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| Veteran airman returns to the skies decades later |
| 2004-08-02 |
| It's been 60 years since Dwight Nesmith piloted a B-24 bomber in the last of 40 Air Force combat missions he flew during the latter stages of World War II. But as part of the Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour's three-day stop in Manhattan in July, the 84-year-old Nesmith climbed aboard a restored Consolidated B-24 Liberator for a 30-minute flight. The bomber, along with a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, was on display at the Manhattan Regional Airport historic aircraft tour. Nesmith's flight was a Father's Day gift from his son, Thomas Nesmith of Albuquerque, N.M., who helped bring the Wings of Freedom Tour to Manhattan. He said his son had seen the bombers in New Mexico and learned the tour was making a stop in Kansas City. The tour will stop in 120 cities this year. "My son thought, as long as you're coming this close you might as well come to Manhattan," Nesmith said. "I haven't seen a B-24 since I got out of the service." The Collings Foundation asked for a $400 tax-deductible donation for the 30-minute flight. Nesmith said one of his neighbors questioned why someone would pay that much money to take off and land in the same place. "I told him every time I took off I was hoping I would land in the same place," Nesmith said. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #8 Another B-36 can be seen for free at the wright patt air museum in Dayton Ohio. They even have the goblin parasite fighter (XF-85) that would theoretically stayed in the B-36 and flown out to engage enemy fighters. |
| Posted by: Chemist 2004-08-02 5:40:59 PM |
| #7 Thx, Steve! BTW,though it doesn't say it on the page, for years it was wide open to anyone who wanted a look. Not even fenced in and with stairs to get inside. And I had forgotten that Amon Carter was later renamed GSW. Thx, again! My dad was a VP at General Dynamics when he died. Started out changing flats and such on the flight line at Carswell AFB in '46 when it was Convair. He moved up steadily and participated in developing the B-58 Hustler through the F-16. He was a member of the GD team that pitched the F-16 to NATO countries and set up joint mfg agreements for F-16 components. What a memory trip. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-02 3:55:53 PM |
| #6 .com, full story of the DFW B-36 can be found here. To make a long story short, no can fly. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-08-02 3:34:06 PM |
| #5 Cool post, Michael - I feel the same way. When that generation is gone, our loss will be beyond calculation. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-02 3:31:38 PM |
| #4 Our local Jr. HS has an annual WWII rememberance night. My 8th grade twins and I went not knowing what to expect. It blew me away. No rah, rah I'm reporting for duty BS. Just like the science fair, the gym was dominated by cafeteria tables and poster boards. One vet told stories of his Battle of Leyte Gulf experience and showed me photos, letters, post-cards, paintings relating to the fight and putting 1944 into context. But the kicker was the B-17 pilot whose plane's nose had been hit by flak or ME 109 over Germany, can't remember which. Bombadier dead, other crew members wounded. If you remember the scene from film "Memphis Belle", you'll know what I'm talking about. Anyway, the pilot had two choices. Try to make it back to England or land. He decided to land since he didn't think his plane was capable of making it back/evade fighters, plus he wanted to save the wounded crew members. He had the photos displayed that the Germans had taken of his aircraft. A crater instead of a plexiglass nose. But he had made a perfect landing in some meadow or forest clearing. Spent the rest of the war in a Stalag. Showed me the posters he and a group of theatre buffs made advertising their prison camp productions. Modest but proud guy. I was in awe. This from a guy you might see today at Walgreen's asking the pharmacist to speak up. That's how I look at the old fellows today at the supermarket. What could he tell me about the war? Wish I could talk to my late submariner dad. |
| Posted by: Michael 2004-08-02 3:20:11 PM |
| #3 Ship - I believe, not certain, that there is only one intact and flyable B-36 left - period. It sat at an airfield between Dallas and Ft Worth on Hwy 183 (Amon Carter Airfield, I think - where AA has it's training center and there's an FAA Enroute Center there, too, IIRC) for a long time - 35 years? - and people crawled through it to see - and pilfer souvenirs. Then sometime in the late 70's or early 80's some group decided to restore it. I believe they succeeded over the course of about 20 years to complete the job. A long-time DFW person could confirm - Jen? BTW - it was super-cool to crawl around inside it. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-02 3:15:55 PM |
| #2 I'm holding out for B-36s. Don't think there're any left flying? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-02 3:03:39 PM |
| #1 ...FWIW, stop by and see these magificent old warriors if they are in your neighborhood. I spoke to a Collings rep a couple years ago at an airshow and he said that as popular as they are (they usually pay their own way in tour admissions) the costs of insuring them is getting to the point where there will only be a few more nationwide tours before thy're restricted to their home fields forever. Believe me when I tell you that there is nothing that is as stirring as meeting the men - and sometimes the women - who helped build, fly, and maintain these old beasts. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-08-02 1:55:25 PM |