There Ain't Nothing Quite Like A Hangar Party

Members of the Aviation Heritage Park (AHP) at Bowling Green-Warren County Airport didn't let a little rain (torrential) or a power outage dim the party, reported the Bowling Green (KY) Daily News.

"Someone said they thought we were being sabotaged," said Dan Cherry, a member of the AHP board. "But we've got a lot of hardworking board members who have scrambled around here and made do with some pretty tough circumstances."

The evening's honorees were several World War II air- and ground-crew veterans, who sat at a special table surrounded by memorabilia from their time in the service.

Jack Goodman an Army veteran who flew 152 missions in a C-46 from 1944 to 1945, was one of them.

Goodman was a 2nd Lieutenant when he trained in Nevada to fly a cargo plane --"a huge plane," he said -- built primarily to haul cargo from India to China. He brought pictures of the plane, himself as a young soldier and his flying school classmates, as well as his Army hat, dog tags, and a baseball cap signifying him as a member of the "hump pilots association"; the trip from India to China was called "flying the hump."

For 12-year-old Cody Havens, the hangar party was "a dream come true."

"He watches all the World War II movies - he knows his stuff on World War II," said his father. "He's been looking forward to this."

Clutching a book called "The Planes the Allies Flew in World War II," Cody worked the veterans' table with his mother, asking each man to autograph the picture of the plane he flew during the war.

Cody first became interested in history after playing a World War II-themed PlayStation game, and then looked up more information online and on the Discovery Channel. But, he said, hearing stories firsthand from the veterans who were there was really teaching him a lot.

Ray Buckberry, AHP historian and director, introduced the veterans and asked attendees to remember why they, their children and grandchildren live in a free nation.

"This group of veterans represents American airmen, particularly their comrades and especially those who didn't come home," he said. "These are the men to thank. They laid it on the line when we had to have it to get through some desperate days."

The hangar party is a fundraiser for the Aviation Heritage Park, now under construction at Basil Griffin Park, Cherry said.

Two years ago, a group of friends traveled to Dayton, OH, to see the Phantom 550 -- a restored McDonnell Douglas F4-D flown by Cherry during a combat flight -- and "from there the idea of the Aviation Heritage Park was born," he said.

The Phantom 550 was on display at the party, along with dozens of vintage aircraft from all over the nation.

The rainy conditions thwarted many of the planned activities, but didn't stop Warren County Circuit Court Judge Steve Wilson from donning a "press" hat to play World War II journalist Walter Cracktight, and interview aviator Ace Armstrong - aka AHP board president Carroll Hildreth donning goggles and a flight suit.

Wilson asked Hildreth questions about his time in the service, including how he earned the nickname "Ace."

During the war, Hildreth replied, "I destroyed six aircraft. Fortunately, three of them were enemies."

FMI: www.aviationheritagepark.com, www.bgwcairport.org