Honoring Airborne Legacy

The history of the World War II Airborne Command® is an interesting one indeed. After twenty years of hard work starting and funding the World War II Airborne Demonstration Team®, it was eventually taken away from him in 2017, a victim of poorly written bylaws of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. In 2018, the birth of a new team began, with the help of his brother Roger Wolf, leading the charge, who helped found the Liberty Jump Team and Round Canopy Jump Team, along with several dedicated former World War II Airborne Demonstration Team® team members. A new organization, the WWII Airborne Command™, was born. This is a story of trial and error and the enduring spirit of never giving up!

The story basically starts with a mission that developed in the head of our founder, Richard “Top” Wolf, when he was a young man. As a child growing up in a neighborhood where his father and many other WWII and some Korean War veterans lived, Top was the “fly on the wall,” so to speak, taking in all the stories they told of their experiences in the service. Later, as a young man fresh in the army, he would receive training by veterans similar to those he knew on his boyhood street. Top realized that with the passing of time the stories and experiences of these men would be lost unless he found a way to make sure that the public would be reminded and taught as the years passed and memories faded. It was then that his first team, the World War II Airborne Demonstration Team® was born.

As the team grew biannual Jump Schools were held, PX items such as t-shirts were marketed, and paid appearances at airshows Began to bring in much needed capital to finance the growth of the team and the infrastructure needed for it to continue.

Eventually the quest began to find an aircraft to purchase for Jump School training and for the team to practice and use at nearby airshows. In 1999 a C47 was located and two people entered the World War II Airborne Demonstration team® program to help with the acquisition. Dr. Bruce O’Brian and Mr. Ray Cunningham agreed to sponsor the aircraft and the refurbishment needed for team use. The aircraft was delivered from Israel through Canada to Lawton, OK.

The next year was spent refurbishing, painting and prepping the aircraft for FAA inspections and certification. In 2000 the plane received its required certifications and was operated and stored outside at a hangar at the Lawton Municipal Airport for the next five years.

In 2005 the team took over the remaining original hangars at Frederick Army Air Field in Frederick, Oklahoma, that once served as a pilot training facility for bomber pilots. The building was leased from the city of Frederick, and repairs began immediately, as the building had fallen into disrepair over the years it sat vacant. Richard Wolf lived at the Frederick Army Air Field (FAAF) for the next two years cleaning; removing old machinery abandoned by previous tenants and building classrooms, barracks, a mess hall and a kitchen. Ray Cunningham and Mike Zozula were both at his side the entire time to take an historic building that was very near falling into irreversible disrepair and build it into an appropriate home for the team to continue their mission to Remember, Honor and Serve the WWII Veterans and all who have worn the uniform in service to our country.