Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

The Warbirds of Glory Museum, located in New Hudson, is bringing people from multiple generations together as they work towards a common goal; the restoration of a B-25 Mitchell Bomber.

The B-25 in question is named the Sandbar Mitchell, and after its service in World War II, was a fire suppression bomber in Alaska until it crashed on June 27,1969. Decommissioned bombers were used to hold fire retardant that could be dumped on wildfires.

The Sandbar Mitchell crashed after suffering a multi-engine failure while battling a fire in Fairbanks.

B-25s were used during the Italy campaign and in the Pacific during the war.

It sat, slowly decaying and being reclaimed by the forest around it, for decades.

Warbirds of Glory President Patrick Mihalek learned of the downed aircraft and dedicated a significant amount of time and resources to its recovery. After reaching out to the family who owned it, the plane was purchased for $1. He and Todd Trainor bought the plane in 2013 then the pair, along with a group of others, trekked out to the Sandbar Mitchell to bring it to Brighton, where the real work began.

The plane arrived in Brighton on July 14, 2013.

After several years of working out of a hangar in Brighton, the group realized they were rapidly outgrowing their space. They reached out to Oakland and Livingston County to see what options they had, and the decision was ultimately made to move to the Oakland Southwest Airport in New Hudson.

Since the beginning, the museum has relied on volunteers to help restore the airplane to its former glory. A group of retirees work tirelessly to rebuild and restore sections of the plane, ensuring everything is measured and aligned correctly.

Another group started off with just one teenager coming in to help.

The apprenticeship program offered by the museum has not only taught students technical skills, such as developing models in CAD and then creating them in the real world, it’s also instilled a love of not only engineering, but aviation. Many of the participants in the program have gone on to work in aviation. One of them even received a scholarship usually given only to residents of Minnesota.

“We’ve had over 50 kids come through here,” Mihalek said. “A lot of them have gone off to the engineering field, the Air Force, aircraft mechanics and a few have even chosen to go the flight route and are now commercial pilots.”
The volunteers and apprentices may not have a lot in common on the surface, but their dedication and love for history and the Sandbar Mitchell unites them.

Mihalek said the Sandbar Mitchell will honor a crew from another B-25 bomber that was shot down in Germany and taken captive by the SS. While serving as a fire bomber, the plane had the tail code 8Z. They decided to keep the tail code and tie it back to World War II. Research led them to the 340th Bomber Group, 488th Bomber Squadron

The plane was shot down while attempting to bomb the North Campo Railroad Bridge in Brenner Pass. The plane was hit with flak and was unable to climb to a high enough altitude to get out of the mountain pass.

The crew was made up of pilot 2nd Lt. James E. Jacobs, copilot 2nd Lt. Hardy D. Narron, top turret gunner and flight engineer S/Sgt Medard R. Tafoya, bombardier 1st Lt. George W. Hammond, radio and gunner S/Sgt Jack B. Willingham and tail gunner S/Sgt Melvin E Kelley. They ultimately bailed out of the plane and were captured and imprisoned in Male, Italy before being transferred to the Bolzano concentration camp in 1945.

Narron, Trafoya and Hammond were killed while at the camp for allegedly attempting to escape.

There are artifacts from the crew, including medals and a bracelet from Hammond and letters written by family members trying to find out any information during their captivity. Pieces of the original 8Z are also on display. Some of the parts were able to be restored and will go into the restoration of the Sandbar Mitchell.

Among the items on display, including navigation tools and medals from those who served during the war, there is an instrument panel for a B-25. The panel was built using the original manuals. The final pieces of the panel were soldered by Marylou White, an original “Rosie the Riveter” who worked on the B-25 panels and signed her name and number to the back, just like she had done on numerous other panels during the war. The Museum hosted an event in Kansas City to have her complete the panel.

With plans to eventually move to an even larger airport and get the Sandbar Mitchell back into the air, the museum is collecting donations to complete the plane. The museum is free to enter, but donations are graciously accepted. Hours are expanding to walk-ins on Saturdays. Tours will be given around the facility, where visitors can see pieces that are original to the plane and see first-hand the amount of dedication being given to the aircraft. To confirm hours, check their website, warbirdsofglory.org, or click the link below. Those interested in an apprenticeship with the group should also visit their website for more information.

To hear my interview with Mihalek and more about the museum, click the link below to our podcast episode.

(photo credit: Amanda Forrester)