Warbird Information Exchange

Tom Danaher is a legendary pilot. He is credited with the last confirmed aerial kill of World War II as a night fighter pilot in Okinawa and he has flown stunts for Hollywood (remember the PC-6 Turbo Porter that landed on that tiny mountaintop strip in the movie Air America?) Tom has also owned and flown the same Grumman Goose for longer than anyone else that I've ever heard of - he bought s/n 1188 in 1963 as US military surplus in Japan and it has been registered as N291VW ever since.

I was very interested in getting in touch with Tom and being able to talk to him myself. Every e-mail address I ever found for him on the 'Net seemed to be out of date and my messages always came back "undeliverable." I finally resorted to old fashioned "snail mail" and sent him a letter back in June. Toward the end of July, one morning I found a message on my cell phone which had been turned off over night. Tom had called me back and had promised to try again. I never heard from him again and my efforts to call his own phone number in Wichita Falls, Texas went unanswered.

A couple of weeks went by and I still hadn't heard anything more from him. I eventually contacted Glen Hyde in Roanoke, Texas because I had talked to him about Gooses earlier in my career at Antilles Seaplanes and I figured that being only about 125 miles or so away from Wichita Falls and also being involved in the Goose community he had to know Tom, too.

Two weeks ago, Glen e-mailed me again and told me that Tom had gone over to England to visit the Farnborough air show and that he had a stroke while he was there. Glen said that he had heard that Tom was still in a hospital in the UK and promised to let me know when he heard anything more about Tom's condition.

Well, I still haven't heard anything more and I was wondering if any WIX members might have heard anything about Tom over on the other side of "the pond". Any information about Tom or his condition would be appreciated! Thanks!

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“To invent the airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything!” - Otto Lilienthal

Natasha: "You got plan, darling?"
Boris: "I always got plan. They don't ever work, but I always got one!"

Remember, any dummy can be a dumb-ass...
In order to be a smart-ass, you first have to be "smart"
and to be a wise-ass, you actually have to be "wise"

Hope the best for him, he put on a good show at Breckenridge in a Baron....

Friends of Tom Danaher: I saw him today at a local rehab center here in Wichita Falls. I've known Tom since age 4 when he took me for a ride in his Republic Seabee (s/n 150) and that was about forty-one years ago. I'm in close contact with him nearly every day along with a host of other friends. He was released from Wellington Rehab clinic in London this past Tuesday and came home via a CC Medical Lear 36A. The twelve hour flight was a little hard on him but we finally got him back home. He suffered a stroke and is doing okay but confused about a lot of things and they're working on that part as we speak. He seems to still remember all of his aviation experiences but does struggle with connecting current happenings. Today, he reminded me of the time he flew to San Antonio to pick up someone on request in his charter Bonanza. Turned out to be John Wayne! These kinds of stories go on and on with him and always have. What an incredible life he's had in aviation. He flew his first Corsair at age 19 and was flying a Curtiss Jenny until last month at the age of 86. Not a bad flying career!

P.S. I saw him practice the Baron act a couple of years ago and, with both props feathered, he still had the magic touch!

I spent a weekend with Tom a few years ago doing a photo session of his Goose. One of the most perfectly flown sessions I have ever been involved in. A superlative airman and the consumate gentleman. What a life he has led.

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Fly low. Fly slow, Fly safe.

Saw some friends today from Wichita Falls; they told me that Tom is in a nursing home (Rolling Meadows) there. He apparently has never recovered completely from the stroke he suffered a few years ago.

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Michael McMurtrey
Carrollton, TX

Yes, I remember him flying the Baron at Breckenridge too. Thanks for reminding me
Lynn...

Appreciate the update! Thanks. I believe that Tom will turn 90 this year. Wish he was doing better....

_________________
“To invent the airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything!” - Otto Lilienthal

Natasha: "You got plan, darling?"
Boris: "I always got plan. They don't ever work, but I always got one!"

Remember, any dummy can be a dumb-ass...
In order to be a smart-ass, you first have to be "smart"
and to be a wise-ass, you actually have to be "wise"

From KFDX-TV, 12 Sep 2014 (http://www.texomashomepage.com/story/d/ ... -WG-77EBAA):

For many decades, aviation legend and hometown hero, Tom Danaher soared among the clouds but tonight, family, friends and his admirers are mouring his death.
The 90 year-old passed away early this morning following a long illness.
Mechell Dixon spoke with his niece, B.J. Danaher this evening.

B.J. Danaher says services for her uncle, Tom Danaher, will take place next week in Wichita Falls.
And while there's sadness over his passing there is also respect and smiles over his adventurous life that kept him flying sky high.

The life and career of Tom Danaher can be summed up with one word. Soaring.
His passion for flying spans all the way back to World War II when Danaher was a Marine Corps fighter pilot flying Hellcats for the Marine's Night Fighting Squadron.
And he solidified his place as a proud member of the world's Greatest Generation when he was credited for shooting down the last Japanese bomber.
But Danaher wasn't just known for his wartime missions in World War II and Korea.
He also landed roles on the silver screen, like here as Colonel Marshal, in the 1987 movie Empire of the Sun.
Danaher also piloted planes in movies like Golden Eye and the 1985 award winning film, Out of Africa.
Seven years ago, at the age of 83 years young, this World War II fighter pilot took on a new challenge-- flying the World War I-era Curtis Jenny plane on many occasions for the Call Field Living Museum in Wichita Falls.

"It's the only plane I've ever flown that was more like a truck than it was a plane. (Laughs). It takes about the amount of muscles I've had when I was 22 years old or so," said Danaher, during an October 2007 interview.

Although Danaher's health started declining a few years ago, preventing him from piloting a plane, his niece tells us he never stopped talking about his love of planes and the freedom he felt while flying into the wild blue yonder.

Services for the 90 year old Tom Danaher, whom his relatives called "the adventurer and world traveler" of the family, are next week --
A vigil and visitation is Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Hampton Vaughan in Wichita Falls and Thursday, his funeral will begin at 3 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church followed by a Catholic Committal Service at Crestview Cemetery.

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Michael McMurtrey
Carrollton, TX

I've had the thought that this might happen soon in the back of my mind for a while Probably ever since I realized that he turned 90 this year. And of course, I was dreading it.

Godspeed Tom! You were a truly unique individual who made more than just one good mark on the world, in aviation and in other fields too. I only talked to you a couple of times, but you were always so open and frirendly and willing to share your time. I always heard the same from others, mutual friends and acquaintances, as well.

You will be missed....

_________________
“To invent the airplane is nothing. To build one is something. But to fly is everything!” - Otto Lilienthal

Natasha: "You got plan, darling?"
Boris: "I always got plan. They don't ever work, but I always got one!"

Remember, any dummy can be a dumb-ass...
In order to be a smart-ass, you first have to be "smart"
and to be a wise-ass, you actually have to be "wise"