Silent Wings Museum - 69th Anniversity of D-Day!

The following pictures were taken by me at today's Silent Wings Museum's 69th Anniversity of D-Day.  The Allied invasion of Normandy, France, in World War Two.  To remember the great sacrifice of the Allies who gave all.  And especially of the Glider Pilots of which the Lubbock International Airport was once upon a time the training base for the glider pilots.

Two aircraft from the CAF (Commemorative Air Force) along with the Texas Air Museum will offer rides on the C-47 known as the "Southern Cross" for $75.00 a person.  If you wanted to ride the B-25 bomber known as "The Yellow Rose", you better be ready to lay down almost $400 for a 30 minute ride of a lifetime.

As a side note, this blogger did spend such a large amount to ride the B-17G known as "The Liberty Belle."

Ricky Taylor of Shallowater, Texas, provided free Jeep rides around the parking lot in front of the museum today.  Other military vehicles such as the Army cargo truck and trailor was provided by Troy Swinney and Sam Dunn had his own 1951 M38 jeep that his father had shipped back from Korea to his home in Arizona after the Korean War.



Ricky's Grandson Zander Morrison wore my father's USAAF service cap for this picture.  That is his grandmother Karen behind him.

And for those of us who love Aircraft Nose Art...

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Ref:
1.  Flash Force 255 Bunker. "The 1955 M606 Jeep Gift" April 28, 2013. By Don W. Shanks. ( http://flash255bunker.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-1955-m606-jeep-gift.html ).
2.  Flash Force 255 Bunker. "A Shop Full of Jeeps!" May 22, 2013. By Don W. Shanks. ( http://flash255bunker.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-shop-full-of-jeeps.html ).
3.  City of Lubbock. "Commemoration of the Sixty-Ninth Anniversary of D-Day" ( http://www.ci.lubbock.tx.us/news-item/2013/06/06/Department ).
4.  Flash Force 255 Bunker. "B-17 Liberty Belle" July 26, 2008. By Don W. Shanks. ( http://aerospacedreams.blogspot.com/2008/07/warbirds.html )
5.  Silent Wings Museum website ( http://www.mylubbock.us/departmental-websites/departments/silent-wings-museum/home ).

Silent Wings Museum contact information: 6202 Interstate 27 Frontage, Lubbock, TX 79403. Phone number is 806.775.3049. Or their website (http://www.mylubbock.us/departmental-websites/departments/silent-wings-museum/home).

The 1955 M606 Jeep Gift

Last Friday, April 26th, was just an extra work day for me - until I returned home.  Normally, its two 12 hour days a week - but this week, I was given an extra work day for a total of 3 days this week. I have part time job with Enterprise Rent-A-Car as a driver.  We take the dirty cars from the terminal parking lot and drive them to the cleaning bay.  Then bring the clean vehicles back to the terminal parking lot. While I live in Lubbock, Texas:   my job is down in Midland, Texas, at the Midland International Airport (MAF).

The Lubbock crew (as we call our shelves) were late in getting away from Midland and we arrived back in Lubbock about 15-20 minutes after 8pm.  After stopping at a Chicken Express for a late supper, I finally arrived home just at dusk.

My friend Ricky Taylor must have seen the lights of my pickup truck driving up to my place.  I got a phone call and a few minutes later, he was there with his grandson Zander.  Tonight's mission was to make a quick trip to the AutoZone to get some items for his latest purchase - a 1943 Willys Jeep!

For the past 14-15 months now, Ricky and I have been on a Jeep restoration quest - and all by chance too I might add!  Anyway, on the ride back into town, Ricky and Zander told me that the M606 Jeep was now going to be mine to have!

The M606 is also known as the "high hood" or "high top hood" of the Jeep line.  The M606 was mostly used my the Military Police or Shore Patrol when it was in US military service.  I have seen pictures of the M606 being used by the South Vietnamese troops in the Vietnam War.  In civilian use, it was known as the CJ-3B.

What does one say when given a Jeep???  "Thanks for a great Father's Day, Birthday, and Christmas present all in one guys!"

Now comes the hard part... coming up with the bucks to keep restoring it.  The hood is covered with bondo and I would perfer to get rid of all that bondo or get a new hood from New/Old Stock(NOS).  But a new hood would run about $400.00.  Brake system DID work and now it does not.  Lighting system needs work on as well.  I do have the windshield, but it needs to be painted OD Green before being installed back onto the Jeep.

Photos with this post are mine except for what is referred to in the Ref section below.

UPDATE (June 6, 2013):  The following added photos were taken on the evening of June 5, 2013, at Ricky's Auto Repair.

The past few weeks, I had redone the hood - grinding off all the old bondo that was craked all over it.  I took all that off and did the same thing to both front fenders.  The right fender was ok after removing the bondo, but the left one was still in pretty bad shape; so it had to get new bondo added back onto that one fender.

Then the hood and fenders were repainted OD Green.  Then last night, we finally sprayed on the white hood star and two smaller stars on the rear fenders.  We also managed to get the "U.S.A." sprayed on each side of the hood as well as the "TP-25" above each wheel well.  "TP-25" means Tire Pressure - 25 (psi).

Unable to do any more stuff to it since this night Lubbock and the surrounding counties took a massive wind and thunderstorm event.  I was hoping that we could get this jeep ready for the Silent Wings Museum D-Day Observance - but it just was not meant to be.

As for the M606 itself, a spare tire carrier needs to be built.  I also want to get some OD Green pup tent halves and use the cloth from them to make some seat covers for the driver and passenger seats.

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Ref.
1. M606.  Wikipedia.org.  ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willys_MB ).
2. M606 Jeep images (from Google Search) ( https://www.google.com/search?q=m606+jeep&biw=1280&bih=675&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8mJ9Ud3vIqWC2gXPsIHIBQ&ved=0CEgQsAQ ).
3. A restored M606.  "Davis64rear" ( http://www.film.queensu.ca/cj3b/Photos/Owners/1964/Davis64/Davis64Rear.jpg ).
4.  Shore Patrol jeep ( http://www.autozin.com/published/files/listing_photo_13409262103105487940.jpg ).

Slaton Air Show 2011

Rarely now days does anybody take any pictures of yours truly. So it came as a surprise that fellow WINGs Miniature Aircraft Society (WINGS MAS) club member Tom asked me to join him on a walk down the flight line - where we took each other's picture standing next to some warbirds.

Every year, the Slaton airport holds a airshow fly-in. This year, Wings MAS had a charity booth spot in the north hangar to hold a raffle of a ready to fly Hangar 9 P-51 PTS trainer with a transmitter, that was won by a young boy. The star attraction didn't show up -

a FW-190. Something to do with a broken cooling fan. Instead, I got to finally see a Hawker Sea Fury in the flesh (so to speak)! There was a fly-over of a C-47 done up in D-Day paint scheme. Turns out the the Silent Wings Museum at the Lubbock International Airport was holding a event the very same weekend!

Of course, no airshow with Warbirds is complete without a Tora, Tora, Tora re-enactment. So, I had my picture taken with both the Japanese Zero and the Japanese Kate Torpedo bomber. There was also the big yellow T-28 Trojan in US Navy paint scheme and carrying the noseart of "Maid in the USA."

When I get around to it, I'll update this posting with some additional pictures that I took of the Sea Fury.

UPDATE June 6, 2011: Here are the pictures that I took of the Airshow.