Glacier Girl Mail

Do you know where the P-38 is at present, and what the plans are for it?

We were in Middlesboro this month, and tried to stop to visit the museum. The building that used to house the museum was being refurbished for other use, signs said the museum was gone, and someone in town told us that they had heard it was sold to a collector in Texas.

Lloyd Speer

lfspeer3@comcast.net

Do you know who wrote the poem A Tribute to the Forgotten WW-2 Mechanic? Is it copyrighted? And if so, by whom?

Art

I M P O R T A N T

Hello!

I bounced off your site while planning a trip with my father to go out and see the Lost Squadron Museum and the Glacier Girl. In trying to contact them, though, I found out that Glacier Girl is no longer at the Museum and the Museum itself is now closed, possibly forever. Was wondering if you know where she ended up? I found information that the Museum was at the Bell County Airport and after trying to contact them without success, I contact the Bell County Chambe of Commerce and they think that she might be in California. That changes my motorcycling plans that I was trying ot make with my father back home but may turn this into a trip we make while he is out here visiting me in Utah. Any help you could give would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

Brian

Was Don Brooks involved in the recovery of this plane and if so, what was his involvement?

Dave Cook

dcook18@woh.rr.com

P-38 Crash in the 40s

I grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma. One summer afternoon I was lying on my back looking up watching the sky with some of my other boyhood pals. I was about 13 or 14 years old at the time. Suddenly from nowhere a P-38 buzzed over and while I was watching it exploded right before my very eyes. We watched intently and the pilot got out and down safely. The twin booms separated at the superchargers and the wing section wound its way down crazily missing houses, people and crashed in a field south of town. It was from a base or field called Davis Field also located just south of Muskogee.

I am now 75 years old and have had a love affair with airplanes since I was a kid. I am former U.S. Air Force and did my time on the B-29 Superfortress.

I have read about Glacier Girl in Air and Space magazine (March 2004) issue. Have also ran across a couple of other stories about Glacier Girl. Lots of stuff about her on the net.

When our flight crew would return from a mission we would always run and check the tailskid on the B-29 to see if the paint had been scraped off. If so it was customary for the pilot to buy the ground crew a case of beer. Therefore when you guys come in for a landing remember not to come home too proud with your nose too high and don't drag the tail skid 'cause I'll darn sure be checking.

Happy landings

Bill Lowery
Wichita Falls, Texas

welowery@swbell.net

I have just discovered your site, and enjoyed reading some of the letters which were sent to you. For anyone interested in World War II planes, I would like to suggest that you give this website a try: http://www.elknet,pl/acestory http://www.elknet.pl/acestory Be sure to click on the British flag indicating the English language part of the site. On that page, you can click on the different country flags to read some of the ace stories. At the bottom of the page, click on WW II Model Plane Gallery. You'll be able to see pictures of exact models of the planes, including a P-38. For a little more fun, go to a search engine like "Google" and type in "Warbirds" or "Confederate Air Force". I hope some of you will find this interesting.

Barbara, in New Jersey

Hi.

I'm interested in a video of the flight of Glacier Girl, is one available?

Thanks

Robert

.

When will Glacier Girl fly in 2005. Four of us want to come down when Glacier Girl flies.  When is the first air show so we can make our plans.

Bob

Bob,

sorry to take so long to reply.

the people at the lost squadron museum report the following:

glacier girl will be on display and fly every day april 12 to 19 at sun n fun in lakeland, fla.

http://www.sun-n-fun.org/content/

she will also fly at her home base in middlesboro, ky., on sept. 10 and 11

http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/museums/ky/tlsky.htm

thanks

.

HERE CAN I FIND DRAWING OF THE ALLISON 1710 USED IN THE 38'S.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

D. HAUGH

Sir,

I am a modeler of war birds for over 50 years. I fly each year at Top Gun here in Florida. I'm almost finished with my current project, a 1/4 scale MkIX Spitfire. I respectfully request pictures of Glaicer Girl. I want it to be my next project. Documentation, however has been difficult to find. I need good three views and some (alot) of photos. I will be most happy to buy any and all of the above.

Hope you can help. Happy New Year to all,and keep that lovely lady flying.

Joe Denicola

Hi,

My name is Paul M. Allen. I have been a WWII airplane buff since I first saw the sky filled with B-17 bombers in the early 40's when I was 3 or 4 years old.

I would like to share my poems "The B-17" and "The Chopper Jockey" with you.

"The B-17 "

"The Chopper Jockey "

Have a great day,

Paul Allen

.

Is there a DVD of Glacier Girl's 1st flight and more on her return to flight for sale?

Ron

boxcar986@comcast.net

04.04.2004

.

We Want to See Glacier Girl

We live in Culpeper, VA (~400 miles from your location) and would like to see Glacier Girl. When is the best time to visit over the next few months?

Is it at all possible that we might see her airborne if we managed to arrive at the right place and the right time and if so can you predict a place and time?

Is she scheduled to fly at all this spring/summer /fall?

You have done a fabulous job. What an adventure to recover her from under the ice and then restore her to such pristine condition.

prc_rac@adelphia.net

3.27.2004

.

Owner of Glacier Girl,

My father is Paul Rose a P38 pilot who flew in Burma during WWII. He flew a total of 69 missions and often shares stories about his experiences during the war. He is 84 years old and is currently fighting cancer.

On several of our past visits with Dad, he talked about the great work you have done in restoring this rare piece of history. Over the Easter break we will be visiting him and would love to take him down to see Glacier Girl and if possible see it fly. It would be a trip that would bring back many memories both good and bad, but ones he treasures very much. He currently resides in Centerville, Ohio.

Please let me know if this would be possible and congratulations on the great work that you have done. It has been a great topic of conversation for our family while visiting my father and reminiscing of his flying days. I know he would love to hear you describe how it handles and share with you his own experiences.


Sincerely, Mark Rose
Please feel free to call or e-mail if possible. (269) 961-2148

mark.rose@kellogg.com

03.25.2004

.

Hello there!

Well it might seem like a stupid question, or I have missed the 'answer' somewhere in the website:

Is there any chance of other P38's surviving under the ice, and if so, is anybody enthusiastic and wealthy enough to fund a recovery?

Many thanks.

Hi, my name is Maris Balch and I am 18, currently at college in England. I do an engineering course there. I am very fascinated by the 'Glacier Girl' story and the p-38 as a whole. While at college, I will need to construct a project, and I had an idea to build 1/2 scale working replica of one of the Allison engines as used by the p-38. However, my search for the specifications have been in vain and I wondered i you could help me with this project.

Thankyou

Hi,

Looking at the website of the 1942 monochrome photo of a P38 on the Greenland ice ( McManus plane)  His aircraft flipped on landing and the recovered machine was located right way up.  

Can this be the same plane as the restored "Glacier Girl "  ?

Cheers and thanks for the site ..

Allan

.

I read about Glacier Girl in the early 90s it's great to see it fly, now what about the bombers? How much would it cost to get one out, how about a worldwide fund to help such a scheme?

Mikeatcoralyn@aol.com

01.10.2004

.

Coffeedrome,

Found your website. I am doing research into the USAAF glider program, specifically the glider mechanics and glider assembly (both manufacturing as well as military). The crated gliders were shipped to Brisbane, 81st ADG, for assembly. I am looking for any info that will support this. I do have some info on these gliders already. Can you help?

Thanks

Jim Moffett

mtjim@pngusa.net

01.04.2004

.

beautiful job.
seen on history channel.
keep it flying.

gene

gene@greenhills.net

10.26.2003

.

I have seen the photos of Glacier Girl about a year and ever since then I have been crazy about ww2 war planes. My dad and I were watching a show about P-38's on the history channel, after that I quickly decided the P-38 was the best plane I have ever heard about. I asked my dad how come I have never seen an up-to-date photo of the P-38 or P-40 or F4U-Corsair and he said '' because there aren't very many of them left.'' It's a shame they don't make them anymore. People say to me ''I'm suprised you like the old ww2 planes instead of the new jets for being 14 years old.'' Which left a question in the back of my mind for a long time. How many P-38's are left. Are there any organizations to preserve ww2 planes. I thought you would know so i wrote you this email. I wish I had a couple hundred million to get the rest of the planes in the glacier where they found Glacier Girl.

Thank you

cdouglass@adelphia.net

9.19.2003

.

Re Glacier Girl : What About Her Sisters?

I am sure that the weather is hard to work in. Flying all the stuff in you need to do the job of removing the plane. But you now have a tunnel down to the level of where all the planes are. Is possible to save all the P-38's from this ordeal? Were the engines OK when recovered, I mean not seized. If I hit the Mega Lottery I would like to see another plane recovered to all her glory. 51's and 38's are beautiful in their own way. I have planned a trip to Florida in 05 to get a ride in a 51 trainer at Kass. Hope Crazy Horse is still flying. It's the ride of a life time. I thought I read that 2 51's are there two? The damage was worse on these planes? You are doing a great job on saving US history. It's a shame that these planes where scrapped and not saved. Thanks for your time.

Rick Lake

RDCOBRA428@aol.com

8.24.2003

.

Pappy Gunn was my great uncle and I'm going to visit with Nath Gunn in the next few weeks. Nath, Paul, Connie and Julie or his children. I visited with Julie in Arlington Virginia last year. Paul Jr. died a couple of months ago. Pappy was my grandmother's brother and lived with her when he was seriously wounded in the war. My father who was in the army, Winfred Owen, went in on the invasion task force and found Pappy's children in the concentration camp in the Philippines at the close of the war.

Orville Owen

p.s.: Nath recently wrote a book named ALL THAT GLITTERS by Nathaniel Cannon. That's the name he goes by as author of the book. It's about his life and all the stories are true but it's classified fiction. It tells a little about his father but doesn't mention his name. Nath is currently writing a book about his father but hasn't finished it yet.

General Kenny wrote a book about Pappy named THE SAGA OF PAPPY GUNN.

p.p.s.: One more thing , my grandmother's name was Jewell Gunn Owen.

orville.owen@us.army.mil

8.7.2003

.

My Father was an ace pilot with the Flying Tigers 14th airforce, 51 fighter group, 26th fighter squadron from '42-'45. He has been mentioned in a couple of books, l believe the last one is "Aces in Combat" by Eric Hammel. The mission discussed about him in this is when he and 4 other pilots went up against 32 zeros.

l am looking for anymore information l can get. l would love it if you would share your memories or pictures you may have of the 26th fighter squadron. You can reach me at : angelsanddodger@hotmail.com or:

(607) 535-4268 or: Robert & Sue Marshall, 500 Perry St., Watkins Glen, NY 14891.

ThankYou,

Bob Marshall

4.12.03

.

I just found out about this site (Glacier Girl and P-38 ). A friend of mine, Kenny Minor, is a grandson of "Pappy" Gunn -- his mother being Connie Gunn. A couple of years ago he was with his uncle, who has POW license plates from WWII, and happened to run into an old timer who questioned the plates. When told that he had been a prisoner of the Japanese in the Philippines, the old man told Kenny's uncle that he had been among the first wave that hit the Philippines to liberate the prisoners! Now talk about a small world. He has shown me pictures of his mother, her sister -- Julie -- and her two brothers -- Nate and Paul. He has a real nice picture of the family after they were liberated taken for publicity. They were taken back to the states to "fatten-up" as they had lost a few pounds. The picture is of Kenny's mother and family with Maureen O'Hara and another Hollywood star that I didn't recognize. His mother will get a kick out of this article. Thanks.

Gale Hickey
Texas City, TX

GALEHICKEY@aol.com

4.12.03

.

I am trying to find the person who took the attached photo. I really would like to know if a clear picture is available of this particular shot. The background and the banking image can be beat.

I have followed the story and really appreciate the work and effort of the people who worked to restore and recover Glacier Girl. But even more, I thank those who fought in WWII. My father brought me up going to air shows and building models. I miss the old war stories and I must say I recently was in Tucson and enjoyed the stories from the WWII veterns as much as the aircraft displays.

Ed Garcia

Eg71117@aol.com

.

Hello,

My stepfather. Noel Adkins. was one of the few who went to the Greenland icecap to help retrieve the Glacier Girl. I have seen his home videos, and all his pictures and listened to all the stories, which I must say are incredible what these couragious men went through to find this priceless piece of history. I have gone to see Norman Vaughn speak about the trek made to the South Pole, and Greenland. He remembered Noel, as I saw him on video celebrating when they got to the Glacier Girl 258 feet deep in the ice. Noel spent over 8 hours at 258 deep in the ice cap with the P-38 and the pictures are just amazing.

Thank you for posting this site,

Michael

hmtfender@earthlink.net

2.20.03

.

Greetings:

My late father's name was Lester W. Bradford and he served in the 44th Depot Repair Squardron. I have been so interested in trying to locate any information possible on him and his particular squardron. This subject has been so intriguing me for the last several years.My father and I did not talk much if any at all about his years in the military before he died. Now that he has passed away and wouldn't you just know it, now I am interested in seeing if any information about him or his unit exists.

Would you possibly have any information on him that might just satisfy my curiosities. It would be great if I could possibly get something in writing that would help supplement a book that I already have in my possession.

If you have any pictures (photographs) of him in his daily service or in his uniform, by all means please send me a copy of these so that I can better remember how he looked. You are all top and wonderful people and I appreciate your continuing on in the memory of this very fine squardron. We should always honor the fine memory of such fine people in the military who gave up so much so that our country can remain free. Indeed, everyone of these top folks are heroes and we should never forget their great sacrafices that they made for their country.

I would greatly appreciate any information that you could provide me about my dad (Lester W. Bradford) and if I can be of service to you, please let me know. You may send any Email messages to me in care of Timothy D. Williams, who is a librarian at Athens State University Library. His Email address is : willitd@athens.edu.

Thanks again for your wonderful assistance.

Sincerely, Lee Bradford, his son

7.21.02

About the 44th Depot Repair Squadron

.

 

Hello, I'm trying to verify a P38 drop tank I have aquired.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Paul Ferguson

pjf123@dellepro.com

4.3.02

.

 

 
  I am looking for any information any person who flew with the Flying Tigers during World War II might have of Captain Joseph "Li'l Joe" Martinez.

I thank you in advance of any information.

I thank you for being a Veteran and defending the world's liberties.

Please respond to :

Mongodae@yahoo.com

Sincerely

Martin J. Martinez (son of Joseph N. Martinez)

11.11.01

.

I enjoyed your site very much. Some of the photos below will show you yours truly. We have done everything that one can do to a P-38. In the 44th Depot Repair Squadron , Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. 1942 - 1946. Now 77 years old . If you would like more photos please let me know. I flew with Pappy Gunn.

Frederick Chew

Fred's pictures. Have a look.

9.17.01