“Ready 4 Duty” Tour Carrying Grave Rubbings Of US-Buried British Soldiers

The Commemorative Air Force’s restored C-47 Skytrain “Ready 4 Duty” arrived at Maxwell Air Force Base (KMXF) in Montgomery, Alabama, on April 17 for the first stop in its Navy to Victory tour recognizing the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The tour will cover 12,000  miles as it makes 30 stops in 7 countries in the U.S and Europe, returning to its home in Lancaster, Texas on July 4.

The Ready 4 Duty is a meticulously restored Douglas R4D-6S Skytrain, the U.S. Navy’s version of the DC-3 and C-47. It is owned, operated, and maintained by the CAF’s Dalls/Fort Worth Wing.

The aircraft will be carrying a sentimental cargo of 423 grave rubbings of British servicemen buried in the U.S. as part of the “Bringing the Boys Back Home” initiative. They perished during training at various bases and are buried in 71 cemeteries across 28 states, from Maine to Hawaii. The non-destructive rubbings of the headstone engravings were gathered and photographed by the CAF to return to Europe. There, they will serve to reconnect the legacy of the servicemen with their families.

Stephen Rose, one of Ready 4 Duty's pilots, considers that a very meaningful part of the mission: "That, to me, is the real exciting part that you know that this airplane somehow had a history with a family or a person. That's kind of the cool stuff."

Rose added, "If you find the right switches, you can fly this airplane. Because they all fly the same."

The flight will take the aircraft from Lancaster to the East Coast, Greenland, Iceland, Great Britain, and France.

Chris Volpe, leader of the Dallas/Fort Worth Wing explains: "Having an airplane that still flies and sounds the way it did 80 years ago makes it more than an airframe. It becomes a time machine."

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