Midland, Texas, is a world away for a guy from New Jersey. Half way between Fort Worth and El Paso, it is the heart of the West Texas oil country. Looking down from right seat of the C-45, The Bucket of Bolts, the flat and barren landscape stretched to the horizon with little more than patches of cactus and brush interspersed with oil wells. But the town, which serves as the administrative center of the petroleum-producing region known as the Permian Basin, also is something of an aviation oasis. The Commemorative Air Force is headquartered here at the Midland International [...]
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Saturday, October 6, 2012 – Commemorative Cooperation in Oklahoma City
The sky is a slate gray. The wind, out of the northeast, has the flags flapping straight out. The crew is layered in fleece and flight jackets over flight suits to ward off the cold. Welcome to the Fall Tour. I joined the crew here in Oklahoma City on Tuesday afternoon. FIFI has been touring for the past two weeks close to home with stops in Tyler, Texas; Little Rock and Fayetteville, Arkansas; and then Tulsa before coming here. Our first day was sunny and with temperatures in the mid-70s and the ramp was crowded – with planes and [...]
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FIFI is Back Home in Addison, Texas
We want to thank all of you that followed our tour blog. This was a first for us and we hope you enjoyed the stories shared by the veterans and their families that we met on tour. The purpose of this site is to give you a small glimpse into a Day in the Life of the B-29/B-24 Squadron on Tour. FIFI and Diamond Lil are currently back home on Addison, Texas getting some much needed care and attention. We have one final tour of the season starting September 18th. Be sure to visit our web site at www.cafb29b24.org for [...]
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Thursday, August 16, 2012 – Surviving the Great Tokyo Raid
A Japanese Woman Shares Her War Experience Yesterday, August 15 was the anniversary of V-J Day—the day Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender ending World War II. “I really remember August 15, the emperor’s announcement that the war is finished because we surrender,” Eedy Marlette said. She was just 20 years old, living outside of Tokyo near what is the Narita Airport today. “They told everybody at 12 o’clock, Emperor’s special announcement. We surrender…and everybody cry,” she said as she gazed across the ramp at the plane that ended the war 67 years ago. Eedy had never seen a B-29 before. [...]
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Tuesday, August 14, 2012 – A Daughter Connects to the Father She Never Knew
A wedding ring. Two or three shoe boxes of letters. A uniform jacket. A set of wings and captains bars. A photo. Dog tags. And a name. That’s about all Jamie Lee Schleicher Lewis has of her father. United States Army Air Force Captain James Lee Schleicher was killed in action on June 26, 1944 when the B-29 he was piloting crashed in India. Jamie was born three months later. “As you can see I was named after him,” Jamie said. “I have a few of his things, not many.” According to the American WWII Orphans Network there were at [...]
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Sunday, August 12, 2012 – Sweet Home Chicago
Four Generations of Family The first time Elmer Witte saw a B-29 he was in Ft. Worth, Texas, where he was training in the B-24. “I saw a huge tail sticking up over the hangar. We stopped to take a look and climbed up,” he said. On Friday, he stopped in Dupage to take a look at FIFI. And again he climbed up and took his seat on the right side of the cockpit. The last time he saw a B-29, much less sat in one, was in 1946 when he was stationed on the Philippines. He came with his [...]
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Thursday, August 9, 2012 – A Gem of a Museum in a Proud Community
Kalamazoo is a small town in the middle of Michigan. It is a place where people have roots, they know their history and they are proud of it. Our host for the past few days has been the Air Zoo, an amazing little gem of an aviation museum nestled on the west side of the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport. Founded in 1977, it has 50 rare and historic aircraft, several full motion simulators and aviation-themed amusement park rides – making it both educational and fun. Among the treasures is the only Curtis-Wright XP-55 Ascender, a prototype World War II fighter. [...]
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Tuesday, August 7, 2012 – An Anniversary to Commemorate
67 Years After the Atomic Bomb “A short time ago, an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima and destroyed its usefulness to the enemy. …The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold. And the end is not yet.” With those words spoken 67 years ago today, President Harry S. Truman announced the atomic bomb to the world. One day earlier, August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, dropped a single bomb, named “Little Boy.” It took 43 seconds to fall from an altitude of 30,700 feet to the detonation point of [...]
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Sunday, August 5, 2012 – My Grandfather’s Chocolate
Putting Context to “Whopa’s” Stories As a kid Brady Lane grew up listening to his grandfather, “Whopa” [prounounced hoop-a], tell stories about World War II. Arthur McElmurry was the pilot of the B-29, Pretty Baby. Sitting in the right seat (the aircraft commander sat in the left seat), McElmurry flew 35 missions off of the North Field on Tinian—the same runways the Enola Gay used for its historic mission. “When I would stay at my grandfather’s house, he had all his medals in a little shadow box,” Brady said. “I remember, all the time just stopping in the hallway and [...]
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Thursday, August 2, 2012, Ypsilanti, MI – Oshkosh Wrap Up on the way to Thunder Over Michigan
The week after Oshkosh always leaves me a little sad. After being immersed in an environment that can only be described as aviation overload, the planes and people leave Wisconsin and Wittman Field returns to a regular airport. But oh what a week we had! FIFI and our amazing crew were constantly flying and got all of our flights in, even when weather caused a few delays. We had passengers from Belgium, Wisconsin and Belgium, Europe. Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, came out and took a look at FIFI; air show performer Matt [...]
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