Abilene Reporter-News from Abilene, Texas • 2

1 i 'i 2A Abilene Reporter-News Saturday Oct 3 1992 Vv' Larry Tagg taking part in air show that wons draw a crowd i i 1 fi sp vv gathering aircrafV parts in vain at-tempt i hle io4 fly out -of these mountains where they met their final Larry Tagg make it to Midland the wilderness and restored least to this year display the senior Tagg 1 While thousands will come flocking to says West Texas next weekend to watch the According to Tagg the AT-9 remains' airplanes of World War II are just one of at least 28 known military over Midland International Airport tary plane crashes in the Tucson area as part of the Confederate Air since 1941 Over die years many of fM rr i ij Nancy Robinson Ups Downs tion the wreck but the exact location had never been known While dad Lany went to work 'getting the Pima Air Museum interested in restoring the AT-9 assistant Lincoln Forest archaeologist Martyn Tagg brother began the necessary paperwork for the removal and a Beven-acre archaeological assessment of the area was pleted in order to obtain the special permit necessary Martyn Tagg listed the components including fuselage tail and wings pretty well intact The tail section is lying at the top of the ridge with the wings and fuselage downslope and the engines further downslope Some missing pieces may have been torn away in the crash but mysteriously others appear to have been unbolted and removed including the nose cone instruments and other interior pieces While the logical explanation might be that hikers are responsible for the missing pieces there are some who have long believed the peaks around Tucson are full of the spirits of flyers destiny rv' -jy It is interesting to note Martyn said that the Pima Air Museum obtained a complete AT-9 nose cone from a flea market in Tucson in -late 1989 The nose cone from the Gila AT-9 is missing It has been determined that removal of the wreckage will not affect any in the national forest and will in fact clean up another area of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Hie Taffs hope to finally he retrieving the AT-9 while the air show in Midland is under way A worldwide warbird survey reports there are only 615 pro- Seller-driven fighters and bombers ying or flyable sis of last year While the exact numbers of trainers and other types are not confirmed there is one sure fact: this AT-9 ever be one of them OK with Larry- Philip and Martyn But it probably set well with the spirits of the Black Range Tagg will be involved in another kind of air show This one however draw a crowd Scattered across the remote Black Range of the Gila National Forest in Arizona are the remains of a Curtiss-Wright AT-9 that someone beat described as looking like a fat banana with a green chili slung under each wing for engines The only other AT-9 known to exist in any shape form or fashion of the 299 built for the Army Air Corps to train pilots in World War II is in the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB Ohio If retired Air Force chaplain Larry Tagg and his sons Philip and Martyn have their way every piece of this AT-9 the 29th built will be retrieved from these wrecks have been carried out if they were accessible buried or even dynamited so they cause confusion in any future search and rescue efforts Several years ago Larry Tagg was responsible for getting the United States Board on Geographic Names and the Forest Service to name a 6090-foot peak in the Catalina Mountains Peak" in honor of the 19 military servicemen who had been killed in the Tucson-area mountain ranges airmen were not big-name heroes in any dramatic sense but surely they were as much casualties of the hot and cold wars of this country as much as any he says On Dec 30 1942 the AT-9 flown by Lt Winston Bradford and Flying Cadet Jerome Barleau was on a search mission for a downed AT-17 reported to have crashed near Clear Creek in the Gila National Forest While flying up a canyon the AT-9 encountered a down-draft that resulted in a crash landing into a pine tree Both occupants survived the crash and walked out to Hermosa 10 miles away The AT-9 however remained scattered in the trees and ledges of the mountains In November 1989 Black Range Lead Forestry technician Philip Tagg pinpointed the almost inaccessible location from a helicopter during a forest fire Philip had heard others men Area at a glance Perot begins campaign with appeal to cut deficit 4 3283-87 So 14th 698-8119 1JininfEll ISkBsaSElH rinrTI 20 off All Hanes Hosiery Sept 28th-Oct 10th ByTOMRAUM Layaway Welcome Open house in Cisco CISCO The new Cisco Retirement Center at 800 Sixth will have open house from 2 to 4 pm Sunday Located in the former Brown Chiropractic Sanitorium the retirement home opened for business last Thursday Owners are David and Wilma Lee Phillips Since 1988 Mrs Phillips has opened two other retirement homes in Silsbee and Roby The Cisco home will accommodate 14 to 20 elderly people depending on the number of couples Merkel library MERKEL The high school library will be open for public use from 6-8 pm each Monday night during October on a trial Anson schools ANSON School will not be held Monday so teachers can attend in-service training Anson band ANSON The Band Booster Club will meet at 7 pm Monday in the band hsdl All band parents are urged to at-' tend Meetings are held on the first Monday of each month Fine arts in Breckenridge BRECKENRIDGE The Breckenridge Fine Arts Center will be open Monday through Oct 28 for its first Juried Art Show There are more than 100 paintingB on display by 83 different artists The gallery is located at 207 Breckenridge Avenue and is open weekdays from 11 am until 5 pm up to the American people I am more than willing to go down in flames if the Amer- ican people are too soft to face it nobody will ever be able to 1 say I lay it out straight for Perot said according to a partial transcript of remarks released by the network Perot traveled to New York to tape the interview with Ms Walters in advance of the show and spent more than $1 million or more on network ads to air next week In Dallas Orson Swindle the moat visible official in the reborn campaign aaid would appear that become the media spokesman so I guess a role that wear And some might even hint that the campaign manager But I think my role I think Mr Perot will be the driving force behind the DALLAS Rosa Perot launched hia presidential bid Friday by calling for to cut the national deficit but said hia appeal would fail the American people are too soft to face V- will be pain everywhere like World War We-had shared Perot aaid of hia program to cut spending and raise taxes all have to do it together I do it for Perot aaid during an interview with Barbara Walters taped for Perot insisted that voters would support increases in taxes on gasoline Social Security payments and medical benefits because talking about fair share Asked if he thought he would be elected president Perot New Shipment! Button Covers 'RUhds ioUTIQUEl Chimney Plaza Shopping Cantor 3214 South 27th Street 691-0332 Open 10 to 5-30.