By the time commercial aviation resumed, the California Civil Air Patrol volunteers had flown more than 132 hours, using 21 airplanes with 78 personnel for airlifting blood products and official passengers, according to Commanding Officer Kevin McDowell.

The Civil Air Patrol began on the East Coast as an outgrowth of civilian air defense efforts during World War II. CAP began by searching for German submarines that were sinking dozens of American ships in 1941. By the war's end, the CAP coastal patrol had flown 24 million miles and had found 173 submarines, attacked 57, hit 10 and sunk two. There are now more than 1,700 units nationwide.

To build its ranks, CAP started a cadet program for youth in 1942, and within six months there were more than 20,000 young volunteers across the country.

Working with cadets was an area of the organization that interested Willow Glen resident John Berger, a retired Navy chaplain, who first volunteered with the patrol 30 years ago as chaplain for a cadet squadron while stationed at Moffett Field in Mountain View.

"Part of the cadet program is lessons in moral leadership, and I was pleased to participate, " he says.

After assignments at several other Naval bases, Berger retired in 1997 and moved to Willow Glen. Then he joined Squadron 80 as its chaplain.

Shortly after joining Squadron 80, an accident caused the death of two patrol members, and Berger found himself immediately working in his new role.

"I've admired CAP's work from their beginning in the 1940s, long before I was associated with them. I've bonded with the members here, and we share a lot of fellowship. Even for the volunteers, the assignments can be stressful, so I'm here if anyone needs to talk to me. That's what you have a chaplain for," he says simply.

As a retiree, Berger is a busy man. In addition to CAP duties, he is chaplain for the USS Hornet, a WWII aircraft carrier permanently stationed at Pier 3 Alameda Point in Alameda, and is on call as a chaplain for the San Jose Police Department.

And like Berger, all the other volunteers take their responsibilities in CAP seriously.

McDowell commands the 29 senior CAP volunteers at Reid-Hillview airport. Adult members of CAP are called "senior members" to differentiate them from cadet members. The squadron meets every Monday evening and conducts frequent training exercises. Although he does not have previous military experience, McDowell was a private pilot in the early 1990s.

"After a 10-year break from flying, I thought working in the Civil Air Patrol would be an excellent way to give back to the community and resume flying," he says.

Part of CAP's mission is to educate the community by talking to schools, city councils and organizations.

In addition to the senior volunteers, San Jose has a separate cadet group, Squadron 36, commanded by Jerry Horne. The squadron is made up of young boy and girl volunteers from 12 to 18 years old. They participate in leadership training and assist at events like the Moffett Field Air Show. One of its well-known alumni is Air Force Capt. Kim Campbell.

"She kept her anti-tank aircraft from crashing after flying into an ambush over Baghdad, in the course of flying two dozen sorties over Iraq last year," McDowell says.

Yet many of the volunteers in CAP have no military experience, but that doesn't stop the group from attracting military veterans like San Jose resident George Rodriques, who joined after a 50-year career that included active service with the Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard and the California State Military Reserve.

San Jose resident Scott Lefaver, another retired veteran, became interested in joining CAP as one of the group's support staff after 9-11 "because I needed to do something for the community."

Lt. Col. Don Towse, San Jose Squadron 80's emergency services officer, has been part of CAP for 43 years, flying more than 400 hours. Towse is a World War II Navy veteran who joined CAP in 1961 when his son was a cadet. A retired geologist, he has watched as CAP's responsibilities have extended beyond its main mission of search and rescue.

CAP now works closely with the California Office of Emergency Services in times of natural disasters like fires and earthquakes.

Beginning last year, the group became affiliated with the Citizen Corps, which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, so that it could help raise public awareness about appropriate actions to take regarding emergency preparedness, disaster response and volunteer service.

CAP also supports Homeland Security efforts by providing coastal patrol, air/ground observation, radio communications and relay, aerial reconnaissance, air-to-ground photography, radiological monitoring and disaster and damage assessment.

The Civil Air Patrol was conceived in the late 1930s by aviation advocate Gill Robb Wilson, who foresaw aviation's role in war and general aviation's potential to supplement the United States' military operations. With the help of New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the Civil Air Patrol was established on Dec. 1, 1941, just days before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

Towse notes that the number of volunteers in San Jose has stayed about the same since he was their commanding officer in 1963, but "whenever we need help, people come in from other squadrons to lend a hand. There continues to be a great spirit of cooperation to complete our mission."