WIX Archives

Re: Memphis Belle moving?

Posted by Will Fowler on Wed Dec 03, 2003 11:38:46 AM

In reply top Memphis Belle moving? posted by B Darnell on Tue Dec 02, 2003 03:43:50 PM

My own feeling is that it will probably be better off moving to Dayton, I know this may seem hard, but if it cannot be looked after in Memphis is it not better to move it to Dayton where many more thousands of aircraft lovers will have a chance to see it and many other great aircraft and where it will receive the care needed to maintain its condition.

Regards,

Giles
:
: Once a rallying cry, Memphis Belle now met with indifferen
: ce
: Faded glory
:
: By Blake Fontenay
: Contact
: December 2, 2003
:
: To some Memphians, it might seem as unthinkable as someone
: loading Graceland onto a truck and shipping it to Las Veg
: as.
:
: Nevertheless, Charles Crawford doesn't have any trouble im
: agining a day when, to see the Memphis Belle - once one of
: the city's proudest symbols - people might have to plan a
: road trip to Dayton, Ohio.
:
:
:
:
:
: The worst part, in Crawford's view, is that Memphians don'
: t seem motivated enough to keep the artifact that bears th
: e city's name here.
:
: "I don't think people really identify it with the city of
: Memphis," said Crawford, who teaches history at the Univer
: sity of Memphis.
:
: The Belle, an aircraft that seemed invincible during its s
: toried run of World War II bombing missions, has fallen on
: hard times lately.
:
: For more than two years, efforts to raise funds to build a
: permanent museum for the Belle in the Memphis area have s
: puttered and stalled.
:
: And when the vintage B-17 bomber was moved from its high p
: rofile perch on Mud Island to a hangar at Millington Munic
: ipal Airport this year, few in the community even noticed.
:
:
: The United States Air Force Museum near Dayton stands read
: y to take custody of the Belle if the aircraft can't get t
: he care it needs in Memphis.
:
: The Belle is one of only 15 remaining B-17s owned by the m
: useum. According to a Web site run by Aero Vintage Books,
: an organization that sells books about aviation history, t
: here are 43 complete B-17s left around the world.
:
: Terry Aitken, the museum's senior curator, believes the Me
: mphis Belle Memorial Association, a local group entrusted
: with the airplane's upkeep, is committed to building an en
: closed exhibit space that's considered a must for effectiv
: e preservation.
:
: But Aitken notes the association needs the community's hel
: p to raise money for the project, which has been estimated
: to cost $10 million to $15 million.
:
: "Quite frankly, thus far we don't see the necessary suppor
: t in the community," Aitken said.
:
: To some, the seeming indifference to the Belle's plight is
: a bit mystifying.
:
: Frank M. Norfleet II, a retired auto parts wholesaler, ser
: ved in the Army during World War II and appreciates the ai
: rplane's contribution to the war effort.
:
: "It's certainly a wonderful symbol of World War II," said
: Norfleet, 85. "Yet it has never been well-received or give
: n the recognition it's due. I'm not sure exactly why. It j
: ust doesn't ring a real nostalgic bell with people."
:
: Fame has become fleeting for the Belle, which was once use
: d to rally the American public behind the war effort somew
: hat like the Jessica Lynch rescue did in the Iraq war.
:
: The Belle was the first of America's "Flying Fortresses" t
: o complete 25 successful European missions with its origin
: al crew.
:
: The publicized romance between the plane's pilot, Robert M
: organ, and Memphian Margaret Polk, the woman for whom the
: plane was named, brought the Bluff City a measure of refle
: cted glory.
:
: Several factors may explain why a local "Save the Belle" m
: ovement has never gotten off the ground.
:
: Gayle Rose, a local philanthropist who has been involved i
: n other historic preservation projects like the Hunt-Phela
: n Home, said the Belle's backers haven't really instilled
: in the public a "sense of urgency" that the airplane could
: one day be shipped out of town.
:
: "I'm not sure that has been articulated in a manner that c
: aptures the imagination of the community," Rose said. "I w
: ould hate to think Memphis is indifferent to its own histo
: ry."
:
: Crawford, the history professor, said it was hard to get p
: eople fired up about preservation projects in general.
:
: "You're dealing with something that happened 60 years ago,
: " Crawford said. "This does not have the immediacy people
: need to get involved."
:
: Brent Taylor, the City Council's chairman, would like to s
: ee the Belle remain in Memphis. But Taylor thinks funding
: for the museum needs to come from private sources, not the
: government.
:
: Taylor is among those who are unconvinced the Belle might
: be moved to another city.
:
: "The Memphis Belle only makes sense in Memphis," Taylor sa
: id. "It's not the Cleveland Belle or the San Antonio Belle
: ."
:
: Another problem has been a lack of consensus about where a
: Belle museum should be located.
:
: W.S. 'Babe' Howard, a member of the Millington Municipal A
: irport Authority, thinks the plane should remain in his to
: wn after an expected two- or three-year restoration projec
: t is finished.
:
: "I look at it as representing all World War II personnel,
: not just the ones from the town of Memphis," Howard said.
:
:
: Morgan, the former pilot, comes down on the side of keepin
: g the plane somewhere in the Memphis city limits.
:
: Morgan, a retired Air Force colonel, said the museum proje
: ct might be further along if not for a lack of coordinatio
: n between the Memphis Belle Memorial Association and the s
: eparate Memphis Belle War Memorial Foundation, a group for
: med in 1999 to raise money for the project.
:
: "If the two groups can get their heads together, I'm optim
: istic they'll be able to raise the money," said Morgan, 85
: , who lives in Asheville, N.C. "If this constant bickering
: between the groups goes on, I think they'll have trouble
: raising the money."
:
: Andy Pouncey, a board member for the memorial association,
: said his group hopes to have a business plan outlining th
: e Belle's future ready by the beginning of the new year.
:
: That plan will outline a strategy to raise money not only
: for the renovation work at the Millington site, but also f
: or the permanent museum - wherever it might be located.
:
: Pouncey, who is also Germantown's assistant city administr
: ator, said the association plans to launch a public awaren
: ess campaign about the Belle's past, present and future.
:
: That campaign will include a Dec. 7 dedication ceremony at
: the hangar where the Belle will be restored.
:
: "You have to make people aware of your commitment and your
: seriousness to restore and find a permanent home for the
: Belle," Pouncey said. "This doesn't just speak to those wh
: o were involved in World War II. It speaks to all generati
: ons."
:
:
: - Blake Fontenay:
:
: 529-2386

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