pagesofhistory Vintage Planes
A dedicated group of restoration volunteers, most of whom are retired servicemembers, salvage aviation history at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover AFB, Del.
T
he Air Mobility Command (AMC) Museum at Dover AFB, Del., displays 30 of military avia-
tion’s best-remembered planes, including a C-124 Globemaster II, C-141 Starlifter, and C-133 Cargomaster. Key to the vintage planes’ just-off-the-assembly-line sheen is a dedicated group of restoration volunteers, many of whom flew in combat the types of planes they’ve helped restore. “Our volunteers give tours in addition
to restoring and maintaining the aircraft and other exhibits,” says museum direc- tor Michael Leister. “We couldn’t keep the doors open without them.” Restoring aging planes can be a daunting task, says Lt. Col. Don Rynes, USAF-Ret. Many projects, such as the restoration of a C-121 Constellation that had been mounted outside a cocktail lounge, can take years to complete. One of the biggest challenges is a lack
of replacement parts and tech manuals for planes that often are more than 60 years old. When necessary, unavailable parts are crafted from scratch. “Right now, we’re working on a CG-4
glider from World War II,” says Lt. Col. Mike Phillips, USAF-Ret. “We don’t have any blueprints for it, so we sent a crew to Fort Bragg [N.C.] to take photographs. That helped a lot.” Unsurprisingly, there’s a strong ca-
maraderie among the restoration volun- teers. “There is no rank friction here,” Leister says. “We have chiefs and colo-
PHOTO: ROLAND BALIK/USAF
nels working side by side. We even have a retired general who still comes out and works on aircraft.”
— Don Vaughan O
Marine Honored n Sept. 15, President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Dakota
Meyer, a sergeant in the Inactive Ready Reserve. Then-Corporal
Meyer, a scout sniper, was serv- ing in an embed- ded training team in Afghanistan’s eastern prov- inces Sept. 8, 2009, when he risked his life to save members
of an ambushed patrol. Though bleeding from shrapnel wounds in his arm, Meyer, aided by fellow Marines and Army advi- sors from his team, braved a hail of enemy gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades to help rescue and evacuate more than 15 wounded Afghan soldiers and recover the bodies of four fallen fighters. Meyer charged through the battle zone five times to recover the dead Marines and injured Afghan soldiers, risking his life even when a medical evacuation helicopter wouldn’t land because of the blazing gunfire.
MO
The Spirit of Delaware, Dover AFB’s final C-17 Globemaster III, sits at the Air Mobility Com- mand Museum.
History Lesson On Nov. 8, 1942, U.S. and British forces in- vaded Nazi-held North Africa, putting the Americans on the offen- sive for the first time in World War II.
NOVEMBER 2011 MILITARY OFFICER 75
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