Sgt. George J. Holmes landed at Tucson Monday May 20, 1935. He was in a Douglas BT-2B, number 31-79. He carried R.E. Hill as his single passenger. Based at Shertz, TX, Randolph Field, they wrote in the Register in red pencil that they were westbound from El Paso, TX. Curiously their cited destination of Syracuse, NY was back to the east.

Holmes was an enlisted man; a "flying sergeant". He earned his wings in 1921, and subsequently accumulated 9,100 hours of flying time in everything from Jennys to four-engined bombers and transports. He retired with honors as the last of the flying sergeants in the United States Air Force.

The link in the left sidebar provides a biographical sketch, which will not be recopied in its entirety here. The article is sparse in describing his activities during the time Holmes signed the Register (1935), saying only, "“In my spare times,” Holmes recalled, “I did some instructing, teaching seven students their primary in a [Consolidated] PT-3.”

Register signer Vernon L. Burge holds the distinction of becoming the first flying sergeant back in 1914. Another flying sergeant was Register signer A.L. Harvey.

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UPLOADED: 11/17/08 REVISED: