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Monday, July 3, 2000

World War II vet's passion for planes helps others
Air Patrol volunteer is a lookout on search missions
By Stephanie L. Jordan
Caller-Times

Michelle Christenson/Caller-Times

Victor Medina Jr., dressed in his Civil Air Patrol uniform, salutes in front of the American Flag displayed at his home. Medina has accumulated about 500 hours as an observer for the Air Force auxiliary group.

Victor Medina Jr.'s fascination with airplanes began well before he built a model of one as a teen-ager.
   When the 72-year-old's country asked for help fighting in World War II, he dropped out of Corpus Christi High School in the 11th grade to join the Army Air Forces.
   He went to war for four years and then came home to start his own business, Medina Plumbing Co., which in March celebrated its 50th anniversary. But he missed airplanes. One day one of his customers gave him an idea: the Civil Air Patrol.
   "I went to a meeting and then I joined," Medina said. "That was in 1968 and I still love to be in those planes."
   Medina volunteers for the Air Patrol, an auxiliary group of the U.S. Air Force, and has accumulated about 500 hours as an observer, who looks for things such as downed aircraft and drowning victims. Most of his missions are secret, so he says he can't say too much about them.
   "When there were three doctors who went down in the Valley, we looked for them non-stop for two days," Medina said.
   "They call me and I have to go at the last minute."
   Medina is very reliable and is the oldest member of the patrol, said Lt. Col. Mucio B. Garza, Group 3 Commander, Texas Wing, of the Civil Air Patrol.
   "He's a hard worker even though he's up in age," Garza said. "He goes with us on missions, not just the real ones but also the practice missions.
   Usually it's the pilots who get the glory, but I nominated him for this award because of how far back his service goes. He needs to be recognized."
   Medina has also been invaluable to the Air Patrol by escorting cadets in Peru, and when German cadets visited the Coastal Bend, he hosted their visit, Garza said.
   In 1979 he was one of about five Air Patrol officials who went to help flood victims of Hurricane Claudette in Pearland.
   For 17 years he was a volunteer with the St. Pius X Church's St. Vincent de Paul Society where he helped administer aid to the needy residents in Corpus Christi.
   "I think being a Catholic moves you to help others," Medina said. "I'm able to do things on my own expense. If I only had the time, I could do much more."
   One of his favorite volunteer activities is driving the eight hours to small mountain communities outside Arteaga, Mexico.
   Five times in nine years he has gone there to fix the plumbing in churches. Before he goes, he calls the local priest to ask for a shopping list.
   "I go out and use my own money to buy toilet paper, which is the first thing the priests usually ask for," he said. "Then they want paper towels and canned food. It's so cold up there in the mountains where I go and the priests have a Mass in different parishes each night. I get to go with them and meet all these people."
   Medina has been recognized as part of the 10th annual Caller-Times/Channel 6 Jefferson Volunteer Awards, which celebrate community volunteerism.
   Nominations are accepted throughout the year, and a community panel each month selects four honorees to be featured in articles and on Channel 6 News.
   In April 2001, 10 Jefferson Award winners, selected from among the volunteers featured throughout the year, will receive bronze medallions minted by the Franklin Mint for their efforts to enrich their communities and the lives of their neighbors.



Staff writer Stephanie L. Jordan can be reached at 886-3724 or by e-mail at jordans@caller.com

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