The Kokomo Tribune from Kokomo, Indiana • Page 14

14 Kokomo (Ind.) Tribune Wednesday, July 20, 1988 Senior Airman Ray Castell, left, and Airman Darren Lloyd work on restoration effort Carl Wells of Kokomo, left, talks planes with Reginald Judge of Warminster, England Grissom air park open house Sunday GRISSOM AIR FORCE BASE, Ind. Air parks attract visitors of all ages, and during the past several months tremendous strides have been taken to make the Heritage Museum Air Park, adjacent to the front gate at Grissom, more inviting and accessible. An open house at the park is scheduled Sunday to highlight just how much progress has been made. The air park is normally open to the public daily from dawn to dusk, but special events are planned starting at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Guides, identified by Heritage Museum hats, will be in the park all afternoon. They will be providing information about the displays, background of the museum, and plans for Phase III of the museum's growth. Sgt. Ken Zirkle of Kokomo will be honored during a recognition ceremony with the presentation of the recently authorized POW medal. Zirkle, a member of the 305th Bombardment Group Memorial Association, was shot down, captured and held as a prisoner of war while serving as a B-17 gunner during World War II.

Lt. Col. Dick Wolfe, the pilot of "Miss Liberty Belle," the B-17 whose design was used in the restoration of the B-17 in the air park, and five members of his crew also are planning to attend. The president of the Heritage Museum Foundation, Col. William Savage will open the ceremony immediately after the posting of the colors at 5 p.m.

The foundation members will also recognize people in the community who have donated services and materials to the air park. Hamburger lunches, including salad and soft drinks, will be available for $3 per person. Patriotic music will provide the background throughout the afternoon. Decoration far from plain (Tribune photos by Royce Vibbert) Frank Cox and son Wayne stopped to visit air park en route home to Louisville after a trip I i iuui ic luiuo uy IUUCF owi i ajr i ic oiupjjt-vj ui ci 11 pui i i wu ix; i i ic L.UUIOVIIIG a i ici a 1U Air park a tribute to military history arc y. i m'-rr house ceremony.

Former Dink B-25 which was By Van Searcy Tribune staff writer Dateline: 1943. You're flying somewhere over Germany. This is the Second World War. Allied and Axis powers battle below. Your plane is a B-17 flying for the United States Army Air Corps 305th Bombardment Group.

Dateline: 1945. Your B-17 is retired from active service along with the 305th. However, the 305th wing is reactivated in 1953 to serve in the Korean conflict. Dateline: 1988. You are grounded at Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana, the nation's largest aerial refueling base.

The B-17 is here, and so is the 305th. However, the B-17 no longer flies and the 305th no' longer bombs. You're roaming around the grounds of the Heritage Museum and Air Park, reliving memories and gazing in awe at the hulking steel sculptures which once graced the sky in service to our country. Even if you're not a war veteran, there is much to enjoy at the new Grissom Air Force Base Historic Air Park. All that is needed is some interest in aviation and a bit of natural curiosity; the park handles the rest.

An undeniable sense of history roams among the collection of vintage aircraft near main entrance. The new air park was created by the Heritage Museum Foundation, an organization founded in 1981 by William Savage Jr. heads foundation John Crume of Kokomo. Crume, noting the base's original collection of airplanes in various states of disrepair, was moved to preserve the planes in honor of the instrumental part they played in the country's military history. The foundation is a joint civilian and military volunteer group which maintains the air park and collects artifacts associated with the history of the 305th "Can-Do" Wing.

The president of the Heritage Museum Foundation is Col. Bill Savage deputy commander for resource management in his official capacity at Grissom. Although Savage is in the military, his association with the foundation is strictly voluntary. All the foundation's work is done on a volunteer basis and supported financially by private citizens. As president of the foundation, Savage embarked on a three-phase mission.

Phase I was completed last January with moving the planes from the base, where they were not accessible to the general public, to their new location. While the new site is base- owned, it is not officially a part of the base so the public is allowed to enter without passing through Grissom's front gate. Phase II involved bringing the new air park up to the standards of the former location and readying it for the third phase which begins Sunday with the air park open house ceremony. Former members of the 305th who flew in some of the planes on display will gather and dedicate the air park. The open house marks the beginning of a major fund-raising campaign.

Savage and other foundation members hope to collect enough money and volunteer support to open a permanent museum to house aviation artifacts apart from the planes on display. According to air park museum curator Frank Ross, an aircraft commander at Grissom, the foundation has 17 planes in its inventory and 15 on display. Ross helps with bringing the planes to Grissom and overseeing their restoration and maintenance. According to Ross, many of the planes now on display were flown to Grissom in their original condition. Two were shipped piece by piece and were rebuilt by volunteers.

One such plane is the F-86 which was shipped last winter from Lafayette with the help of instructors from Purdue University's Aviation and Technical School. Savage said the collection features planes that were important to Indiana military aviation. Many of the planes actually flew out of Gnssom, which was known as Bunker Hill Air Force Base before 1968. Some of the planes that touched down at Grissom and are now displayed at the air park are the B-29, B-47, and B-58. A special attraction is the pink B-25 which was featured in the movie "Catch 22." The park also is the site of two memorials.

The first is dedicated to the soldiers in all branches of national service who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. The second is dedicated to the crew members of a KC-135 from Grissom who lost their lives in Panama while returning from a refueling mission on June 17,1986. Savage encourages anyone interested in volunteering, donating, or becoming a member of the Heritage Museum Foundation to write Post Office Box 6502, Kokomo, Ind. 46902-6880. He says, "The only way to appreciate it is to become involved." Savage said volunteers do not need any experience to work on the planes.

He said people are needed in any capacity, from administration to painting. According to Savage and Ross, the opening of the air park will increase tourism in the area. The air park is listed in the Wander Indiana tourism guide and nationally and internationally in tour magazines. Savage has been reassigned to Rochester, N.Y., and will be leaving at the beginning of August. Assuming his foundation duties will be Rob Hofer of Noblesville, the group's vice president.

The air park is next to Grissom's main gate, 15 miles north of Kokomo on U.S. 31. It is open from daylight to dusk..