Tag Archive: famous people who met C. J. Tippett


Famous People Who Met My Grandfather, Colonel C. J. Tippett… Liz Whitney Tippett

Liz Whitney in the 1930s

Liz Altemus Whitney in the 1930s

Colonel C. J. Tippett’s aviation pioneering life is eloquently described, primarily in his own words, in the book “When No One Else Would Fly“, now available on Amazon.com.

The final chapters of the book describe how the Colonel, known as Tip, met Liz, who was not yet a Tippett at that time. She was visiting friends at the Cabo Blanco Fishing Club, and Tip was in a particularly well placed position to help her with a problem.

Tip’s own manuscript, which forms the heart of the book, ends before he married Liz, so he does not describe how he met her, or how their lives developed after 1960. So I ended Tip’s aviation story there as well. The next part of his life, spanning over thirty years, is a very different kind of rollicking adventure as he left civil aviation leadership and took up with Liz’s high society racetrack lifestyle.

Tip and Liz went on to make as many, if not more, headlines than Tip made in the cockpit. Liz had spent her life before Tip in a high profile series of marriages and adventures, and left her own mark in the margins of our American royalty.

Liz was a remarkable woman who was ahead of her time in independence, and who grew up in a time of American history where some, very few, women were pushing the assumptions regarding a woman’s role in society, politics, and industry. I believe that she did what she wanted, without a lot of deep consideration of the cultural consequences – and she followed her passions. She was strong, fractious, and didn’t follow… anyone. She was fascinating, intimidating, and valued her privacy enormously.

Tip was Liz’s fourth, and last, husband. Liz was Tip’s second wife, and their marriage lasted until Liz died in 1988. Their lives together tell a great story – which is in the works. For information on the progress of the book, sign up for our newsletter!

 

Famous People Who Met My Grandfather, Col. C. J. Tippett… Bob Hope

Colonel C. J. Tippett and Bob Hope in the early 1980s.

Colonel C. J. Tippett and Bob Hope in the early 1980s.

It’s true; Bob Hope met my grandfather, Colonel Cloyce Joseph Tippett.

My grandfather, Tip, was the Civil Aeronautics Authority’s pilot of the only government owned DC-3 in the country and Bob Hope needed a ride. For his whole band.

The story, which took place on May 15th, 1942, is delightfully told in Tip’s memoir, When No One Else Would Fly,  soon to be available on Amazon.com.

Bob Hope was touring to entertain the troops, and the DC-3 was the only available aircraft big enough to take them all to their next stop. Tip and Bob stayed in touch and became good friends. By the 1980s, Tip was hosting aviation related diplomatic functions, and Bob Hope would attend whenever possible.

At the time of their first flight together, each man was actively pursuing the activity that would define their lives.

Bob Hope was famous not only for his performances in movies, radio, television, and on the stage, but also for his dedication to the United Serivce Organizations (USO).

Colonel Tippett was famous for his civil aviation accomplishments and directorship in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Contact us to be notified when the book is made available or check back soon. It is in final draft and the Bob Hope story is one of the best in the entire book… it was a good thing that Bob had a good sense of humor!

 

Famous People Who Met My Grandfather, Col. C. J. Tippett… Ethan S. Kiehm

Flight logs were a critical part of being a pilot and Col. C. J. Tippett was meticulous with his.

Flight logs were a critical part of being a pilot and Col. C. J. Tippett was meticulous with his.

This is one of my favorite blog post series about the life and times of my grandfather, Col. C. J. Tippett – and the memoir he wrote which I turned into a book by wrapping his story in research and background information.

Col. C. J. Tippett pursued his passion for aviation in a time of history that brought him across the paths of many famous people, who were then able to meet him.

Some of them are very famous, like Ernest Hemmingway and General Hap Arnold.
Some of them are less famous, but no less significant, like Ethan S. Kiehm.

Mr Kiehm met Tip in the Territory of Hawaii on October 19th, 1935 when Tip needed a notary public to certify his pledge of 69 hours nad 55 minutes of total solo flying time.

Tip was a private in the US Army and on his way to a flying career. He was already banking flight time on his own, in addition to anything he could do through the army, and getting his flight log officially recognized was an important step.

Ethan S. Kiehm was in Honolulu and ready with his notary stamp that day because he’d been born there, to Korean immigrant parents, and is now considered to be the first American-born Korean in Hawaii.

This was important to both Korea and America because, during his life, Ethan Sungkoo Kiehm went from being a notary public in Honolulu to being the aide to the first president of the Republic of Korea, Syngman Rhee – while Rhee led South Korea through the Korean War.

With a foot in both cultures, Mr. Kiehm provided a unique bridge between Korean and American leadership during a critical time. When he left the service of Syngman Rhee, Kiehm returned to Hawaii and joined the American military. There’s an entire story in that alone; of the Korean diaspora to Hawaii, Rhee’s journey to leadership, Kiehm’s participation and perspective, and Korean history.

Kind cool, huh?  I love this kind of thing.
The book, now maybe titled “When No One Else Would Fly” is almost ready for release. Contact me if you’d like to be added to the announcement list. I don’t ever sell your contact info.

I’m in the final edit stage and have discovered, with thanks to my editor, that I’ve punked all the title capitalization throughout the manuscript and must correct it. NOW I know that President Syngman Rhee of South Korea gets capitalized. But if I’m writing about how Ethan S. Kiehm was aide to the president of South Korea, then I don’t capitalize anything but the country. That doesn’t feel very respectful, but…

It is the duty of the self published writer to make sure the manuscript is as correct as we can get it, and fight the common perception that self published books are not adequately edited. So I must somehow strive to remember that Col. C. J. Tippett, USAF Ret. met Notary Public Ethan S. Kiehm when Tip was a private in the army and Kiehm was a notary public for the First Judicial Circuit, Territory of Hawaii in 1935!

 

 

Famous People Who Met My Grandfather, Col. C. J. Tippett… General Henry H. Arnold

General Hap Arnold met Col. C. J. Tippett

General Henry H. Arnold was Col. C. J. Tippett’s commanding officer, and pleased with Tip’s work with the CAA in Brazil, as well as his new special pen.

General Hap Arnold was also an aviation pioneer. He was one of America’s first pilots, literally. He learned to fly from the Wright brothers and was one of the first American military pilots. He was Chief of the Air Corps and then Commanding General of the US Army Air Forces – leading aviation before, through, and after World War II.

General Arnold was 58 years old on December 20th, 1944, when he wrote a letter to my grandfather, Mr. C. J. Tippett, of the CAA Mission in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

General Arnold was already one of Tip’s commanding officers, but since Tip was in a civilian post in Brazil at the time, he omitted Tip’s military salutation.

At the State Department’s request, Tip was using civil aviation to improve diplomatic relations between Brazil and America,  and General Arnold was pleased with Tip’s progress, and “… the way the Air Forces and the CAA are working together in Brazil… ”

General Arnold was also pleased with the novelty pen Tip had sent. He wrote: “I still haven’t tried using it under water, as I’m not quite sure of the best method to test this rather “unique” quality.”

How Tip came to be in a position to gift General Hap Arnold with a “Super Stratopen” is deep within the greater story of Col. C. J. Tippett’s aviation life.

Tip moved between his civilian and military roles with a flexibility that was ideally suited to this time in history – a time of political strategy and influence. His skills were useful to both the state department, and to the air force. Tip’s work in Brazil, which came to Hap Arnold’s attention in a series of Army Air Force memos, would lay the foundations for his future work in South America.

Tip would meet General Arnold again, within three years of receiving the letter, when the “The Chief” was facing a South American issue that only Tip could solve….

The book will soon be ready for release. Please contact me to be added to the release list!

 

Famous People Who Met My Grandfather, Col. C. J. Tippett…. Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway coached C. J. Tippett in 1931

Ernest Hemingway coached Cloyce Tippett in Golden Gloves Boxing in 1931. Yale University has an archive of letters from Hemingway to Ezra Pound and posted this picture at their Beinecke Library website.

In my continuing series about famous people who met my grandfather in the course of his aviation pioneering adventures, I am happy to introduce…

Ernest Hemingway!

Actually, Cloyce Tippett would meet Ernest Hemingway twice, and this story is about the first time.

Cloyce Joseph Tippett, known to everyone as Tip, had won a series of Golden Gloves boxing matches held at the YMCA in Port Clinton, Ohio, in 1931. He qualified for the state finals in Chicago and traveled there on a motorcycle with a sidecar, and his friend, Bob.

Ernest Hemingway was in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife, Pauline, waiting for the birth of his son, Gregory. He decided to go over to the boxing match and coach the out-of-town boxers at the finals match in Chicago.

Tip found Hemingway in his corner, seconding the match. Hemingway coached Tip with all of his extensive boxing expertise. Initally, Tip won his matches and was ready to compete for the Golden Gloves Welterweight Championship. Hemingway observed Tip’s opponent and strongly advised Tip to stay out of his way. But Tip was convinced he could win, and he let fly with a right-hand punch that failed to impress anyone, much less his opponent.

When Tip regained consciousness, he went several rounds with a furious Ernest Hemingway, who lectured him for ten minutes about disregarding coaching instructions.

When Tip met Ernest Hemingway again, much later in life, they both remembered their encounter at the Golden Gloves match in Chicago… and how did that second meeting go?  Check back to find out, or sign up to be notified when the book about Tip’s adventures in life, black marlin fishing, and aviation comes out!

 

Copyright 2012 Corinne Tippett & The Westchester Press
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