479th...One Decade

[Murdr]

Happy 10th Anniversary to the 479th Raiders Squadron!

Wow.  Has it been that long?  Ive only been along for the ride the past few years, but I remember the crew well from Airwarrior back on aol.  

One remarkable thing is that they have been continuously active all this time.  Many squadrons originating from AW have been born, died, and reincarnated one or more times over the years.  Such is not the case with the 479th.

According to the best senile memories in the squad we have a little time till the official date, but Id like to say it now........................Co ngrats!!!!  



Below is the 479th history write up done by ballz shortly after the move to AH.

The 479th Fighter Group, or "Riddles Raiders", has been in existence in the virtual skies of Air Warrior since December of 1995. We started with AW Classic o_n AOL and have made the move to Air Warrior II, then Air Warrior III o_n Gamestorm, and Air Warrior MV o_n EA until EA disbanded Kesmai Studios and canceled all of their o_nline games. Now we fly the unfriendly skies of Aces High and continue the traditions started in the first ever graphical o_nline game Air Warrior.



The 479th is modeled after the original fighter group from World War II...... so therefore we fly the p51 Mustang and the P38 Lightning as our primary aircraft. The actual 479thFG in WWII was comprised of the 434th, 435th, and 436th Fighter Squadrons. The basic philosophy of the 479th is that of having fun while improving our flying skills through participation in squad nights, special events, scenario play and training classes provided by the experienced members. Among the Raiders roster are former Airwarrior Staff members who are experienced in both technical and training support.



We in the 479th believe that sportsmanship, ABOVE ALL ELSE, is the upmost important factor in determining possible squad membership. Hence, we impose a 30 day probationary period o_n all new recruits to evaluate not o_nly their flying abilities but more importantly to assess their conduct in the arena of war.


Aces High is much more than a game....it is a community of people with a common interest and we feel privileged to be a part of it. Not unlike any other team effort, Aces High breeds camaraderie and teamwork and we have all made lifelong friends here. Being part of an elite unit is a very satisfying and exciting experience...and that's what the 479th is all about.


Nobody knows for sure the exact date when the squad first began, as the "plankerowners" who began the squad were a little boozed up and incoherent at the time. Soooo, it looks as if someone has o_nly a slighty hazy memory and is fingering accusingly at December 16th, 1995 as D-Day. Through the thick and thin of times, the 479th has stuck together as a whole. A few members have come and gone, but unlike most other squads we continue to chug along with around 90% of the members who joined still with us. It was a sad time to see some of those leave who felt it was time for a change (F4U4, DUKE, CROE, BURNM and ZBU), and they will always still be thought of as family. The new members we have picked up along the years have been a valuable asset to the personality of our squad. We continue to strive for the best sticks, and more important of all, the best attitudes as part of the 479th tradition.

[Dunce]

As a plank owner I do not remember the exact date. But I will tell you one thing the "Rags" hunts were memorable after we left. Only thing I have a problem with is "Dawg's" pink spit still parked on the end of the runway. Makes me throw up each time I land, which is not often. Get that piece of crap out of there!

Dunce

[The Fugitive]

Congrats Raiders ! WTG !  

[Guppy35]

I do well remember when the 479th formed, shortly after the great JG54 v 56th squad duel that ended in so much fun and the eventual splitting off of the good guys from the 56th to form the 479th.

Lots of good conversations with Noamo and others at the time about the connection between the 479th and 56th in WW2 with Zemke leaving one to CO the other.  And I remember tracking down Robin Olds and Kyle Riddle for Reemo

A good bunch of guys in that 479th crowd.

[Murdr]

Good post Dan.  I figured you would have some memories to add.  After reading your references to Noamo and Reemo, our squad historians; it jogged a memory of one of them talking to members of the real squadron, and their thoughs on the use of their squadron name in simulation....After combing an archive of about 25k emails, I found it.

From: "Mark Williams"
Date: Sat Jun 24, 2000  2:10 pm
Subject: Re: [479th] Re: SQUAD SHIRT QUOTATION

Yo Lint.. totally disagree bud. If you ever get the chance to meet one these
guys in person you'd think different as well. I personally know a pilot from
the famed 56th Wolfpack who lives here on the island. At a party in his
house last year we talked for 2 hours about our little "game" and he thought
it was fantastic that there were people that remembered the war and the
folks in it enough to "honor" them with present day gaming squad names, etc.
There wasnt a bit of animosity or ego to it...he though it was great...and
IF he could hold a stick anymore would be "flying with us as well"...his
hands are crippled due to a stroke he had some time ago...but a helluva guy and friend.
Also I have spoken to (Ret) Brig. Gen. Robin Olds on the phone a couple of
times and he too thought the "game" idea was fantastic...and also didnt mind
that we were using actual WWII squad names...so get that out of your head
bud...
REEM0

 
 

[Dunce]

I remember that night Dan on AW when I was with the 56th taking your boys on. 10 of us came in and got our tulips handed to us in about 4 minutes or less. I was the rookie in the group at the time and had no clue what the heck was going on but was one of the last alive fighting for my life. Think my name at the time was "Tiger". Not long after that some of us left and formed the 479th. Noamo, Reemo, ZBU and others.

 Noamo was a class act then and still is to this day. That is one guy I would take a bullet for anytime. Well remembered here how you did alot of research for us on the history of the 479th and helped instill what we are all about over the years. Ballz formed us up and helped get us organized into a real fighting force and was a great leader as TKOR is for us now.

 Today we have people like Murdr, Ice, and Akak leading the 479th to known respect with their unprecedented skills with the 38 in Aces High. I would love to mention everyone, but in this drunken stupor it's really hard to do, but I have a tear in my eye just knowing the fun times I have spent with this group of warriors and drunkards!


 
Dunce

[Ack-Ack]

My life with the 479th started after I moved to AW3 after staying in AW4W until the bitter end.  BILL= recruited me after flying some with him and 7SON.  It's been a great ride ever since and honestly, am lucky to have found a great group of guys to fly with.  I joined in sometime in 1997 and haven't looked back since.   We've had guys come and go but we all manage to still keep in touch.   fellow Raiders.


And yeah, Dawg's Pink Spitfire definitely needs to be moved to the back yard. It's an eye sore sitting on the front lawn on blocks.


Ack-Ack
479th FG "Riddle's Raiders"

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by Dunce
I remember that night Dan on AW when I was with the 56th taking your boys on. 10 of us came in and got our tulips handed to us in about 4 minutes or less. I was the rookie in the group at the time and had no clue what the heck was going on but was one of the last alive fighting for my life. Think my name at the time was "Tiger". Not long after that some of us left and formed the 479th. Noamo, Reemo, ZBU and others.

 Noamo was a class act then and still is to this day. That is one guy I would take a bullet for anytime. Well remembered here how you did alot of research for us on the history of the 479th and helped instill what we are all about over the years. Ballz formed us up and helped get us organized into a real fighting force and was a great leader as TKOR is for us now.

 Today we have people like Murdr, Ice, and Akak leading the 479th to known respect with their unprecedented skills with the 38 in Aces High. I would love to mention everyone, but in this drunken stupor it's really hard to do, but I have a tear in my eye just knowing the fun times I have spent with this group of warriors and drunkards!



Dunce

I wasn't a JG54 guy.  I was a Nomad at that point as the Mads got started about a month before the 479th.  Phan, aka +Rino and his buddies from JG54 were part of that though and I remember all the posts that went back and forth after the duel took place.

It was a toughie cause we knew there were lots of good guys in the 56th but RAGS and a few had built such a lousy rep that something had to happen.  And that was Noamo, Reemo and company starting the 479th.

I have lots of good memories of those days flying with and against some of those guys.  We had a few also flying as Nomads in shades, and I know some of the nomadic types went 479th when the Nomads started to fade as a flying crew.

Lots of shared history

[Ack-Ack]

Also we must not forgot our brothers The Knights That Say Ni!.  They are also a part of our 479th history.



ack-ack

[SkyRock]

Happy aniversary, fellas!

[doc1kelley]

Happy Anniversary 479th!  I have never forgotten one of "Dawgs" macros, it was something to the effect of, "If ya can't run with the dogs, don't get off the porch".  Oh 7SON, yeah I remember him too.  He got me my first and only complaint in AW as he was razzing me on open channel after I killed him in my 109 and I replied only the letters "FO".  I fought that toss violation for a long time.  What really burned me about that was just a day earlier we were in GS chatroom chatting up a hoot.  I guess he had friends in high places...lol  

All in all, the 479th were a great bunch of guys (even though they were CZ).  The fights we had were great and mostly had my hind end handed to me by them but they were almost always gratious in their victories and nobody could ever say that they were dishonerable at any time in fights!  I don't think that we could ever wish for a better bunch of guys to fly with us at any time!

All the Best...
Jay
awDoc1
Airwarrior squads:
Intruders  (RR2)
52nd Wing (RR2)
Confederate Knights (RR2)
Flying Skillets (RR2)
BlackSheep (RR4)  same time flying in RR2
BOPS (RR4) same time flying in RR2

Aces High squads:
4-Wing
Hornets
BOPS Golden Eagles

[tkor]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. We have a lot of the older 479th members still around (Noamo, Dawgs, Reemo, FTCCG, Hat50, Moray, Acid, Corn, Crazi, etc) that are still active on our email boards, but currently not flying in AH. On occasion, one will get active and start flying again (DS613, Tcat9, etc) when the demands of real life ease up and they can devote some time to the game.
All in all, a great group of guys and close friends!

[Iceman24]

everyone... Thanks for the nice words, I've only been with the squad for about 8-9 months but they are the best group of guys to have as a squad. If it weren't for these guys I would still be a boring ol bomber stick. But now that they have shown me how to fly a fighter, it has made the game sooo much more enjoyable for me. Happy 10th anniversery 479th

[Warpig]

Holy crap! Has it been that long? Congratulations to the 479th! I'm not actively playing right now, but I'm still on the mail list, and I've got to say that you fellas are some of the best I've met in my 10+ years of online game play.

We've had numerous members over the years, but the core of the 479th remains: Honor, Loyalty, Brotherhood, Beer.

Peace all,

Warpig
479th Raiders

[Cooley]

Congrats 479th     < S >