"Lone Star Historian 2" is a blog about the travels and activities of the State Historian of Texas during his second year. Bill O'Neal was appointed to a two-year term by Gov. Rick Perry on August 22, 2012, at an impressive ceremony in the State Capitol. Bill is headquartered at Panola College (www.panola.edu) in Carthage, where he has taught since 1970. For more than 20 years Bill conducted the state's first Traveling Texas History class, a three-hour credit course which featured a 2,100-mile itinerary. In 2000 he was awarded a Piper Professorship, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Wild West Historical Association. Bill has published over 40 books, almost half about Texas history subjects, and in 2007 he was named Best Living Non-Fiction Writer by True West Magazine. In 2013 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by his alma mater, Texas A&M University - Commerce.
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| Alumni Center, reception site |
A major historical event was conducted by Texas A&M University
of Commerce on Wednesday, October 14. Claire Lee Chennault was born in Commerce
on September 6, 1893, in a house only three blocks from the business center of
town. Although the family soon moved to Louisiana, young Chennault returned to
his native Texas as an aviation cadet and an officer in the Army Air Force
stationed at bases around San Antonio. Chennault was a daring aviation pioneer
and an emphatic advocate of innovative combat tactics. But in 1937, Chennault –
only a captain at the age of 44 – was subject to enforced retirement.
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| Morning reception |
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| Dr. Allan Goodwin conducting the Lion Band |
Almost immediately Chennault was employed by Chiang Kai-shek
as a colonel and advisor to the Chinese Air Force which was desperately
inferior to the aggressive Japanese Air Force. Promoted to brigadier general,
Chennault obtained from the United States 100 P-40 fighter planes, which were painted
with the most distinctive image of any aircraft of World War II. General
Chennault organized and trained the American Volunteer Group (AVG). American pilots
and ground crew from U.S. Army and U.S. Navy air forces were recruited at high
salaries to challenge Japanese air superiority over China. Pilots were paid as
much as $750 per month along with a bonus of $500 for every enemy kill. Nicknamed
“Flying Tigers,” the AVG went into action two weeks after Pearl Harbor.
Hundreds of enemy planes were shot down by Chennault’s Flying Tigers. The AVG
later was incorporated into the United States military and became part of the
14
th Air Force, commanded by Major General Chennault. Chennault was
highly decorated.
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| Ross Volunteer Color Guard |
Chennault was married twice and was the father of 10
children. He still is regarded as a legendary hero in China. Chennault
maintained homes in Taipei, Taiwan, and near Monroe, Louisiana, where his
family moved not long after his birth. He died of cancer in 1958, and was
buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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| Dr. Jones |
I was a graduate assistant in the history department at East
Texas State University (later TAMUC) in 1968 when a marker was placed at the
site of Chennault’s birth in Commerce. Forty-seven years later I was privileged
to return to the same site for the dedication of another marker – written in two
translations of Mandarin. There are over 16,000 state historical markers across
Texas, more than in any other state, and this is the first one in Chinese.
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| Nell Calloway |
TAMUC President Dan Jones determined that the dedication of
this marker should be a notable occasion. The university worked in concert with
the Texas Historical Commission and the City of Commerce to produce a major
historical event.
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| Flyover! |
Mark Wolfe, Executive Director of the THC, was in attendance
and made appropriate remarks during the dedication. John Sharp, Chancellor of
the Texas A&M University system, also was present and offered remarks. A
squad from A&M’s Ross Volunteer Company provided a color guard. Brian
Bolinger, Executive Director of the Texas State Historical Association, was on
hand, along with John C. Crain, Board President of the Summerlee Foundation of
Dallas. A strong Asian presence included representatives from the Chinese
consulate in Houston, from the Taipei economic and Cultural Office in Houston,
and from the Greater Dallas Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce. A number of
political dignitaries were present.
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| 1968 marker (left) and 2015 marker in Chinese |
The most celebrated
attendee was Nell Calloway, granddaughter of General Claire Chennault and
founder and director of the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum in Monroe,
Louisiana. Those who had not met her enjoyed making her acquaintance at a nine
o’clock reception on the TAMUC campus shortly before the marker dedication. We
were ferried by campus shuttle vehicles to the birthplace site, where the TAMUC
Lion band was entertaining the growing crowd. Streets were blocked off around
the site, and folding chairs and metal bleachers provided seating for of the
growing crowd. The color guard presented the colors while the band played the
National Anthem. Addressing the crowd were President Dan Jones, Mayor John
Ballotti, Chancellor John Sharp, and Nell Calloway. As the speakers concluded,
a flyover of a P-40 brought the crowd to its feet, and we all tried to photograph
the vintage fighter plane provided by the Cavanaugh Flight Museum of Addison.
Following this exciting highlight, many of us posed for photographs beside the
1968 and 2015 markers.
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| Chancellor Sharp, Nell Calloway, and President Jones |
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L to r: Mark Wolfe, Dr. Jessica Brannon-Wranosky
(TAMUC History Dept.), John Crain,
State Historian O'Neal, Brian Bolinger,
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The final event of the day was a delicious lunch in the Sam
Rayburn Student Center. President Dan Jones welcomed the crowd, then provided
me a gracious introduction as an alum and as Texas State Historian. It was my
privilege to introduce Nell Calloway as luncheon speaker. A woman of great
accomplishment and ability, Nell had made brief remarks at the dedication, but
now we had the pleasure of hearing her discuss her grandfather and his career
at greater length. She also described the Chennault Aviation and Military
Museum, and issued an invitation to all of us.
During the course of more than three years as Texas State
Historian, it has been my great pleasure to participate in several events in
the “Exploring Texas Workshop Series.” This workshop series is organized by the
Texas State Historical Association, with the cooperation of the Region (4, in this
case) Education Service Center. These conferences are designed to provide course
content for fourth- and seventh-grade Texas history teachers. Each conference
usually lasts for two days, and participants receive professional development credit.
The credit certainly is earned, because an impressive lineup of presenters
provide excellent programs which feature course content in their fields of
expertise.
I lectured about Sam Houston for more than three decades in
my Texas history classes at Panola College. I’ve traveled to the sites of his
life. I’ve written a book, Sam Houston: A
Study in Leadership, that will be released early next spring. I’ve delivered
numerous programs about Houston or, to various ladies’ groups, his wife
Margaret. These programs have generally filled 30- to 45-minute time slots, but
at the Region 4 Teacher Conference I was allotted 90 minutes, and I had no problem
finding enough to say about Sam Houston. At the end of the session many of the teachers
offered kind comments, including several to the effect that they had learned things
that would be worked into their classrooms. I could receive no higher compliment.
