Wendover Enola Gay Hangar receives Grant

[Tom Shannon]

 
Well the State of Utah never felt it important enough,so "Save Americas Treasures" stepped up with $450,000!
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705270763,00.html

if link doesn't fire go to: http://www.deseretnews.com  type Enola Gay Hangar in search box.

[Larry C]

This is really good news, a very important part of history. It is a shame that the air base has not been restored to some degree. There is so much money just yards away in Nevada but none in East Wendover to do any restoration. In 1990 during the military reunion in Wendover and the dedication of the monument I spoke to several of the airman who were there during the war. There is just so much important history there that no one knows about.

[Freud]

I tried for 3 years to get Tibbets to speak at the B'ville NW Reunion but it was like barking at the moon. I never did get closer than one secured door from him. There seemed to be a power struggle regarding who represented him.
I wanted him to tell us about Wendover in the WWll days. What a contrast that would have been.

FREUD

[aircap]

One word - HOORAY!

[depdawg]

That is good news, I have driven around on the property. It screams to be saved.
One of the guys I know from socal, was stationed there and trained with the crews
for the mission. He told me about the place, the one little building there that has
some displays is nice, but it sure could use some help.

[manta22]

Freud;

Tibbets used to be quite accessible-- back in the mid- '70s I was researching a B29 nose that had turned up in a local salvage yard with nose art called "The Dutchess". The scrap dealer thought it had been one of the "atom bomber" planes so I thought that it should be preserved if that story was true and started checking around to see if anyone could confirm it.

I simply called Paul Tibbets on the phone (he had a jet charter company at that time) and explained about my researching a B29 named "The Dutchess". He was quite helpful and told me about the special production run of B29s in Witchita and how to identify them from a regular production model. We spent about a half hour talking about it but he didn't recall the name and suggested that it might have been a research B29 out of Los Alamos and suggested I call Chuck Sweeney in Boston and gave me his phone number. I did call him but he didn't know of a B29 by that name either so "the Dutchess" remained unidentified.

I thought that Gen. Tibbets was quite gracious and friendly to a nobody from Tucson, Arizona. I'll always remember talking to him.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[Freud]

Neil, I couldn't make a judgement regarding him because I never had contact with him. At first one fellow was the "contact" and then it changed to a different man. By then Tibbets was slowing down but I continued as well as I could with the phone. Marlo was in Wendover when the Memorial was dedicated, so he had talked to several of the crew. It was just one of those deals that I wanted to make available to our family of "Salt Heads."
That's one thing I enjoy about the Banquet. It gives me license to bring a group of people together that all have something in common and everyone seems to go away happy.

I just started too late.

Thanks for telling me of your experience with him.

FREUD

[peglegcraig]

The airfield at Wendover was a big hit with my kiwi friends who went to BUB last Aug. They commented that it was a shame that the history of the field was slowly being lost. I'll be happy to tell them that help is on the way for this historic site. PegLegCraig

[Uncle Jimbo]

Larry C - You are 100% correct with the notion that there is so much money sloshing around, not only across the street in Nevada, but in most of the different Govt. Military budgets that you would think a place of such historical significance would have been preserved a lot better. Barb and I toured the facility last year again, and left the "Museum" with as many T-shirts, hats, and coffee cups we could afford, along with leaving a small donation. The walk up the old tower and view of the field and old barracks area from that point, is enough to make you visualize what it must have been like.
Very glad help is on the way for this piece of American history.

Wishing everyone a very happy - healthy - safe New Year

Jimbo

[Tom Shannon]

Heres a 4 month update:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12240773?IADID=Search-www.sltrib.com

[1800guy]

Thanks for posting the links - it's good to hear that at least the hanger will be saved.  Too much of our history is being reduced to little more than green signs along the highway.