6 decades of empty graves, and families with no answers, is finally coming to an end.

The gravestone next to his mother has been waiting for him for more than 60 years. On Saturday, the remains of Army Pvt. Leonard Kittle of Caney, Kan., finally will be placed beneath it.

The shift of a glacier in Alaska two years ago released the remains of a C-124A Globemaster cargo plane that crashed on a mountain near Anchorage in 1952, killing Kittle and 51 other military personnel. DNA testing in April confirmed Kittle’s identity.

Surviving family members said they have been through an emotional cycle, churning from surprise and joy that the plane was found through a new round of grief, followed by a sense of relief that DNA testing ultimately identified him, and finally happiness that he is home and they can get some closure.

“We can put him to rest beside his mother,” said Kittle’s wife, Sandra Kozak, 79, who lives in East Troy, Wis. “She never believed he got on that plane. She thought he had amnesia and was living in Canada. She believed that till the day she died. There was no body, and she just couldn’t accept that.”


This summer is the fourth that U.S. troops and civilians have combed Colony Glacier in Alaska to recover wreckage and identify 52 service members aboard a C-124 Globemaster II that crashed in 1952.

The mission was launched after the plane's wreckage was rediscovered in 2012. Every summer since then, military members and civilians have returned to the crash site to remove debris and human remains.

The glacier moves between 200 and 300 meters each year, and as it recedes, more of the wreckage becomes exposed, Cocker told Air Force Times on July 1. There's no way to tell how long it will take for all the wreckage to become unearthed.

Service members recovered between 4 and 5 tons of debris during this year's operation, which lasted from June 8-25, Cocker said. Up to nine service members were tasked with collecting aircraft debris on the glacier, another 12 service members collected human remains and personnel effects, and dozens of others from the Army National Guard helped transport teams to the glacier and back.

The mission is about more than cleaning up a crash site, Cocker told Air Force Times. The operation's purpose is to provide resolution to the relatives of those who had been on board the C-124. So far, 17 of the 52 service members aboard have been identified and returned home.

"The main effort is to be able to identify and provide to the family members of the deceased whatever personal effects we can send to them, and just the knowledge that, yes, your loved one was found," Cocker said. "A lot of the guys on the aircraft maybe have brothers or sisters or even kids or grandkids that for the past 60 years don't really know what happened to their family member. Now we're providing them some of those answers."

http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/07/04/alaska-crash-recovery-mission/29586319/

http://www.kansas.com/news/article1146658.html

the most flown warbird in WW2 European operations, Flak Bait, is getting some long overdue attention

Flak-Bait came to the Smithsonian in 1960 after being meticulously dismantled and sent home from Europe following the conclusion of the war. Surviving 207 bombing runs during its war service, it flew more missions than any other American plane in the conflict. The service life of a typical B-26 Marauder was between 15 and 20 missions, on average.

Stored for nearly two decades after its return, the forward section of the plane with its iconic nose art went on display in the museum in 1976. The rest of the plane—dents, patches, grease and all—stayed in storage. The plane was so well packaged for storage that the conservation team found bright red hydraulic fluid still inside one of the plane’s brake lines.

Imagine having to discern the accumulated dirt of storage from the historically valuable mud from European airfields still splattered on the plane’s belly and wheel wells. Or cleaning away grimy dust yet preserving the oil-spattered patina ejected from the plane’s notoriously thirsty engines. One effort consisted of extracting a series of artifacts–Wrigley’s gum wrappers, cigarette butts, chaff shavings and bomb tags–from entrenched dirt built up in the seam between two bomb bay doors.

Because the work is so painstaking and happens alongside other long-term museum work, conservators don’t expect the plane to be ready for display until 2021.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/military-vehicle-news/restoring-the-iconic-b-26-flak-bait.html

landing stolen planes in Manhattan, used to be a bar bet winning move

Tommy Fitzpatrick stole a plane from a New Jersey airport and landed it on St. Nicholas Avenue in northern Manhattan, right in front of the bar where he had been drinking around 3 a.m. on Sept. 30, 1956, when he was 26. He took a single-engine plane from the Teterboro School of Aeronautics in New Jersey and took off without lights or radio contact and landed on St. Nicholas Avenue near 191st Street. It was reported as a “fine landing” by the New York Times.

 It would provide enough material to tell everyone and anyone "Remember the time when Fitz landed that plane outside?" Naturally, people wouldn't believe he did it. So he did again two years later to prove it. Both daredevil landings were made in incredibly narrow areas, in the dark – and after quite a number of drinks.

On Oct. 4, 1958, just before 1 a.m. Fitzpatrick made his second drink and land.

He took a plane from Teterboro once again but this time landed on Amsterdam and 187th Street in front of a University building. He apparently jumped out of the plane and fled the scene but decided to turn himself in afterwards. Fitzpatrick simply told the police that he did it the second time because someone at the bar refused to believe he had done it the first time around.

After that first time, Fitzpatrick was charged with grand larceny but that was then dropped as the plane’s owner declined to sign a complaint. In the end he was only charged $100 for violating the city’s administrative code, which prohibits landing a plane on the street.

But for the second time he did it, he was sentenced to six months in jail for bringing a stolen item into the city.

http://www.theladbible.com/articles/a-pilot-once-landed-a-plane-outside-the-bar-he-was-drinking-at-twice-for-a-bet

Paul Allen's personal airplane collection, possibly the richest airplane collector there is

It's said to have 50 aircraft, possibly open to the public, at Everett Washington, near Seattle.

The planes are both retired and found, from forests and jungles.

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/inside-microsoft-mogul-paul-allens-multi-million-dollar-wwii-airplane-collection-2.html

Lillian Boyer, 1922 Minnesota wing walker... devil without a care attitude!

Found on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Time-Travelers-come-travel-back-in-time/284477301577152

P 51 going to estate sale auction, Torrence California, June 1st

Preview is By Appointment Only: Call Sean 714-264-5740
 Deposit Required to Bid: Cashier's Check Only; $25,000 for P-51; $2,500 total for Temco Swift, Packard Rolls Merlin and PT-22 Project
 Final Payment by June 9th, Cashier's Check or Bank Wire Only
Removal: By Appointment Only

http://www.estatesales.net/CA/Torrance/90505/872457  and  https://www.warhistoryonline.com/military-vehicle-news/for-sale-1944-north-american-p-51d-mustang.html