Warbird Information Exchange

Although written in a fashion that demonizes wreck hunters, there is certainly a lot of truth to it.

Unfortunately those who are to blame, IMHO are the warbird brokers who have barged in to the scene over the last decade, simply to make a buck by elevating the cost/value of most warbirds.

Randy..... what you said holds true for a lot of stuff. Just remove the word warbird & replace with......



Could not resist....sorry off topic.

Simply a hit piece by a liberal rag.A number of remains have been recovered as a result of people finding these crashed birds.

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Hang The Expense

Demonizing, yes. Methinks writers Baron and Bender have an alternative agenda other than simple reporting.

Two things strike me as a bit odd: The writers strive to play the sympathy card for MIA veterans (on Memorial Day weekend, no less), yet don't present the feelings of the one surviving New Guinea vet mentioned in the article: Norb Ruff. I'd be more inclined to concur with Mr. Ruff's point of view concerning potential travesties committed against his fallen brothers than anyone else interviewed in the article. If the authors failed to interview Mr. Ruff, shame on them. If the authors did interview Mr. Ruff but failed to present his sentiments on the matter, greater shame on them.

The other oddity is just a matter of personal opinion: How on earth did Wendy Coble wind up in this article?

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

One comment on that article said it pretty well:

"The government has had over sixty years to recover the remains of these airmen. Obviously it hasn't been a high priority."

The US Govt in action.......

OH YEAH.... Other than "Empire of the Sun", who else ever called a P-51 "Cadillac of the Skies"?

Mark H

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Fly safe or you get to meet me .......

Wendy, the expert returns....

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"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass..."
Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto

Think what you will, but I know a number of "US Govt" people -- imbeciles, of course -- who work very diligently on locating, identifying, and recovering US MIAs and KIAs.

It is a lengthy, difficult, time consuming process that moves at a turtle's pace for many different reasons.

Spot on

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Hang The Expense

Wendy probably was the impetus behind the article. Sort of her last chance to get back at the crowd that interrupted her bureaucratic gig.

No mention of the scrap metal collectors who will eventually get to these wrecks and pick them apart or remove them entirely. And there's little mention of how what wrecks remain are on the verge of crumbling into dust and there is an urgency to recover and save what's left. Modern-day recovery is just as much a race to save what's about to be lost to time.

The writers certainly demonized the preservationists. While reading I kept wondering if a familiar name would come up--and it did. I suspect this individual was a 'major contributor' to the story and convinced a couple of uninformed newspaper reporters to do a story on his crusade.

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"They done it, they done it, damned if they ain't flew." December 17, 1903

I know some too. Negotiate with the State Department, local military forces, painstakingly apply modern archaeological techniques, sweat finding enough DNA and relatives for ID, endure local diseases and food, worm infestations, malaria, hostile locals. Yeah, I'm sure the wreck hunters would be right beside them, doing all that work at E-4 through O-3 and GS5- GS11 pay, doing a much better job.

I was honored and lucky enough to assist with identifying some aircraft parts from a pair of missing L-4 occupants. They had found a Bendix magneto which was correct for an L-4 circa 1944. They had spent time finding the pieces of a mountain side crash in conditions that I would describe as difficult at best. When I was contacted, they had already made tentative identification, but wanted to backstop the DNA with other evidence. The two people I spoke with had worked on this particular identification for nearly a year. In every contact I had with them, they struck me as highly professional and dedicated.

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REMEMBER THE SERGEANT PILOTS!

This is what got me started in Anthropology. The Hawaii team came to Korea to recover remains at Camp Casey and I got to help. If I ever graduate I'm thinking of volunteering for them.

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"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

Sooo... it seems to me that the MIA recovery team should post a notice that remains should be documented, as to where and when recovered, and sent to them.
Then they have the remains, or what was recoverable anyway, at no taxpayer expense, no bureaucratic process with indifferent countries to deal with, etc.
Then they do the DNA tests, and ship the remains to the families. The process has been greatly streamlined and remains have been recovered that otherwise would sit there or be lost.
The big thing, is that people can then be accounted for and listed as a certain KIA.
he!!, I'd even offer a reward to give people an incentive.
....But why be practical about it when you can make enemies instead of friends?

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All I did was press this red button here...

Couldn't resist posting a comment there - even if it means I get spam from now on.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.