We just had a big birthday celebration for 
my wife Ingrid (Bakker) Vest. We had five 
ONA veterans in attendance. 

Depicted in the photo are 
Captain Kenneth Healy, ONA Chief Pilot 
for the DC-7 Pacific Division based in 
Oakland, Ca. 1959 through 1961. Ken 
left ONA to complete his career with 
World Airways as a senior executive 
and flying the B-707, 727, 747, DC-8 
and DC-10. Ken turned 93 years young 
this month and should still be flying 
airplanes.

Ursula Schafer (Eckhardt), one of the 
three lovely ladies that were Ground 
Hostesses in Frankfurt during the 
1959-1960 Military contract. They took 
splendid care of our passengers and the 
crews when they transited their station. 

Ursula (Uschi to her dear friends) joined 
me at International Airlines, Inc. in Berlin 
in 1963. Later on she returned to ONA where 
she met and married Herb Eckhardt.

Ingrid (Bakker) Vest, one of the three lovely 
Ground Hostesses in Frankfurt was with ONA 
in 1959 and 1960. When the military contract 
ended in late 1960 she immigrated to the 
U.S.A. and became a TWA stewardess. She 
and I were married in November of 1962 and 
here we are nearly 47 years later.

Herb Eckhardt, joined ONA in 1966 and was 
based in Frankfurt where he was in charge 
of all ONA aircraft maintenance for Europe, 
Africa and the Middle East. After ONA he 
spent some time with National and Wardair. 

After many years in aviation Herb and Uschi 
settled in Canada and started their own very 
successful business just south of Vancouver.

Yours truly, bringing up the rear in the 
picture. I joined ONA in March of 1960 as a 
DC-6 Captain based at Idlewild (JFK) airport. 
I was transferred to Oakland in November of 
1960 to fly the DC-7. When we had the major 
furlough in February of 1961 I accepted a 
position with Air Jordan of the Holy Land 
and became their Chief Pilot. I spent about 
two years in the Middle East. Ingrid and I 
were married in November of 1962 and shortly 
after I returned to the Boston area where 
she was based with TWA. Early 1963 I accepted 
the Chief Pilot position with International 
Airlines based in Berlin. We expanded and 
moved the airline to Shannon, Ireland in 
late 1964 and part of the expansion included 
the employment of former ONA Captain Frank 
Kleczek. Late 1965 I was offered a job with 
World Airways where I was reunited and worked 
for Captain Healy. In 2005 I finished off 
my aviation career after forty years of 
service at World Airways. My commercial 
aviation career started as an ONA DC-6 Captain 
flying the North Atlantic at the age of 24. 

I will always remember the great crewmembers 
we had pushing those five DC-6 aircraft back 
and forth over the Atlantic with outstanding 
reliability. 

We can truly call those the good old days.
Incidentally, on their drive down from Canada 
Herb and Uschi stopped by Santa Rosa, Ca. and 
visited Captain Bob Love.  
  
I hope this picture and short note will refresh 
memories for some of the great old-timers.
Sincerely, Warren Vest 
March 28, 2009