Donation From Former Commander's Widow Honors 406th Fighter Group

A leather flight jacket worn during strafing missions over Germany in WWII is but one of the items to be featured in a new permanent exhibit coming to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, AZ soon.

The exhibit -- which should be completed by the end of 2007 -- will commemorate World War II pilots in Yarger's former outfit, the 406th Fighter Group. The commanding officer of the 406th during the war, Anthony Vincent Grossetta, was a Tucson pioneer and one of the founders of the museum.

"I was scared to death," said the jacket's former owner, Jack Yarger, about most of the 114 missions he flew. "I felt vulnerable all of the time."

The 406th already has an archive at the museum, including several souvenirs donated by group members. According to the Arizona Daily Star, however a $70,000 donation by Grossetta's widow, Maggy, means the museum will be able to catalog and archive the souvenirs, and create a permanent display.

During the war, the 406th flew Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (above) in air-support missions for Allied ground forces. The group participated in such historic moments as D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, according Bob Campbell, board member and archivist for the 406th Fighter Group WWII Memorial Association.

The museum's curator, Scott Marchand, told the Daily Star the archive provides insight into some of what fighter pilots experienced in World War II.

"It (the 406th) had a good solid combat record that's a good representation of what these units were going through during the war," he said.

Nearly half of the pilots in the 406th gave their lives in battle, according to Jack Yarger --including one of his two friends who signed up for service with him.

"You can't sit down and cry your eyes out because there's a war going on," he said, recounting the experience.

FMI: www.pimaair.org