WWII vet gets his wish
Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:22 pm
Found thiss and thought you all might like it.
john
NH WWII pilot gets wish for final B-24 flight
By NORMA LOVE Associated Press Writer
Published: Friday, September 25, 2009 at 11:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 25, 2009 at 11:01 a.m.
MANCHESTER, N.H. - World War II pilot Bernerd Harding feels he has finally completed his mission - 65 years after his B-24, nicknamed Georgette, was shot down over Germany.
Harding, now 90, flew Friday from Laconia to Manchester aboard the Witchcraft - the last B-24 still flying.
The last time Harding flew a B-24, he was a 25-year-old first lieutenant piloting a bombing run to Bernburgh, Germany. On the way back, fighters crippled his plane, forcing him and his crew to bail out. Harding spent the rest of the war as a prisoner.
Harding said he felt his mission - his 14th - was incomplete without one more landing.
Harding is just back from Germany where he searched unsuccessfully for the pilot's wings he buried in a cellar after his capture.
john
NH WWII pilot gets wish for final B-24 flight
By NORMA LOVE Associated Press Writer
Published: Friday, September 25, 2009 at 11:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 25, 2009 at 11:01 a.m.
MANCHESTER, N.H. - World War II pilot Bernerd Harding feels he has finally completed his mission - 65 years after his B-24, nicknamed Georgette, was shot down over Germany.
Harding, now 90, flew Friday from Laconia to Manchester aboard the Witchcraft - the last B-24 still flying.
The last time Harding flew a B-24, he was a 25-year-old first lieutenant piloting a bombing run to Bernburgh, Germany. On the way back, fighters crippled his plane, forcing him and his crew to bail out. Harding spent the rest of the war as a prisoner.
Harding said he felt his mission - his 14th - was incomplete without one more landing.
Harding is just back from Germany where he searched unsuccessfully for the pilot's wings he buried in a cellar after his capture.
Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:46 pm
Isn't Ol 927 still flying? Witchcraft the ONLY B-24 flying? Trust the media....but verify!!! 
Cool story though.
Cool story though.
Fri Sep 25, 2009 4:42 pm
Wait until Gary sees this 
Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:37 pm
It looks like the multiple "nice" requests from the CAF at various levels to the Collings Foundation still continues to be ignored.
Rich, Jim, guys with Collings on here - can you guys please pound some sense into your PR people? I as an aviation enthusiast am saddened to see that the Collings Foundation PR people are unwilling to work with the CAF to tell the truth in their advertising (which, last time I checked was required by LAW) and correctly state that the aircraft is the only B-24J still flying and one of only 2 B-24s still flying.
It is a black mark on the Collings Foundation to me with all of the great work they've done as a whole to be so steadfast in their incorrect stance that 'Witchcraft' is the "only" B-24 flying.
[Edit/Addendum] - It was mentioned in PM that the "Press Releases" state B-24J. Unfortunately, I watched no less than 2 local TV stories during the last CF stop in North Texas were CF members and volunteers state "only B-24 flying" without the "J" on the end. The Press Releases are RARELY what the local media uses; they use interviews with the people on the ground. If they're not being careful to use "J" or just state that the aircraft is one of 2 B-24's still flying and that it's the only of its model (like most of the Ol' 927 volunteers do), then the media will continue to "misreport" the facts.
Rich, Jim, guys with Collings on here - can you guys please pound some sense into your PR people? I as an aviation enthusiast am saddened to see that the Collings Foundation PR people are unwilling to work with the CAF to tell the truth in their advertising (which, last time I checked was required by LAW) and correctly state that the aircraft is the only B-24J still flying and one of only 2 B-24s still flying.
It is a black mark on the Collings Foundation to me with all of the great work they've done as a whole to be so steadfast in their incorrect stance that 'Witchcraft' is the "only" B-24 flying.
[Edit/Addendum] - It was mentioned in PM that the "Press Releases" state B-24J. Unfortunately, I watched no less than 2 local TV stories during the last CF stop in North Texas were CF members and volunteers state "only B-24 flying" without the "J" on the end. The Press Releases are RARELY what the local media uses; they use interviews with the people on the ground. If they're not being careful to use "J" or just state that the aircraft is one of 2 B-24's still flying and that it's the only of its model (like most of the Ol' 927 volunteers do), then the media will continue to "misreport" the facts.
Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:59 pm
Collings Foundation: "the last B-24 still flying"
Rep. Joe Wilson: "you lie"
Rep. Joe Wilson: "you lie"
Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:15 pm
If Kermit would get his example flying, or another one gets pieced together somehow and put back in the air, wouldn't that be the best way to solve the problem? 
Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:07 pm
Thanks for posting the article, John.
I'm glad that Mr Harding was able to complete his fourteenth mission as he desired, regardless of the subsequent posts about bragging rights.
Scott
I'm glad that Mr Harding was able to complete his fourteenth mission as he desired, regardless of the subsequent posts about bragging rights.
Scott
Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:55 pm
i followed this from the getgo. glad some closure came none the less. no wings found, but still a taste of nostalgia for the old gentleman!!
Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:34 pm
Why the need to take a great story like this one, fulfulling a WWII vet's wish, and instead of discussing the greatness of this act, the posters go back to the same old peeing contest about how many B-24's are still flying. I am going to bet the gent who got his wish fulfilled wasn't really concerned about that when he was taking his ride. Maybe fellow posters should follow his lead.
Fri Sep 25, 2009 11:40 pm
ktst97 wrote:Collings Foundation: "the last B-24 still flying"
Rep. Joe Wilson: "you lie"
So what?
Who cares?
Yawn...
Sat Sep 26, 2009 1:35 am
Is there any chance that Kermit Week's B-24 will ever fly again?