[Rhodes22-list] Memphis Belle Update

brad haslett flybrad at yahoo.com
Fri Oct 22 05:38:50 EDT 2004


Here is how politics really works.  It seems the two
congressmen from the Memphis area have won a temporary
stay to keep the Belle from moving to Wright-Pat AFB.
I wonder how many billions of dollars of budget cuts
they threatened the Airforce with?  Brad
  

By Bartholomew Sullivan
sullivanb at snhs.com
October 22, 2004

WASHINGTON -- After political and public uproar in
Memphis following its decision this month, the Air
Force has imposed a "strategic pause" on plans to move
the iconic Memphis Belle to Ohio. 

The decision to delay the recall for 60 days was
hailed by Memphis officials and the congressmen who
worked behind the scenes after the Oct. 5 decision was
announced, but others with long ties to the plane said
the Air Force's indecision was annoying. 

 
"Today's announcement is an important step in our
efforts to reverse the Air Force's decision to
relocate the Memphis Belle," said Rep. Harold Ford
Jr., D-Tenn. "Memphians saved this historic aircraft
from the junkyard almost 60 years ago, and Memphians
are currently restoring it to its original state. We
will keep working together as a community to keep this
historic aircraft in Memphis where it belongs." 

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said: "The Memphis
Belle will forever be an important part of American
history, and I believe its rightful home is in the
great city of Memphis." 

Memphis Belle Memorial Association president Andrew
Pouncey was more circumspect. Reached in San Diego, he
said he was "not too encouraged" by the letter from
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley. He
said he hoped legislators could work out an agreement
to keep the plane in Memphis forever with a timeline
committing local authorities to getting the
preservation and presentation work completed. 

Kevin Kane, president of the Memphis Convention &
Visitors Bureau, said, "I know the Air Force has one
of the best aviation museums in Ohio, and I don't
blame them for wanting it. But the Memphis Belle is a
very strong part of Memphis's history. It's a strong
part of our cultural tourism base. It's a treasure for
this city and we don't want to lose it. I hope it
stays." 

Larry Lynch, secretary for the Memphis Belle War
Memorial Foundation, said the Belle could stay in
Memphis "if the public will support it." 

The Air Force, which owns the plane, announced this
month that it was exercising its rights under a lease
with the memorial association. 

The plane has been in Memphis since 1946, when the
city discovered the Belle, with the famous bathing
suit pin-up of Margaret Polk of Memphis on its nose,
and brought it home. It has had a variety of venues,
most recently on Mud Island. It is undergoing
restoration in Millington. 

But others with close ties to the historic B17 -- the
first "Flying Fortress" to complete 25 bombing
missions with its original crew, in 1943 --- said
they're weary of all the indecision about its fate,
and would be happy to see it sent to Ohio. 

Linda Morgan, widow of the Belle's commander, Col.
Robert Morgan, said he had wanted the plane to go to
the National Museum of the Air Force at
Wright-Patterson Air Base outside Dayton. 

"I'm disappointed because everybody keeps saying
they're going to do something and then they don't do
it," said Morgan, of Crane Hill, Ala. "I'm
disappointed with the Air Force a little; they're
either going to take the airplane back, or they're
not." 

Martha Sweeney, 82, of Diamond Head, Miss., Morgan's
first wife and a longtime friend, said she knows
Memphis loves the plane but that the Air Force Museum
will "do it right." 

With the 60-day period for re-evaluating the previous
Air Force decision, Sweeney had some advice: "I think
Memphis should get off dead center." 

Steve Verinis, whose father, James, co-piloted the
plane, said from Connecticut that his father always
wanted to see the plane preserved at the showcase
museum in Ohio. 

"Memphis has had more than enough opportunity, but
they've never done it," he said. "The fact that it was
based in Memphis all these years, and really wasn't
taken care of, speaks for itself." 

Contact Washington correspondent Bartholomew Sullivan
at (202) 408-2726. 

Staff reporter Stephen D. Price contributed to this
story. 


Copyright 2004, commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN.
All Rights Reserved.
 



		
_______________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today!
http://vote.yahoo.com


More information about the Rhodes22-list mailing list