The Texas Flying Legends Museum held an open house this past weekend at the Wiscasset Municipal Airport.
Heavy fog and downpours kept the pilots grounded for most of the weekend with a few late maneuvers on Saturday afternoon when the clouds broke.
History enthusiasts and those who lived through those histories were not deterred by rain and thunder from wandering among the hangers to see famous aircraft from the World War II era including a B-25 Bomber, a P-40 and P-51 Mustangs.
The Last Samurai, a Japanese Zero was tucked in a hanger behind an F4U Corsair.
The Japanese nicknamed the Corsair “Whistling Death” for the noise made by air flowing though the wings oil cooler intakes. “It seems right that ‘Little Horse’ (The Corsair) is guarding the Zero,” said Joe LeBlanc a WW II Vet from Albany, N.Y. “I still feel better with that Zero blocked in, after all these years.”
Betty’s Dream, one of the stars of the Texas Flying Legends Museum, is a late model B-25J originally piloted by Capt. Charles “Pop” Rice Jr., starting in June of 1945.
Pilot Freddy Caraveo has been flying Betty’s Dream for about a year now. The Houston native became a member of the Texas Flying Aces about a year and a half ago, just in time to spend last summer in Maine while the Aces did a “test drive” on Maine as a permanent summer home.
In this, their first official year with Wiscasset Municipal Airport as their official summer residence, Caraveo looks forward to flying the historic craft all over the state.
“It’s a real honor to fly her,” he said, “There’s a huge rush of adrenaline every time the engine starts and those propellers engage. This is living history, flying this aircraft. She’s a fighter and she knows it, and the pilot who gets to fly her knows it, too.”
The 499th Squadron plane escorted two “Betty” bombers that carried the Japanese Peace envoys in August 1945. By the time the talks ended WW II, “Betty’s Dream” carried 22 mission symbols and two silhouettes, representing sunken Japanese ships.
The Japanese Zero on display is the only A6-M2 that is still flying in the world. The Zero was built with lightness, simplicity and extreme maneuverability to carry out its missions.
According to the Flying Aces website, Saburo Sakai, Japan’s highest scoring World War II ace believed that if the Zero had not been developed, Japan would never have entered the war. He felt that the Zero gave the Japanese military a false sense of superiority.
Standing beside the Last Samurai Zero on Saturday, 89-year-old Shirley Sutherberg of Jefferson was quiet. Sutherberg served in the Pacific in World War II.
Sutherberg recalls being pursued on a beach in the South Pacific by a Zero intent on killing him. “You learned how well you could run, and how to get cover fast,” he said.
An American P-32 flew in and took out the Zero, which he credits with saving his life.
The youngest member of their family, Shirley Sutherberg’s 4-year-old grandson Evan Amey, was thrilled to see the war planes up close at Wiscasset.
Caraveo was impressed at Amey’s knowledge. “He knows more about these birds than many adults visiting,” said Caraveo.
“He’s heard about the Zeros and these other planes all his life,” said Evan’s mother Dawn Amey, “We believe in keeping history alive in our family.”
Shirley Sutherberg’s service was recognized when he was part of a Freedom Honor Flight. The Freedom Honor Flights take 1000 Veterans to Washington D.C. every year to see the monuments in their honor.
These flights are not supported by any government funding and depends entirely on the generous donations of people who want to thank American veterans, At this time, WW II Vets are being given priority. Any person who wishes to apply for a veteran to receive an Honor Flight may do so at www.freedomhonorflight.org.
The Texas Flying Legends have events all over Maine starting from their new summer home in Wiscasset. Plans are afoot to build a museum in the summer location, and future announcements will be made about groundbreaking, tentatively planned for 2014.
Next up for the Legends, weather permitting, is the Rockland Breakwater Airshow on Fri., Aug. 17, at the Rockland Regatta when all six warbirds will arrive at 11:30 a.m. for an aerial demonstration. On Aug. 19, they head for the Frenchville Airshow.
“One of the guys told me not to go too far to the left without my passport, or I’d have a hard time getting back into the states with a bomber,” said Caraveo, laughing.
“The Texas Flying Legends Museum” made a great impression on the crowds, despite the weather last weekend. “I hope they stay,” said Marybeth Willey, 6, from Bath. “Planes are cool.”
For more information on “The Texas Flying Legends Museum,” visit the website, www.flyingfreedom.us.
