By Raiza Giorgi

A huge crowd of enthusiastic spectators enjoyed Solvang’s Fourth of July parade, with several saying the spectacle left them exhilarated.

“It was a great parade and really showed off our small-town and American pride,” said Frank Kelsey, executive director of Santa Ynez Valley Youth Recreation.

Valley resident Melissa Friend said the weather was great, and her children really loved watching all the different entries.

The festivities started with a concert by the Santa Ynez Valley Wind Ensemble at Solvang Park.

Singing the National Anthem was Solvang Elementary School student Libby Padfield, who was a finalist for the Teen Star Santa Barbara competition last winter.

The annual parade included 77 entries, according to members of the Solvang Rotary Club, which sponsors the event each Independence Day.

Thousands of people wearing red, white and blue lined the streets of Solvang to watch the parade. Kids eagerly waited for people on floats to toss out candy and hand out flags. Several kids shared their treats with other kids who weren’t fast enough to get their own.

The crowd applauded and cheered as Grand Marshal Jim Kunkle Sr. and his wife Ruth were driven along the parade route.

A highly decorated fighter pilot in World War II, Kunkle broke formation while flying over enemy lines to save his fellow pilots from enemy fire. He took out two planes before being shot down, bailing out, and being rescued by Allied ground troops.

“The weather was near perfect,” said Rotary member Allan Jones, who was the parade announcer along with Jason Stiff of KCOY television.

The entry that took the Sweepstakes Award was the Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Model A Clubs for their very patriotic decorations.

The prize for the most amusing entry went to the “Friars on Tires” by the San Lorenzo Seminary, as their friars rode in the parade on bicycles.

The Santa Ynez Elks took home the award for best tractor. The Charros of Santa Ynez were named the best riding group, among groups of cowboys and dancing Andalusian horses with their flowing manes and tails.

The festivities kept going into the afternoon with a barbecue by the Solvang Rotary and free concerts — by the T-Bone Ramblers in the park and by the Santa Ynez Valley Master Chorale, which presented a free concert of Americana, traditional and patriotic music in the sanctuary at Mission Santa Inés.

The Rotary Club of the Santa Ynez Valley sponsored the afternoon festival at Mission Santa Inés featuring food booths, s wine and beer garden, kids’ activities that included a bounce castle and face-painting, and time to kick back and socialize before their fireworks show at 9 p.m. All proceeds from the festival benefit local charities.

July 4 parade winners

Sweepstakes  –  Santa Ynez Valley & Santa Maria Model A Clubs

Best Use of Parade Theme  – Rotary Club of Solvang

Most Patriotic – Daughters of the American Revolution

Most Amusing – San Lorenzo Seminary “Friars on Tires”

Most Unique –  Capuchin Franciscans – Old Mission Santa Ines

Most Creative – Friends of the Library

Best Band –  Santa Ynez Valley Jazz Band

Best Singing Group – Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.

Best Singing, Single – Libby Padfield – National Anthem

Best Family Group – Sherieff Family – Herbie the Love Bug

Best Church Group – SYV Presbyterian Church

Best Senior Group – Atterdag Village

Best Animal Group – Willow Creek Ranch Family and Friends

Best Wagon, Single – Santa Maria Elks Lodge No. 1538

Best Automobile Group – Vapor Trail Vettes

Best Automobile, Single – Jim and Lynn Axtell’s ’56 T-Bird

Best Automobile, Restored – SB County Sheriff’s Paddy Wagon

Best Automobile, Antique  –  Vincent Vineyards and Winery, 1950 Packard Woody Station Wagon

Best Fire Engine –  Engine 30, Solvang Fire Department.

Best Tractor –  Santa Ynez Valley Elks

Best Equestrian Group – Eagle Flight Farms

Best Riding Group – Charros of Santa Ynez

Best Viking Ship – Vikings of Solvang

Best Color Guard – American Legion Post No. 160

Road Apple Crew – Lucky Clover 4-H

Best Clown – PCPA Theaterfest, Erik Stein

Best Sport Group –  SYVUHS Boys Water Polo Team

Best Military Group –  Flat Fender Friends

Best Walking Group –  SYV Community Action Alliance

Best Dancing Group –  Garcia Dance Studio

Most Energetic – Gymnastics North and Parks & Rec Department

Best Group for a Cause – Lompoc Shriners

Best School Group –  SYVUHS Robotics Club

Best Youth Group –  AYSO Soccer

Best Audience Participation – Veggie Rescue

Best Dog – “Sunny” Jim Summerlin

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There were no ejection seats in the planes James Kunkle flew during World War II.

A pilot like Kunkle who was lucky enough to survive being hit by enemy fire would have to climb out of his plane as it plunged to Earth, avoid being hit by the plane, and then open his parachute.

“I talk to these young pilots who just press a button nowadays, and they can’t imagine having to climb out of their planes,” Kunkle said.

Kunkle will be honored as the grand marshal for the Fourth of July Parade on Independence Day in Solvang Tuesday.

First Lt. James Kunkle is seen at the A-78 airfield in Florennes, Belgium during World War II.

The decorated combat veteran recently talked about his journey to becoming a pilot and how being around airplanes has shaped his entire life.

The theme of the annual parade, sponsored by the Solvang Rotary Club, will be “American Heroes”. Kunkle is just that, although he is very modest as he talks about his time in the war, saying that anyone in his position would do the same thing.

For as long as Kunkle can remember of his more than 90 years, he has always loved airplanes and wanted to be a fighter pilot.

“Planes were a remarkable thing when I was a young kid. I remember being awed when we were listening to the tales of Charles Lindberg’s flight across the Atlantic Ocean in that rickety plane of his. The days of flying were newer then, and people would dress up to be on an airplane,” Kunkle said.

He did meet Lindberg once and was able to speak with him for a few moments. He recalls Lindberg as a nice man and feels honored to have met his hero.

Kunkle and his mother moved to West Hollywood from Pennsylvania when he was 9 years old, after his father died.

When he was a junior at Beverly Hills High School, Europe became engaged in the war.

“I knew we would be getting involved, and I thought if I wanted to fly I better get some experience. I joined the National Guard and worked at the airport.”

He then got a job in April 1941 working for North American Aviation, building planes. He eventually went to Lockheed where he was an inspector on P-38s and spent as much time flying as he could.

“It cost $6 an hour to fly then, which was expensive since most people made 50 cents or a little more an hour,” he recalled.

Kunkle said he was riding his horse in Griffith Park when a friend of his, musician Johnny Johnson, found him and told him about the attacks on Pearl Harbor.

“I thought ‘Gosh, I better get to the recruiting office and sign up,’” Kunkle recalled.

After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government lowered the age and education limits for enlisting, because they needed more people to sign up.

“I got my dream fulfilled to become a fighter pilot and was sent to London. I respect my fellow aviators from England and Canada and South Africa that came to fight,” Kunkle said.

He was assigned to the 9th Air Force, which was responsible for supporting the ground troops after D-Day. They were also in charge of attacking anything that moved, as they wanted to cut off supplies to enemy forces.

On Sept. 15, 1944 we was shot down near Aachen, Germany, while protecting fellow pilots.

He wasn’t able to communicate with his command and broke from formation to attack the enemy alone. He was able to hit two enemy aircraft before his plane was shot down. He suffered multiple burns as he climbed out, but he was able to open his parachute and land near some American infantry.

World War II veteran and Santa Ynez Valley resident James Kunkle met then-President Barack Obama at D-Day ceremonies in Normandy in June 2009.

Kunkle was honored with the Distinguished Service Cross and honored by then-President Obama and French President Sarkozy in a D-Day commemoration ceremony in June 2009.

After Kunkle was shot down, treated for his burns and released from the hospital, he was flown to Portland, Ore., where he helped to test the latest flight equipment and was preparing to go back to the Pacific for the invasion of Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped, which ended the war.

“Some of the unsung heroes of the war were the WASPS (Women Airforce Service Pilots). I knew most of them and those that flew knew them, but they weren’t recognized at the time they should have been,” Kunkle said.

He also had a great friendship with Barbara Erickson London, a pioneering woman pilot who helped pave the way for other women aviators.

“Those gals were amazing and were integral to the effort,” he said.

Kunkle’s friend Barbara Erickson London was a heroic aviator who helped pave the way for the women pilots who played a pivotal role in World War II.

Kunkle helped teach London’s daughter to fly, and her granddaughter flies airplanes in the Santa Barbara area.

“When the war ended I spent more time in the military, flying some of our first jets, and I wanted to stay on active duty. It was amazing to be able to fly the P84 Thunder Jet, and when I finally got out of the military in 1948 I went back to the family business of selling shelf paper,” Kunkle said.

The shelf paper business was very successful; their company sold paper that was treated with a safe insecticide, which killed bugs on contact.

“The South had a real bug infestation problem in those days, so our paper was super popular. It afforded me to get out of the business and get back into aviation, developing and building hangars,” he said.

Kunkle and his first wife moved to the Santa Ynez Valley in the 1970s because they loved the Santa Ynez Airport and its potential. After her death, Kunkle met his wife Ruth. They say their relationship started with love at first sight. She worked at an airport in Colorado where Kunkle was developing hangars.

“We just love flying together. This airport is our second home. What better way to spend our retirement than flying at the best little airport?” Ruth said.

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