Please help us to find PV-2 Harpoon vets

[Taigh Ramey]

We are confirmed for taking our PV-2D to Oshkosh and then Topeka, KS for their show.

We are going to be featured at Warbirds in Review on Thursday August 1st at 10am at the EAA's Airventure. We would like to have all of the PV-2 veterans we can find. It is hard as so many are not with us or can't make it out much but we are hopeful we can track some down that might want to come and check out their old crew positions once again. Maybe we could even get them up for a flight too.

We are also going to Topeka, Kansas for their warbird show from late August 2nd through the morning of Monday the 5th. The really cool think about this is that all three of the flying Harpoons will be there together both static and flying. This could be the last gathering of Harpoons for some time so it would be wonderful to get any Harpoon/VPB vets to attend.

Please help us to find and track down anyone we can as it will be hard to make plans at this late a date. The sooner the better.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Taigh

[N3Njeff]

This is the link to what has to had been the best experience for anyone to have been apart of and I feel it fitting to repost it here.
http://tailspinstales.blogspot.com/2010 ... light.html

Hope you find them Taigh, they deserve it.

[Taigh Ramey]

I love that story Jeff.

Dave Hansen has met some vets in Attu Warrior too and we are hoping to meet a few ourselves. If just one vet sits at his crew position in 062 and says 'it is just like I remember' then all of the effort will have been worthwhile ten times over.

This is one of the reasons we are excited to get the PV-2 out to OSH because the more we get her out the better our odds are of vets finding us and hopefully they can relive some memories.

Selfishly we also get to listen to their stories!

[Dan K]

Taigh,

Have you suggested that EAA post your request on their daily news? It probably gets 10,000s of hits every day, plus you'll be targeting much of the crowd that's already headed towards OSH in July anyway. Perhaps grandpa is an old VPBer.

You might also try connecting with the Wisconsin Wing of the CAF. I used to pound on their Harpoon years ago and occasionally Ventura and Harpoon vets would visit. If any surviving PATWING 4 vets are still in the upper midwest, they might just know about them.


And how about posting here?

http://www.vpnavy.com/forum.html

[Taigh Ramey]

Hello Dan,

Good idea on the EAA daily news. Ill try that.

I did call Charles Gilpatrick at the CAF WI wing and he said that the few he knew of have passed away. Seemed to be a dead end. Incidentally we have a lot of the CAF wing project parts flying on our Harpoon. I tracked down a bunch of it when it was spread to the winds at Tim Savages bankruptcy auction a few years ago. I am glad that parts of that poor Harpoon, recently destroyed at the mini golf course, are back in the air on 062.

Ken is going to post on VP Navy shortly. Hasn't been a lot of action on that site lately.

I think trying the national networks with a human interest/WWII vet search story might have a shot of some national publicity. Who knows. I'll try anything to contact as many as I can before it is too late.

Thanks for the help

[N3Njeff]

Taigh,
You could probably get Chris Henry on it also? He has been posting some B-17 stuff on FB that he has been working on. Maybe you can get him going on the PV-2 search in that local area. Sad to say but these days, most of these guys are in assisted living homes. What sucks is that the ones to really see anyone looking for WW2 veterans that flew PV-2's would be the kids or grand kids and the extent of their knowledge of him is probably that he was a Navy Pilot.

[Dan K]

PV-1 vet Ross Packard from Poynette, WI (About 1.5 hour drive SW from OSH). News item from 2012:

http://www.hngnews.com/poynette_press/n ... 8005c.html

[Dan K]

Perhaps the the Attu Warrior bunch could get you reconnected with Jim Daly/Daley and his family:

http://pv2attuwarrior.blogspot.com/

[Taigh Ramey]

Perhaps the the Attu Warrior bunch could get you reconnected with Jim Daly/Daley and his family:

http://pv2attuwarrior.blogspot.com/

I have checked with Dave Hansen and he sent me the contact information for Mr. Daly and other vets family members. I have sent emails and I hope to hear back from them. Mr. Daly lives in Broomfield, Colorado so if nothing else we will stop there on the way back and bring the airplane to him.

Thanks for your help Dan.

[Dan K]

PV-1 vet Ross Packard from Poynette, WI (About 1.5 hour drive SW from OSH). News item from 2012:

http://www.hngnews.com/poynette_press/n ... 8005c.html

Doh! Sorry...got my vets mixed up. Packard retired in Texas.

The hunt continues...