WIX Archives

CAF Harpoon Article

Posted by B Darnell on Wed Oct 08, 2003 09:55:23 AM

This article is from today's Minneapolis Star & Tribune.

MUSKEGO, WIS. -- For the last 10 years Leo Trost has awakened with a smile on his face every Saturday morning.

Trost, 87, looks forward to the day all week long. Not because it's his time to relax -- quite the opposite.

On Saturdays he works with military enthusiasts to restore a World War II bomber.

"We're just a bunch of guys that want to get that thing up in the air," Trost said. "About 10 years ago someone asked me if I wanted to help repair it, and I didn't hesitate. I love working on antique stuff."

He is one of about 20 volunteers from across southeastern Wisconsin helping the Commemorative Air Force restore a Lockheed PV-2D Harpoon bomber, named the Empire Express, in honor of the four Navy bombing squadrons that operated under that name.

The Commemorative Air Force bought the bomber in 1986 from a farmer who was using it to spray pesticides over his crops, said John Kmet, a volunteer.

"When we got it, we flew it right into Waukesha," Kmet said. "The reason it's taking so long to restore is we didn't have a hangar until 1995. But it will be restored to 1945 regulations."

The plane was built in October 1945, missing the end of World War II by one month.

Kmet said the plane needs a tremendous amount of cleanup, especially the interior, which has been stripped.

Once restored, it will be flown to Midwest air shows, where it will tell the story of the pilots who flew bombing missions from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Japanese Kurile Islands during World War II.

Restoration is being completed solely by volunteers and financed by donations, Kmet said.

To raise the money, the Wisconsin Wing of the Commemorative Air Force held its seventh annual hangar dance last month at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.

"We work on it all day Saturday and on Tuesday and Thursday nights," Kmet said. "There is no telling when we will finish. I didn't think it would take this long."

Although he would love to see the bomber fly again, Trost isn't hoping to finish the proj ect anytime soon.

"Whatever has to be done, I'll do it," he said. "I don't question anything, just do as I'm told. If you question, then you lose interest, and I'm going to keep going as long as I can."

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