Buckeye Don
Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:10 pm
Capt Don Gentile and "Shangri-La"
Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:16 pm
great shot Jack. Any other jewels of the 4th FG ?
???
Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:18 pm
color or B&W?
Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:28 pm
Great Shot.
I've always thought it would be nice if Piqua mounted a fullsize replica of Shangri-La on a pole by the interstate or in the park or something. On my list of things to do is visit his grave.
Shay
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Semper Fortis
I've always thought it would be nice if Piqua mounted a fullsize replica of Shangri-La on a pole by the interstate or in the park or something. On my list of things to do is visit his grave.
Shay
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Semper Fortis
Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:53 pm
Gentile's P-51 is one of my favorite Mustangs. I really wish one of the B or C models would get put back into his scheme. I also wish the original survived. COuld you imagine seeing it displayed in the NMUSAF?
????
Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:58 pm
How's this
Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:03 pm
Shay wrote: I've always thought it would be nice if Piqua mounted a fullsize replica of Shangri-La on a pole by the interstate or in the park or something.
There is a smaller than life-size statue of Gentile in his WWII flight gear in the town square. There's also a "Home of Don Gentile, WWII Fighter Ace" sign attached to the "Welcome to Piqua" signage. I gathered over several research trips to Piqua that they are still very proud of their hometown boy.
As a point of interest, both houses Don and his sister grew up in are still intact and occupied! When I had my One-Man Air Force prints printed in Dayton, I drove up to Piqua and parked my van with the original "OMAF" painting lying in the back next to the S. Wayne Street house shown in the "Welcome Home, Capt. Gentile" newsreels (the house looks almost exactly as it did back in the day!) and snapped off a shot for my 4th FG albums.
Other "Gentile" related items of interest are the bridge he flew under in his small biplane is still intact and in use ... he didn't have a lot of room!
St. Boniface Catholic Church, which he attended, is still in use. The Piqua airport is just outside the city, but that's "where it all began".As a side note, as an artist I can "work anywhere", pretty much. Eight or nine years ago my wife was seriously considering a job offer in - guess where - little ol' Piqua! I wanted to go mainly because the NMUSAF is just down the road. We didn't make the move, but Piqua is a nice quiet town and I wouldn't have minded at all moving there.
FYI, it's pronouced "Pick-wuh" ...
Shay wrote:On my list of things to do is visit his grave.
Don is buried in St. Joseph's cemetery in Columbus. Not hard to find at all.
Wade
Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:05 pm
mustangdriver wrote:Gentile's P-51 is one of my favorite Mustangs. I really wish one of the B or C models would get put back into his scheme. I also wish the original survived. COuld you imagine seeing it displayed in the NMUSAF?
Pieces of it are there - heh heh - not on display, though, and I've held them in my grubby hands!
Wade
Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:07 pm
Thanks Wade. Good to know.
Shay
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Semper Fortis
Shay
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Semper Fortis
??
Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:09 pm
Here are a few more. I'm sure Wade has all of them.
Beeson & Gentile
Receiving DFC
Beeson & Gentile
Receiving DFC
Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:31 am
Great pics! That's gotta be one of my favorite Stang paint jobs. I had no idea Gentile was from Piqua..I drive past there every time I visit NMUSAF.
So..how exactly is Gentile's name pronounced? I've heard it as "Jenn-tile," "Jenn-teel," and even "Jenn-tilly."
SN
So..how exactly is Gentile's name pronounced? I've heard it as "Jenn-tile," "Jenn-teel," and even "Jenn-tilly."
SN
Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:40 am
Chicoartist wrote:mustangdriver wrote:Gentile's P-51 is one of my favorite Mustangs. I really wish one of the B or C models would get put back into his scheme. I also wish the original survived. COuld you imagine seeing it displayed in the NMUSAF?
Pieces of it are there - heh heh - not on display, though, and I've held them in my grubby hands!
Wade
So what kind of parts are left? Anything of the noseart?
Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:36 am
Steve Nelson wrote:Great pics! That's gotta be one of my favorite Stang paint jobs. I had no idea Gentile was from Piqua..I drive past there every time I visit NMUSAF.
So..how exactly is Gentile's name pronounced? I've heard it as "Jenn-tile," "Jenn-teel," and even "Jenn-tilly."
SN
Jenn-tilly.
Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:30 am
It's shame they closed down Gentile Air Station.
Shay
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Semper Fortis
Shay
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Semper Fortis
Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:25 am
mustangdriver wrote:So what kind of parts are left? Anything of the noseart?
The only known pieces of 43-6913 are a few flight instruments. Those are in Gentile's box in the collections area. I had heard rumors that these were removed from 6913 and presented to Gentile by crewmen of the salvage unit. I confirmed this specifically with several of those crewmen at a 4th FG reunion.
As for the rest of the plane, what wasn't salvaged for use with other aircraft was trucked off to be melted down. Regarding the 'rumors' that the wreck was bulldozed into a "pond", that simply is NOT true. There was no pond or ravine or anywhere else that "4th FG junk" was dumped. I confirmed that with those same men who worked there '42-'45 and helped take the plane apart AND I also confirmed that with the farmer who's dad owned the land, west of the base, that Gentile crashed on. He pointed out the "pond in question" to me when I was there, saying, "There's nothing here!"
For those interested, a Debden "Then & Now" tour begins here:
http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/id32.html
An article based on Gentile's logbook is here:
http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/id40.html
Wade