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WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:20 pm

I received this on the Warbird-Central.com site.

Does anyone know who I could contact with means to a P-47?


I received this message today. Does anyone know anyone with a P-47?

Good Afternoon,

First of all I would like to introduce myself. My name is Vickie Clark and I am the VERY proud daughter of Mr. James W. Decker. I am requesting your help to honor my father as a World War II veteran.

My father is James W. Decker he lives in Aztec, NM at the present time. He is a retired CPA. He is 88 years young and his health is deteriorating faster than our family would like. He has heart problems, prostate cancer, and he is losing his memory slowly.

The reason I am writing you is that my father was hospitalized 4-11-11 from bleeding of the mouth. Anyways, while he was sitting on his hospital bed talking about his old World War II days, (which he loves to share) when my father reminiscences about his war days he always breaks down and cries about his old aircraft he use to fly. He state, “I loved that plane, it always brought me home.”

From that information, I am requesting your help to bring my father’s dream come true. While in the hospital, my father said, “I would give anything to sit in a cock pit of a P-47 again, just more time.” I am trying so hard to make his dream come true.

From that I would like to continue my request to honor my father’s wishes. My father was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Air Force during World War II. He flew a P-47-D Thunderbolt, 27th Fighter Bomber Group, and 523rd Fighter Squadron. He served his country from 1942-1945. Her flew 69 missions in areas of Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Island around Italy, and Yugoslavia. His flight crew was one of the crews that escorted General Patton. The planes back then did not have radar like the planes now days do.

His aircraft had 8 (eight) 50 calibur guns which would shoot 12 bullets a minute. The bombs weighed 500 lbs each one on each wing and 3 under the belly of the aircraft. I had 6 (six) 5 (five) inch rackets. One on each wing. On the missions that he flew it was usually a crew of 4, 6, 12, or 16 aircrafts in the sky depending upon the missions.

Each mission was to knock out anything in sight. Buildings, houses, tele-a-communications, roads, railroads, trucks, tanks,…..anything is sight.

Each mission was not always safe for him. One incident his right wing was shot off. His missions were to fly as low to the ground as possible to wipe out anything.

This is just a little information on my hero dad James W. Decker. I am requesting your help to seek out a P-47-D Thunderbolt that my father may sit in the cock pit for his last dream to come true. I am looking for a volunteer that owns a P-47-D that would not mind flying into Farmington, NM to let my dad sit in the plane. I know he is 88 years young, but at that age your day is dawn with the 21 gun salute. I told my father I would try everything I could think of to make his dream come true and just cried and cried. Please hlep me make a veterans dream come true. If it was not for the service men in World War II I do not know where our country would be today. I am sincerely hoping I hear from you I do not know where to turn to. Thank you for your co-operation in the matter God Bless.

Vickie Clark work-505 599-8611×1110
Home-505 324-6256
Cell 505 486-2568.

I live in Farmington, NM. My father lives in Aztec, NM.

Please do not let a veteran’s dream be lost or heart broken. Please help my father’s dream come true.

God Bless

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:09 am

With only 9 or so airworthy, that's going to be tough. Worth a shot though. Would West-Pac be the closest?

Wonder if he could make the trip to Pima?

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:35 pm

Not much info out there on this group.. but this is a pretty cool page!

http://www.charlies-web.com/WWII_med/index.html

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:27 pm

Hmmmmm,

There is a USAF dress uniform, with Major or LtCol insignia, command pilot wings, ribbons, and the nameplate of DECKER, selling at auction here in NM in an hour.

Coincidence?
http://esellauctionsandmarketplace.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=40303&weid=16089&weiid=6118206&archive=n&lso=lotnumasc&pagenum=8&lang=En

ETA: phone calls made.

ETA: just talked to Vickie. This is not her Dad's uniform.
Last edited by tinbender2 on Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:54 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:29 pm

I hope his wish comes true!

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:45 pm

tinbender2 wrote:Hmmmmm,

There is a USAF dress uniform, with Major or LtCol insignia, command pilot wings, ribbons, and the nameplate of DECKER, selling at auction here in NM in an hour.

Coincidence?
http://esellauctionsandmarketplace.auctionflex.com/showlot.ap?co=40303&weid=16089&weiid=6118206&archive=n&lso=lotnumasc&pagenum=8&lang=En

ETA: phone calls made.


Wow, the family can't even wait until he's buried?

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!! P-47 needed in NM?

Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:55 pm

I am now working with Kevin Haynes with the Make A wish foundation on this project.

I am sure they are willing to help fund this adventure down to NM in some way shape or form.

I am trying to spread the word as much as possible, so please if anyone has any information on to get in touch with the P-47 guys, please let me know.

I contacted WestPac, waiting on a response.


Thank you!


Paul Krumrei

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:56 pm

Thanks Paul,

If there is any small thing we may be able to help with, please post here.

I'm in Albuquerque, NM.

Perhaps a road trip to a static P-47 is a possibility?

I checked War Eagles in Santa Teresa, NM, but didn't see a P-47 on display.

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:17 am

i know tom duffy out of new york who has a p-47. There's a p-47 in windsor locks, CT that would let you sit in, but this is on the east coast

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:48 am

What about thinking about this in a reverse way- what would be the possibility of getting the vet to a P-47? By that I mean there are plenty of guys that would love the opportunity to help make a vet's wish come true, but don't have a P-47...but they do have a KingAir, or a Baron etc. Could you get someone with a private airplane, maybe even a jet, to fly him to a P-47? With per hour flight costs on a P-47 getting pretty bad, it would be much cheaper to fly him to the P-47 than to fly the P-47 to him. Would he be up for the flight, especially if it was a private flight and not commercial? Just trying to think outside of the box...

kevin

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:06 pm

What about Hinton and POF?

Tom P.

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:14 pm

tulsaboy wrote:What about thinking about this in a reverse way- what would be the possibility of getting the vet to a P-47? By that I mean there are plenty of guys that would love the opportunity to help make a vet's wish come true, but don't have a P-47...but they do have a KingAir, or a Baron etc. Could you get someone with a private airplane, maybe even a jet, to fly him to a P-47? With per hour flight costs on a P-47 getting pretty bad, it would be much cheaper to fly him to the P-47 than to fly the P-47 to him. Would he be up for the flight, especially if it was a private flight and not commercial? Just trying to think outside of the box...

kevin


Excellent idea!

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Thu Apr 21, 2011 4:09 pm

whistlingdeathcorsairs wrote:i know tom duffy out of new york who has a p-47. There's a p-47 in windsor locks, CT that would let you sit in, but this is on the east coast

You might send him to Philly to see Tom Duffy's P-47. It is in Millville NJ near Philly.
I believe there is a P-47 in Long Island as well.

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:15 pm

California, Colorado and Texas have P-47's which would be a bit closer. POF in Chino would be a good one. The problem I see is if he would have difficulty traveling to one of those states, the effort to get him up in a P-47 cockpit would be tenfold. I would assume some sort of ladder operation and several handlers would be needed. But maybe if the fellow saw his old mount he would probably climb up and right in on his own. :D

Re: WWII Vet needs your HELP!!

Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:25 pm

contact MIV FSS about duffy, or his firm.
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