Saving a vintage WWII Service club

[wendovertom]

This is warbird related but strictly speaking it is a service club building.

Historic Wendover Airfield is the largest and most original remaining Army Air Force training base in the U.S. We are really close to being able to fully restore the Service club building. This project will help restore the base service club and preserve the history of our veterans who sacrificed for us during WW II. Thousands of people have visited our control tower, Norden bombsight vault, 'Enola Gay' Hangar and atomic bomb loading pit. This restored building will be the new museum home and jumping off point to explore the historic base. Many people have fathers or grandfathers that served here, help us save their legacy of service and sacrifice. If you can help out in any amount here is the GoFundMe link:

http://www.gofundme.com/mt00ao

Hopefully in the near future you will be able to actually toast the greatest generation with a drink from the bar in this cool old building. We are actually hopeful to have the majority of the work done for the 509th Composite group and 306th Bomb Group reunions here in September.

Thanks,

Tom P.

[p51]

There can't be many restored clubs like this elsewhere.
One of the things people will collectively kick themselves over in the future will be the mad rush to destroy as many stateside buildings from WW2 as possible. Too many WW2 airfields were scraped clean and today you can't even tell there ever had been an airfield there.
I'd think Wendover, once their work is finished, will be the best preserved WW2 airfield in the US?

[cco23i]

Wendover is an AMAZING place, the club is fricken GREAT!! Once it's completed it will be the only WW2 club still around (I think).

[hang the expense]

Shame that more wasn't saved but at least the Wendover base is.So much history in this country has been let go.

[HCP54]

Submitted in error.

[hbtcoveralls]

The service club at Ft Indiantown GAP in Pennsylvania is the original WWII building although it has been updated. Look a this photo and the photo of the interior in the Wendover club and you can see the similarities. It's fantastic seeing the preservation effort at Wendover. One more place on the bucket list
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb ... CH8QoiowCg

[wendovertom]

We have a lot of work with and a lot was torn down after the war. Probably the most 'interesting' destruction of buildings was for the movie "Philadelphia experiment". A number of buildings were sold to the production company for $15 per building and then burned to the ground for the movie.

Here is a rather old video of the service club. It will also have a restored bar in the very near future!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=werYpGyGbqU

Tom P.

[p51]

The service club at Ft Indiantown GAP in Pennsylvania is the original WWII building although it has been updated. Look a this photo and the photo of the interior in the Wendover club and you can see the similarities. It's fantastic seeing the preservation effort at Wendover. One more place on the bucket list
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb ... CH8QoiowCg

I've heard that most of the WW2 buildings there are earmarked for demolition in the next few years.
I remember looking in there when I was there for one of the WW2 re-enactments in the 90s. But that was when they still had that massive field of WW2 barracks...

[cco23i]

Between the barracks and all the other buildings it would be a great living history airfield.

[cco23i]

Imagine a recreated 1944 airfield with period vehicles, troops and all. Man that would be a neat thing for many to see.


Scott

[UC61K]

Check out Eagle Field in Dos Palos CA.
Joe Davis and a great team of volunteers has been trying (and slowly succeeding) in preserving the entire airfield.
http://www.eaglefield.net

Jim C.
Midwest Aeronuatique LLC
UC-61K USAAF# 43-14964 / RAF# HB690

[p51]

Imagine a recreated 1944 airfield with period vehicles, troops and all. Man that would be a neat thing for many to see.

Yeah, but with the current state of re-enacting, there'd be your ground crew group, a few AAF folks of varying authenticity (and most lacking the parachutes for some reason as few AAF folks ever get that far with their impressions) and the rest would be...
wait for it...
Easy Company, 506th PIR.

Anyone into WW2 re-enacting will know they can't tell me I'm far off the mark for what would happen in such a case.