Honoring those who carry the vision forward.

Vicy Morris Young

The 2006 Captain William S. Arnott Legacy Award went to Vicy Morris Young for her ongoing work in emulating Captain Arnott’s example by preserving United Airlines’ history and inspiring the pursuit of careers in aviation. Vicy asked her dear friend Jan Brown Lohr to accept on her behalf, and UAHF President Sara Dornacker presented it to Jan on June 21, 2006.

Vicy was nominated for her lifelong work and enormous contributions to UAHF and United over a half century. Her independent research and preservation of memorabilia made her an authority whom scholars and media consult on flight attendant history. She assisted Bill Arnott in his early days of establishing aviation programs on the West Coast, when United was the only carrier supporting them.

She joined Clipped Wings and assembled collections of memorabilia and news clippings of early flight attendant history, took part in United’s first plan for a museum, and served as National President and Editor of Clipped Wings. In 1968 she received the Jacqueline Jos Ceaser Distinguished Service Award, the group’s highest honor, and was later offered the permanent post of National Historian. Her bound, newspaper-page-size albums travel to each biennial convention. She consulted on scholastic projects, books, TV programs and more than fifty films, set up an aviation program in the SFO Bay Area, and worked with the Palm Springs Air Museum from the mid-1990s.

In 1999 she joined United’s Corporate Archivist Barb Hanson and AFA Historian Georgia Neilson on a committee that created a year-long exhibit marking the 70th anniversary of Onboard Service, installed at United’s World Headquarters on May 15, 2000. She was also instrumental in the living memorial to Steve Stimpson, the “Father of Stewardess Service”: a crab apple tree and a bronze medallion at the entrance to the Training Center, funded by Clipped Wings members with United contributing the balance.

Inscription: “The 2006 Capt. William S. Arnott Legacy Award presented by the United Airlines Historical Foundation on June 21, 2006 with deep respect and affection to renowned historian, Vicy Morris Young, who was fondly regarded by Bill Arnott as ‘the little sister he never had.’”

“I am very humble and most grateful for this surprising award! Mainly due to its being named for Bill Arnott. For many decades, we shared a buddy relationship based on mutual interests in aviation history and working with college aviation programs back to the 1960s decade. As you know, Bill left us too soon – December 15, 1998, while waiting to board an LA flight to Denver, he was fatally stricken. I treasure Bill Arnott’s memory, as he was like the brother I never had. When we compared notes, we found people often asked: “Why do you do this?” Oddly enough, our reasons were the same: “It’s our way of giving back to United Airlines.””— Vicy’s acceptance speech, read by Jan Lohr

Captain H. Ray Lahr (Ret.)

Presented at the September 21 UAHF Board Meeting by Director and Past President Don Jiskra, with President Sara Dornacker. Jiskra called Ray “the sole remaining active founder” of the Foundation, which was created in 1993. Ray became its treasurer then and has served continuously in that role, an inspiration of dedication to Captain Arnott’s vision to “Preserve the Past, Inspire the Future.”

Ray accepted graciously and mentioned that when he started in 1953 he flew a DC-3, similar to the one mounted on his award stand. He recalled thinking the plane huge compared with the fighter planes he flew in the US Navy.

Inscription: “2005 Captain William S. Arnott Legacy Award. Presented to H. Ray Lahr. Honoring his 12 years of service as director and treasurer and his dedication to Captain Arnott’s vision of preserving the past, to inspire the future. June 2005.”

Tom Angelos

From 1994 to 2004 Tom Angelos volunteered his time and energy to carry on the work, and now the legacy, of UAHF founder Bill Arnott. After Bill’s passing he took over responsibility for the UAHF archive collection at United’s Flight Center (DENTK) in Denver, working with DENTK leadership to revamp and refocus its history displays. His efforts won a $15,000 donation from the United Employee Roundtable toward the exhibit redesign, and he created a display that depicts the evolution of United Airlines, well received by employees and visitors.

Tom also answered countless phone, email and mail inquiries from customers and employees about United’s history, and supported requests to loan memorabilia to local aviation museums and airport functions. He retired twice from the UAHF board, was elected to Emeritus status, and continues to help at the DENTK office as time and energy allow, a strong testament to his love for United.

Career highlights

• 1940: Hired April 29 at Chicago Midway as an air/ground radio operator, Flight Operations Division
• 1942–45: Flight Radio Operator, San Francisco; WWII Military Air Transport Command, Pacific Theater (flew C-87s)
• 1946–49: Flight Navigator and Flight Radio certificates; on the San Francisco–Honolulu DC-6 schedule, including the May 1, 1947 inaugural eastbound flight
• 1949–50: Navigation Aids Section, Denver; Flight Navigator on a Korean War ATC survey flight, San Francisco–Honolulu–Wake Island–Tokyo
• 1962: Navigation Aids Manager, Executive Office in the Chicago area; served on FAA, ATA and IATA industry committees
• 1970–78: Member of The Institute of Navigation; led the 1972 study whose recommendation to install INS to replace Flight Navigators was adopted; 1978 Flight Operations Division Safety Award
• 1981: Retired after 41 years in Flight Operations; 1995: elected to the UAHF Board of Directors

Captain Elroy E. “Buck” Hilbert (Ret.)

Pictured with Barbara J. Hanson, Sara Dornacker, Dorothy Hilbert and Jim Dier. Buck received the award for a lifelong, passionate commitment to aviation and legendary leadership in the preservation of aircraft, and for fostering the love of education and aviation in countless people while serving on the UAHF board through January 2003.

His story began in October 1941 as a line boy who soloed at the old Elmhurst Airport near Chicago. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps at 17 as an aircraft maintenance instructor, later flew B-17s as a gunnery pilot and finished as a twin-engine transition instructor. After the war he was a flight instructor and charter pilot, and was recalled during the Korean Conflict to fly Stinson L-5 and Cessna L-19 artillery spotter aircraft.

He joined United as a first officer in 1952 and flew the DC-3 out of Chicago, then CV-340s, DC-6s and 7s, Caravelles, Viscounts, B-727s and DC-8s, retiring as a DC-8 Captain from O’Hare. By spring 1976 he had painstakingly restored the Swallow, a 90-horsepower biplane of the type Varney Air Lines used to start air mail service in 1926. That restoration let United stage a reenactment of the original flight on April 6, 1976, and Buck flew the Swallow on a promotional tour across the US and to Japan. In 1988 it was donated to the Museum of Flight, where it hangs in the main gallery.

He continues to restore antique airplanes and consult for individuals and organizations. In 2000 the National Aeronautic Association honored him with its Elder Statesmen of Aviation Award. He was a founding member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, served the EAA Air Museum as trustee and as past president of its Antique & Classic Division, is a Civil Air Patrol major, an FAA accident prevention counselor, and still instructs in light airplanes.

Captain Clay Lacy (Ret.)

Presented by Capt. “Buck” Hilbert during the Board Meeting at United Airlines World Headquarters on September 12, 2002. It was the first award to recognize an individual whose significant contribution to aviation incorporates the vision of founder Captain William S. Arnott.

Having learned to fly as a youth in Kansas, Clay began at 19 a 40-year flight with United that took off with a DC-3 and landed with a Boeing 747-400. He retired in 1992 as United’s Senior Pilot with over 50,000 flight hours, believed to be more than any other pilot in the world. In those years he also served as a US Air Force fighter pilot, set world records in air racing, was pilot and cinematographer for hundreds of Hollywood motion pictures, and helped launch the business jet industry.

He founded Clay Lacy Aviation of Van Nuys, California in 1968, the West’s first such service, soon known as “Hollywood’s Private Airline,” now with more than 27 aircraft. His personal fleet includes a restored DC-3 in United colors, which he flew to Oshkosh for AirVenture 2001 and used to host twenty United contest winners on a flight into the past. Perhaps his most memorable achievement was the 36-hour, 54-minute around-the-world flight in the United 747SP Friendship One, carrying 100 celebrities and aviation notables and raising $500,000 for charity. He has also been a benefactor of UAHF.

Inscription: “Captain Clay Lacy, His Actions Exemplify the Spirit of the United Airlines Historical Foundation.” “Preserving the Past to Inspire the Future.”