Honoring Bath Veterans: Jim and Lynn Olschlager

by Laura Bednar

This year, the United States of America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As part of the celebration, the Bath Country Journal will run a series of articles throughout the year highlighting early war veterans from Bath Township, starting with the Revolutionary War and progressing through each historical conflict. Through the articles, residents can reflect on military virtues of honor, courage and self-sacrifice that have inspired soldiers as well as civilians since the founding of the republic.

Jim Olschlager wanted to join the United States Air Force after hearing about it at his fourth-grade career day. Lynn Olschlager joined the Air Force after high school because of a desire for adventure. Both found what they were looking for by enlisting, and in turn, found each other.

Lynn joined the service at age 18 in 1978 and spent four years in a supply squadron ordering, tracking inventory and distributing aircraft parts. She reported to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, where she worked in parts warehouses and dispatched drivers to transport the parts. She later became a driver herself, earning the rank of sergeant by the end of her service.

Jim joined the Air Force in 1976, directly after high school, and was assigned to Hill Air Force Base in 1977 as a crew chief aircraft maintenance specialist, performing inspections on F-4 and F-16 fighter planes.

“We tear the airplanes apart every 100 hours and look for defects. We fixed what we found,” said Jim. This included changing filters, upgrading systems, changing engines and removing ejection seats.

He met his wife, Lynn, in the stairwell of the base barracks. She offered to treat them to ice cream if he would drive. That was in May 1978. Their first official date was when she asked what an F-4 plane was, and Jim proceeded to show her the aircraft on the base.

“We married in July of 1979, 14 months after we met,” said Lynn.

In 1980, Jim took on his next role with the 421st aircraft maintenance unit, working on F-16 aircraft. He was the dedicated crew chief for one aircraft and promoted to squadron commander crew chief for another. This included aircraft maintenance, troubleshooting malfunctions, performing functional checks and supervising maintenance personnel.

“It was the first fighter squadron that was operationally ready for the F16,” he said.

In June 1982, Jim received a call that changed his life when he was asked to be a member of the Thunderbirds, a precision air performance squadron of fighter planes. He returned to where he and other airmen had been waiting for a visit from a general and excitedly said, “I made it,” not realizing he was interrupting the general’s speech. When Jim explained, the general responded, “Outstanding.”

Jim said he was chosen for the post after three crashes in the early 1980s of airshow airplanes caused the Air Force to rebuild the program. There is a military objective in performing at air shows aside from amazing crowds with unique formations in the sky. The air maneuvers determine the plane’s abilities, the pilot’s level of expertise and how the plane is maintained, Jim’s area of expertise.

He started as crew chief for one of the Thunderbirds’ lead solo show aircraft, moving to crew chief of a traveling spare aircraft, both F-16s. He then became flying crew chief, logging over 130 flying hours in F-16 and T-38 aircraft, sitting in the backseat.

His responsibilities were to arrive at the show location prior to the event and prepare the area, meet with safety forces and do a site survey while in flight, including upside down. This included airshows nationally and internationally. He ended his five years with the Thunderbirds as crew chief for Thunderbird No. 8 aircraft.

In 1985, Jim was awarded the Fitzgerald Trophy, named for a major who died in a Thunderbird aircraft accident, for his work as the advanced crew chief for the No. 8 and support at airshows. An article about Jim’s award noted his “positive attitude and cheerful nature” made him a valuable team player. He also was recognized for providing orientation flights for media representatives.

Jim said he prepared Nevada broadcaster Steve Wolford for a ride in his unit’s aircraft. Wolford also spent time in Ohio as an anchor for WEWS (Channel 5). Jim had a celebrity encounter with actor Craig T. Nelson, who was taping the TV show “Call of Glory” in 1984 at Edwards Air Force Base. “We taught him the inspection items, and he helped me clean the airplane,” said Jim.

His next assignment was at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he was the crew chief and flight mechanic for the Air Force chief of staff. “We were responsible for flying the three top generals in the Air Force,” Jim said.

He became dedicated crew chief for the airplane and instructor for the craft and crew responsibilities. “We did 99.99% of the maintenance on the airplane,” Jim said, noting the manufacturer was the only other entity that touched the planes.

Jim logged over 1,000 flying hours as a C-21 flight evaluator, supporting avionics testing and evaluation.

When he moved to Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, he was the equipment maintenance squadron flight chief and production superintendent. “I was first rotation for operation Desert Storm,” he said. His duties included administrative work, handling disciplinary measures as well as the aircraft maintenance, crash recovery and repair on F-117 and T-38 aircraft.

Lynn said one of her civilian jobs was with Association Growth Enterprise in Maryland. The company made care packages and donations for service members during Desert Storm.

Jim moved back to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, where he was the noncommissioned officer in charge of repair and reclamation for F-15, A-10 and F-4 aircraft. “If an airplane crashes we go get it,” he said, adding that he trained crash recovery crews.

His crew also accessed the cockpit and opened the canopy for firefighters to reach incapacitated pilots.

In 1994, he spent a year in Korea as production superintendent for the flight line maintenance at the Kunsan base. He also managed the hot pit area and would refuel the planes while their engines were still running.

The next year he returned to Nellis as the lead production superintendent with the fighter weapon school F-16 division. “I checked every flying airplane every morning,” said Jim.

He ended his military career in 1997 as a master sergeant. Five days after his retirement, he attended the state police academy in Carson City, Nevada, and became a Las Vegas state trooper. He retired in 2016 as a lieutenant after 18 years. He and Lynn soon moved to Bath to be closer to family, as Jim is an Ohio native.

The Olschlagers’ children are also veterans; their daughter served in the Army, their son in the Navy. Both had the same initial departure date of Sept. 10, 2001. Their daughter spent seven years in the military, and their son has spent over 20 years in the service, becoming a Navy corpsman.

Jim’s Air Force uniforms are part of an exhibit in the MAPS Museum at the Akron/Canton Airport, along with an informational panel about him.