Warbird Kid wrote:Great man
Great aircraft.
Is it too early for me to ask this? What is the condition of the A model that Beck was flying? Has it been completely destroyed, or is there a chance that we may see his work of art be returned to its former glory, in his honor of course.
Remember the man, not the machine!
All,
The memorial service in Fargo and internment in Wahpeton were both fitting tributes to Gerry which exemplified what a wonderful person he was. The service last night was not about tears because "Beck" would not have allowed or approved of it! Instead he wanted everybody in attendance to enjoy a lot of laughter, shared stories and as much beer as we all wanted, "I won't be there to get a headache so knock yourselves out!" he said numerous times. The service culminated with a four ship missing man formation consisting of C&P's B-25 "Lady Luck" and P-51's Gunfighter(Reg Urschler), "Boomer" (Vlado Lenock) "Little Horse" (Larry Lumpkin). We all stayed until the beer ran out about 2am. Per his wish, early this morning he was buried in a Hamilton Standard propeller crate facing west overlooking his home and the airport which next to his family and friends brought him so much joy.
Cindy and Whitney are doing very well under the circumstances and want to thank everybody for their well wishes prayers through this very difficult time.
Warbird Kid,
Any airplane can be rebuilt. Both aircraft involved are in the process of being recovered as I write this but it is too soon to speculate on anything further. It takes considerable time to heal enough to make decisions like that.
John