WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?
Jon is an engaging speaker who offers memorable presentations about significant episodes in global history and challenging adventure-travel.
- Presentations for any size group
- Custom tailored to meet audience expectations
- Personal audience interaction
Please contact Jon to arrange a speaking appearance for your business, event, school, meeting or conference.
“Jon is an outstanding speaker, a can-do, positive force that thinks out of the box continually. He has the unique ability to develop and manage groundbreaking initiatives that impact lives. Most import, he's a great person...and anyone would be proud to say they are his friend.”
Greg Cayon
Former Air Force One Pilot, Presidents G.W. Bush and Bill Clinton
Presentation Topics
1. The Hmong Pilots of the U.S. Secret War in Laos Presentation Length: 45 minutes
This is a fascinating topic about the Hmong pilots who flew for America during the “U.S. Secret War” in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.
During the war, Laos was neutral, yet in 1971 the North Vietnamese launched an offensive into the territory of the Hmong, a peaceful, agrarian hill tribe.
To help defend their homeland, a group of Hmong men were specially selected and trained to fly combat aircraft. Flight instruction in Thailand was given by American instructor pilots with the patience and skill to teach the Hmong, who spoke little English and had seldom operated machinery larger than a motorcycle.
After training, these Hmong pilots returned home and became combat pilot legends. Most remarkable, their achievements came in the cockpit of the outdated North American T-28 attack aircraft. Stationed at a remote airstrip in Hmong hill country, they flew fearlessly and relentlessly during miserable weather and in forbidding mountainous terrain. Their motto was “Fly until You Die.”
This emotional presentation reveals many untold episodes about a war that was kept secret from the American public. It reveals insights into the Hmong people, their homeland, and the American combat pilots known as the “Ravens” who fought beside them under CIA cover.
Jon initiated and led a commemorative endeavor to honor these heroic Hmong pilots. Please Watch the Telly Award winning documentary video (22 minutes) about the Hmong pilot memorial dedication ceremony at the Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin.
2. Miracle Over Berlin: the 70th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift Presentation Length: 50 minutes
This topic is about the world’s greatest humanitarian relief effort, the Berlin Airlift, and the creative pilot who made it famous. It is a heartwarming reminder of American goodwill and generosity, epitomized during the airlift and also by Col. Gail Halvorsen, the Berlin “Candy Bomber.”
AIRLIFT HISTORY: The Berlin Airlift (1948-49) was a complete blockade of West Berlin by the Soviet Union, which cut off all supplies into the city. To keep the 2 million residents fed and warm though the winter, the WWII allies airlifted tons of food, coal, gasoline and medical supplies every day and night for 9 months, in all weather conditions.
In the aftermath of World War II, the beleaguered children of West Berlin had rarely tasted chocolate or candy. Knowing this, pilot Gail Halvorsen decided to drop sweets attached to small parachutes from his supply aircraft to the children below. His actions garnered international acclaim, and mounds of candy soon arrived at his airbase, sent by confectionary companies and good Samaritans. Halverson became affectionately known as the Berlin “Candy Bomber.”
In May, 2019, Jon travelled to Utah to personally invite the “Candy Bomber” to be an honorary crew member aboard the Tunison Foundation’s C-47 aircraft, Placid Lassie during the airlift’s 70th anniversary commemorative flying in Germany. Aboard the aircraft, Halvorsen, age 99, and his family were greeted by up to 60,000 people at every stop, demonstrating that the German people remain grateful for America’s goodwill during the airlift operations that saved their city from Communist occupation.
The 70th Anniversary event is documented in the award-winning documentary, “MISSON ACCOMPLISHED: Miracle over Berlin”. The 22-minute film may be viewed, below.
3. Mission to Normandy and the 75th Anniversary of D-day Presentation Length: 45 minutes
This presentation is a captivating account of the challenges and rewards of flying aging WWII aircraft to Normandy, France, in commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of D-day.
Jon is the former Executive Director of the Tunison Foundation, a nonprofit organization which owns and operates a WWII C-47 aircraft named Placid Lassie that actually flew on D-day, June 6, 1944.
In summer, 2019, Placid Lassie was the lead aircraft of the D-day Squadron, a fleet of 15 C-47 aircraft who flew from the United States to France to honor the anniversary of the invasion that began the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny.
In May, 2019, the squadron departed for Prestwick, Scotland, crossing the north Atlantic with refueling stops at Goose Bay Newfoundland and Reykjavik, Iceland. After arriving in Scotland, the squadron flew to Duxford U.K. prior to crossing the English Channel for Normandy on June 5, 2019.
Over Normandy, on the 75th Anniversary of D-day, Placid Lassie dropped paratroopers over the original Normandy drop zones, and led the presidential wreath laying ceremony flyover above Omaha Beach.
This presentation also shows that the French people have not forgotten about America’s sacrifices during WWII.
Watch the trailer for “Into Flight Once More”, a documentary about the D-day Squadron aircraft that returned to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of the world’s largest sea, land and air invasion.
4. Nothing Routine: Pioneering Global Adventures Presentation Length: 40 minutes
This subject takes your audience into exotic lands and pristine wilderness. From sea-kayaking remote islands in Southeast Asia, to traveling through Syria by public bus and trekking to “lost” mountain villages in Colombia, the viewer will see stunning photos and hear memorable episodes of intrepid challenges.
In each environment, creative approaches are required to achieve positive outcomes. The audience will learn how the insights gained by challenging adventure-travel can be applied to your personal or business life.
Along the way, you’ll be enlightened by empowering lessons that can only be discovered when leaving your comfort zones. When this presentation ends, the audience will be emboldened and inspired to embrace new encounters and overcome obstacles in all realms of life.
