticut Wing who were killed in war time
service.
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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Helen Sarr-Hill
Helen “Billie” Sarr was a young gradu-
ate of secretarial school who was offered a
job at the Connecticut Department of Aero-
nautics. The commissioner was Thomas Lock-
hart, who also served as the first Wing Com-
mander for Civil Air Patrol in the state.

Sarr served as the wing’s secretary,

earning her the rank of technical sergeant
and one of the few paid positions in CAP. In
addition to taking care of the wings paper-
work, she learned military customs and cour-
tesies and the age old art of drill.

Her CAP service ended when her fian-

cée, an Army Air Corp pilot,
returned from Europe, but
Sarr continued to serve her
state and nation as an ad-
ministrative secretary for
numerous elected and gov-
ernment officials.
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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Hyland Tasker
Hyland E. Tasker was living in East
Hartford, Connecticut when the Second
World War broke out. A licensed pilot, he
quickly joined the newly formed Civil Air Pa-
trol to help support the missions of the US
Army Air Corp.

Tasker was a lifelong employee of Pratt

and Whitney Aircraft and maintained his pi-
lot’s license until 1974. He passed away in
2009 at the age of 92.

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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Colonel Nancy Hopkins-Tier

Nancy Tier was a noted Aviatrix of the
early 20th century. One of the few female
commercially rated pilots, she competed and
placed 8th in the Ford Reliability Tour of
1930; quite a feat for a 22 year old upper-
class woman. She competed in the Meriden
Speed Race in 1931 (and again in1971) and
was one of the first of women who flew solo
coast to coast in 1932.

Trier joined Civil Air Patrol in 1942,

serving on the Wing Staff until 1947, when
she was appointed Connecticut Wing Com-
mander, and holds the distinction of being
the first CAP female wing commander.

She was elected into the Pioneer Wom-

en in Aviation Hall of Fame, is a honorary
member of the USAF 38th Strategic Missile
Wing and a charter member of the Ninety-
Nines. She served as the first president and
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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

founder of the International Women’s Air

and Space Museum from 1986 to 1994.
Nancy passed away in 1997.

Colonel Nancy Tier, Commander of Civil Air

Patrol’s Connecticut Wing (1947-1949)

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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

Civil Air Patrol’s World War II Service

Some 200,000 men, women and teenagers

from all walks of life participated in CAP during the
war years. Members of CAP’s coastal patrols flew 24
million miles from March 1942 through August
1943 over the Atlantic and Gulf coasts in order to
ward off German U-boat attacks against U.S. ship-
ping. The patrols spotted 173 U-boats and attacked
57. They escorted more than 5,600 convoys and re-
ported 17 floating mines, 36 bodies, 91 ships in dis-
tress and 363 survivors in the water.

Civil Air Patrol members patrolled the coun-

try’s borders by air, vigilant for potential saboteurs.
In addition, they towed targets for military trainees,
watched for forest fires, conducted search and res-
cue missions, provided disaster relief and emergen-
cy transport of people and parts and conducted ori-
entation flights for future pilots.

In all, 65 CAP members lost their lives in the

line of duty by the end of the war, including two
members from Connecticut Wing. In-depth infor-
mation about CAP and its World War II missions and
members can be found at www.capgoldmedal.com.

CAP National Public Affairs

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 Civil Air Patrol Connecticut Wing

PO Box 1233
Middletown, CT 06457
publicaffairs@ctwg.cap.gov
www.ctwg.cap.gov
www.facebook.com/CTWGCAP

Major Peter Milano,

Connecticut Wing Public Affairs

Captain Christopher Keenan

Connecticut Wing Historian

SEMPER VIGILANS
Biographies: Captain Christopher Keenan, Historian
Pamphlet: Major Peter Milano, Public Affairs Officer
Printing: Major Jeff Travers, Plans & Programs Development Officer
Photographs: CTWG Collection and CAP National Historian

Copyright © 2015 Connecticut Wing, Civil Air Patrol. All rights reserved.