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Tale of The Lost Squadron lands at Mighty 8th Tuesday
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The 8th Air Force Historical Society’s Birthplace Chapter welcomes Pat Epps and Richard Taylor, founders of Greenland Expedition Society, to the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum Tuesday for a presentation on the “The Lost Squadron,” a group of World War II fighter and bomber planes lost near the Artic Circle.

On July 25, 1942, after being led astray by false weather report from German U-boats, 25 airmen flying six P-38s and two B-17s made a dangerous landing on the Greenland ice cap. Nine days later, the airmen, who huddled in a B-17 in order to survive, were rescued. The U.S. government never attempted to recover any of these aircraft which later became known as “The Lost Squadron.”  Fifty years later, the Atlanta-based Greenland Expedition Society recovered the first P-38 from beneath 265 feet of Artic ice. Remarkably, the plane was in good condition and after a 10-year restoration project, it returned to the sky for its flight as “Glacier Girl.”

Come hear more of these exciting rescues at the Birthplace Chapter dinner at the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum. Social networking begins at 5:30 p.m.; dinner and presentation start at 7 p.m. Reservations are required and the cost is only $15. Call Catherine Lumberg at (912) 748-8884 to reserve your seat. Birthplace Chapter Membership is not necessary to attend the presentation.

Activated in 1942 in Savannah, the 8th Air Force was an important strike element in World War II and remains an active force today. The Mighty 8th Air Force Museum honors the Mighty 8th’s proud legacy by preserving the stories of courage, character and patriotism displayed by the men and women of the 8th Air Force from World War II to the present.

The Mighty 8th Air Force Museum is open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. except New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The museum is located just minutes from downtown Savannah in Pooler at 175 Bourne Ave., off I-95, exit 102. www.mightyeighth.org; (912) 748-8888.