It was great to hear from Malcolm Barker, USNR WWII. He was aboard a PB4Y-2 Privateer, on which its crew spent 8 hours on 6 Dec, 1945, searching for Flight 19 out of Master Field, Miami. He contacted us through this website.  He shared with us the following images. Hope to see you soon Malcolm!

TBM-3 will fly in for the next Dec 5th Flight 19 Memorial Ceremony

Mr. Bob Murphy flew into Boca Raton and then rented a car and drove to the Museum on Friday, Jan. 28. He owns a TBM-3 torpedo bomber. He’s pretty sure that he will fly this plane here for the December 5th Flight 19 Memorial Ceremony for which he would like to do a flyover. His TBM-3 will be parked at National Jets. Great to meet you Bob!

Work is progressing on the outside of the building by the Aviation Department. We are close to getting the sprinkler system hooked up and finalized. We also have several New Members sponsored by other members, welcome new members!

The information for this particular design came from Johnny Signor, who is an avid unit emblem researcher. He studies WW-2 era flying unit emblems of the USN/USMC and USAAF. He is also a leather unit patchmaker of same. He contacted us with this information. Thank you Johnny! To read on the Origins of Nose Art and see some examples and links click here.

Lou "Sparkie" Seldon flew in the United States Navy for 7 years, worked for the Federal Aviation Administration for 23 years until he retired in Ft. Lauderdale in 1998 with 30 years U.S. Government Service. He then worked for American Airlines as a simulator instructor at the flight Academy near the DFW airport (so he could travel to Panama) , retired in 2008 and lives in Keller, TX near the DFW airport.

He sent a nice note to Allan McElhiney and the Museum:
"Mac: good to see you Sunday, Jan 2nd and how lucky the rental car number turned out to be the NASFL Historical Assoc as & I got to talk, then visit with you. Please keep me posted on how you & the Assoc are doing."

Visit his website Republic of Panama

Created by Minerva Bloom for the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum.

If you wish to volunteer now it's the time! Call the Museum at: (954) 359-4400 to set an appointment. Lots of great changes are happening! The Sprinkler system was set-up and the main Exhibit room is being re-organized and spruced up. The whole Museum is like a treasure chest because among the storage boxes (and rooms yet to be explored), we keep finding all sorts of vintage images, posters, articles, plaques, artifacts and WWII memorabilia. We're trying to find a place for everything to be incorporated into the exhibits. Our thanks to everyone that has contributed!

- Click on thumbnails to enlarge and read descriptions -
Photos by Minerva Bloom. © NASFL Museum.

The Museum was honored to be visited on the first week of January 2011 by Former U.S Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao and her father, who enjoyed their visit with Allan. She commented: "While in Fort Lauderdale, with my father, he and I visited the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum. We were given a delightful tour by its founder, Mr. Allan McElhiney, a veteran of World War II, and copies of his biography One Man's Vision, which chronicles his efforts to preserve the Naval Air Station".

Sun-Sentinel Newspaper
NAS Fort Lauderdale during WWII

January 15, 2011
By Jonathan D. Marcus
Forum Publishing Group

An exhibit chronicling the local impact of World War II is on display at the Broward County Historical Commission and Museum in Fort Lauderdale. "The Broward County Goes to War" exhibit in the museum's gallery depicts the economic, social and demographic changes during the war years of 1941-1945, and shortly thereafter. "The war put Broward County on the map. It forever changed it," said historical commission and museum curator Denyse Cunningham.

The gallery features display panels with graphics, diagrams, photographs and display cases with uniforms, artifacts and memorabilia. Accompanying text provides details and background information. Panels describe the military training that occurred in the area. Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, located where Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is now, was a training base for bomber pilots, and other naval schools also operated in Fort Lauderdale.

"Broward County was the perfect place for training because it was so flat and the weather was good all year long," Cunningham said. Local beach areas were restricted to military personnel, and blackouts at night were often called so that the German submarines that commonly patrolled offshore in the early years of the war would have difficulty seeing land, she said. A display case shows ration books and tickets, "The Victory Cook Book," which describes how to substitute for rationed foods, and the small bulbs that could be used during blackouts.

"It was a time of sacrifice," said Fort Lauderdale resident Allan McElhiney, who served aboard the USS Asheville during 1944-45 while it was at Port Everglades. "People all over the county were involved in the war. Some people were coming into downtown Fort Lauderdale on horse-drawn wagons because of the gas rationing." Other panels discuss area industries prominent during the war, such as agriculture and marine businesses, and document how the local economy boomed after the war's conclusion.

"The very first season after the war … ended up to be the biggest season that Broward County had had up until that time," said county historian Helen Landers. Hundreds of former service members who had been stationed here, like McElhiney, became county residents, and they were a key to later growth, Cunningham said. "It has so much to do with our growth and prosperity, more than anything probably," said John Bloom, a Fort Lauderdale physician who co-wrote a recent book with his wife Minerva about McElhiney. McElhiney moved to the area permanently in 1953 and helped found the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum in 1980.

"I fell in love with Fort Lauderdale because of the nice weather. The people are friendly down here, and I just enjoyed being here," he said. Historical commission and museum staff created the exhibit from their own collections, and the Boca Raton Historical Society, the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, the Hollywood Historical Society, and the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum also contributed materials or research.

"We see our agency as an umbrella that brings together the various area historical societies," Cunningham said.

To see the article online visit the Sun-Sentinel

From the Archives at: USS Houston CA-30
Survivors Association & Next Generations

Photo Acquired by John Bradford (Australia). John's source for the photograph of USS Houston (at anchor in Darwin) was the wife of the late Ron Beard who saw action while a member of HMAS Warrego’s No. 1 forward gun during the aborted convoy to Koepang and the Darwin air raid.  He left Warrego in December 1942. 

Survivor David Flynn
Still "Perpetuating the Memory of the CA-30 and Her Men"
By John K. Schwarz

"I had the pleasure recently of being able to spend the better part of a day while vacationing in Florida with this beloved survivor and his fabulous wife, Donna Mae. When greeting them, I was offered a little gift in the form of the book Allan McElhiney: One Man's Vision by John and Minerva Bloom, the story of the founder of the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association (NASFLHA).

Within a couple of days I began to read this book and couldn't put it down. Turns out that the Airport down there serving Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, Florida, an airport I have flown in and out of for over 15 years, was a major training base during WWII for Naval aviators and enlisted Naval airmen of the U.S Navy and Marine Corps. Among its notables who trained there was President George Bush Sr. He went on to fly off the aircraft carrier San Jacinto which ties it into the USS Houston CA-30 through fund raising following the CA-30's sinking. This air station was also notable in being the base from which was flown the memorable Flight 19 which disappeared without a trace while on a training mission over what has been characterized as the "Bermuda Triangle". All fourteen crew members were lost and nothing has ever been found of the plane or crew.

Allan McElhiney was a Navy man who served during WWII aboard the second USS Asheville Patrol Frigate (PF-1), and was stationed in Newport, R.I, during the Korean War. Coincidentally, the first USS Asheville (PG-21), was part of the Asiatic Fleet! Anyhow, just like the spirit of my late beloved Dad, Otto Schwarz, Allan set about and has devoted his entire life to preserving the memory and legacy of the contributions and sacrifices made by so many of the servicemen who served at NASFL. He established the historical association which has been able to retain an original building from the WWII air station which now sits on the airport grounds as a Navy Museum. I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon at this Museum and with this great WWII American hero. There he was, 85 years old, suffering from Parkinsons Disease, and staffing this Museum on his own, continuing his life's work through this Museum packed with artifacts. What a man! He is a true example of the "greatest generation".

Low and behold, commencing on page 94 of the book, is "Survivor's Story" which turned out to be a six-page depiction of David Flynn's experience as a CA-30 shipmate! I have to tell you that it made me so proud to read and see such a fabulous job David and the authors did in condensing David's story into these six pages. What a testament to the CA-30 and her crew. This is such a great example of one of our own beloved men having the courage and talent to tell the story so that the mission of "perpetuating the memory of the USS Houston CA-30 and her men" gets accomplished.

David, hat's off to you, JOB WELL DONE, and God bless you!"

John Schwarz is the Executive Director of the Blue Bonnet Newsletter of the USS Houston CA-30 Survivor's Association. He is the son of USN survivor Otto Schwarz. His father started this association in 1948. Otto recently passed away. Our deepest condolences to the Schwarz family.

To visit David Flynn's website Tribute by his son Shawn Flynn, click on this link.

Broward County Goes to War Exhibit
at the Broward County Historical Commission
From January to May 2011

During the next 5 months, please visit the Broward County Historical Commission at the very West End of Las Olas Blvd. (301 SW 13th Ave), to see how Broward geared up to help win World War II. A story of the Exhibit will appear on the Sun-Sentinel on Sunday the 16th. The Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale from 1942 to 1945 is featured.
Visit their Website: Historical Commission and Museum

301 S.W. 13th Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
Phone: 954-357-5553
FAX: 954-357-5522