Next year, 6 June, 2014, will be the 70th Anniversary of D-Day when allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy. Just prior to that main assault, at 2:00 AM, C-47's, led by The National Warplane Museum's “Whiskey 7,” dropped members of the 82nd Airborne behind German lines over St. Mere Eglise, the location made famous by the scene in the movie, The Longest Day, of the paratrooper who got hung up on the town's clock from where he witnessed and partook in the fight to capture the town.
The first $100,000.00 has now been raised to fund the ambitious plan to return “Whiskey 7” to her most significant moment in history, reenacting the jump as originally accomplished on 6 June, at the same 2:00 AM time. Members of the Liberty Jump Team, made up mostly of former paratroopers including members of the 82nd, will make static line jumps, with round chutes, while dressed as their forebears were on that historic day.
Even with all ground and flight crew donating their time, it is estimated it will cost about $250,000.00 to fly over and back, the single largest expense being fuel which will average about $13.00 per gallon. Whiskey 7's two, 14 cylinder radials, burn a total of 100 gallons an hour. Her chief pilot, USAirways International 767 Pilot in Command, Chris Polhemus, estimates 25 hours flying over and 35 back against the prevailing head winds and another 20 flying as part of the D-Day celebrations which will feature Geneseo's historic aircraft. Now that we've raised $100,000 from museum members and friends from near and afar, NWM's treasurer, Don Wilson, reports,”... that in our next fund raising stage we hope to enlist support from area companies and interested individuals who will appreciate the importance and significance of what we're trying to accomplish.”
Stirlin Harris (585 329-4338)
National Warplane Museum
www.1941HAG.org / 585 243-2100
3489 Big Tree Lane
Geneseo, NY 14454
