Bob Chilcoat wrote:

My father (http://geocities.com/viewptmd/Dad.html) was a member (squadron
leader?) of the west coast precision aerobatic team that was a (the?)
forerunner of the Air Force Thunderbirds (apparently there was also an east
coast team as well - see http://geocities.com/viewptmd/Dad5.html).

Your dad's claim is likely. Immediately following WWII, the Navy set up several
squadrons with orders to barnstorm across the country and perform airshows. The
idea was to make money to pay for the return of all the Navy personnel who were
overseas at the end of the war. I would bet the USAAF did something similar for
the same reasons.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.