Caribou at Oshkosh side story

[FG1D Pilot]

Bob was the original crew chief on the museum's Caribou. He was assigned another Caribou, while in Viet Nam, which crashed on a mission that he had traded with another crew chief. After the story ran in Oshkosh, the widow of another of Bob's friends who was killed in that crash, contacted Bob. He had never had contact with her and she never knew how her husband was killed. We arranged to go pick her up and bring her to Oshkosh. Bob and Jackie spent the day going over what happened to Carl and how he was making this scrap book for his son. It was an unbelievable event and brought closure to both. Bob has had 40 plus years of guilt over the death of his friend and wondered if he was somehow to blame. Jackie assured him that she had no bad feelings toward him. When we left Oshkosh, we flew over her house so she could see and hear it in the air. She had her brother there for support.

This is why we do what we do.

You may have to copy and paste to make it work.
http://gannett.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/ ... errer=staf






photos by Scott Slocum

[warbird1]

Wow, that's awesome! That's what makes it all worth it - to honor the Veterans and their sacrifices.

[retroaviation]

Nicely done, Doug. Y'all do great things at your museum and with your museum's aircraft.

Gary

[Ztex]

Great story! Good on you guys!

And your right

This is why we do what we do.

That's what the whole movement is about!

[TAdan]

Wow, what a great story.

I spotted the Caribou taxing past the EAA webcam yesterday.

[bdk]

And also thanks for taking the effort to preserve, fly and maintain what some might call a not very sexy- but important aircraft type. Great story!

[lestweforget]

A very moving story. Hats off to the people who do what you do.

[Robbie Stuart]

Doug thats a great story. You guys are the best. Keep up the great work.
Robbie

[DaveG]

That's a wonderful story and, as everyone else has said, it certainly brings perspective to things.

I'd enjoy WIX a lot more if more threads were like this. I sure get tired of reading about the latest alleged NMUSAF transgression or CAF tramp stamps or all the other clutter.

[Obergrafeter]

It's neat that you are now doing with Viet Nam Vets what we have done so many years for the WWII guys. So sad that there is so many fewer of the times we can do it for them. I know quite a lot of VN vets that still have a sour taste in their mouths and maybe by doing what Doug and some others are doing can change that in just a little way.