Sorry to hear it Bob. I’ll keep him in my prayers. Glad to hear he gets honored the proper way for his service.
All: The saga of my B-29 Sweet Sue has finally come to a conclusion. As you will recall, my friend passed away last February. Two weeks ago my wife and I packed up the model from his home in Oregon and drove it to the B-29 Museum, Bombers on the Prarie, in Pratt, Kansas. Pratt was the home of the Pratt Army Airfield in the war and many B-29 crews were trained there. In addition, the airfield was used to complete the assembly of the warplanes, adding the machine guns, bombsights, etc. They have established the museum to honor all their military veterans, and particularly the B-29 crews. There is an exhibit there for the 9th Bomb Group, of which Sweet Sue was a part, and now she is there as a part of that exhibit. She made the trip without incident or damage, for which I am profoundly grateful.
We calculated that the model has traveled 4,500 miles in our car since it was built. By way of comparison, a roundtrip bombing mission from Tinian to Kobe and back was only 3,000 miles.
A special thanks to the museum staff, especially Milt Martin, and to the historian of the 9th Bomb Group, Rick Feldmann, for all their help and advice.
thanks, Bob
Bob, this has certainly been a journey for you. You have every right to be proud of your model and such an honorable purpose it had and will have in the future. You finished well; and you tower above us!
Bob,
Your act of kindness and selflessness to your friend is truly remarkable. The perserverance you demonstrated with your project is what many people could use today - especially those kids who might not know much success because they give up too soon.
I’m delighted that you gave the model to a museum - I’m sure it’ll find a place worthy of its creation/creator for the public to view.
As an aside, when I was going to my second undergraduate college (The College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas) the dean of men was part owner of a Cessna 172 and would take a few of us on rides for $5.00 in gas money when he had his time with the plane. I recall that on one such outing we landed at what seemed to be an abandoned ariport on a very, very long runway that we were told used to be used for B-29 training during WWII. It very well could have been the same airport in Pratt that now houses the museum. I do recall we were taxiing for a very long time as he touched down near the beginning of the runway [:D].
Shipwreck and 1943Mike: thanks, I was just happy the model could be put to some use after he had the chance to enjoy it. They told me at the museum that there were four such B29 training bases in Kansas alone, and others in Nebraska (such as McCook AAF). the runways were enormous, and still visible on Google Earth.
As an aside, after I left Pratt we drove to Wichita and through the good will of the 9th Bomb Group historian, Kathy and I were given a tour of the restored B-29 “Doc”, which had just made its first flight a few weeks earlier. That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We were shown the cockpit and the stations for the flight engineer and the radio operator. It was amazing to me how at home I felt in the aircraft after building the model. I knew right where everything was. Revell did a very good job with that model kit!
cheers, Bob
Bob and others
I just retired. With Time on my hands I looked at this forum for advice on the B-29 in my stash. I can’t think of greater homage than providing that lovingly-built model to your “old teacher”.
Long life and Happy Modeling to you, Bob.
Canada is the linchpin of the English-speaking world.
- Sir Winston Churchill
Rick: thanks for the kindness. It was just something I had to do before he passed away, and I am fortunate that I made it in time. I am doubly fortunate that this Forum existed to help me along the way, because without it, I wouldn’t have made it in time. The finished product, had I worked alone, would have been very much less than it turned out. The practical wisdom dispensed here is priceless, and saves much time and aggravation. The members here are very unselfish. I hope you enjoy your retirement; I am going to join you in that endeavor in about another year and I can’t wait.
cheers, Bob