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Our Open House for the Broward Goes to War Exhibit was a success! It was great fun to meet all the new people that found their way to the Museum. It was also very nice to see past and present members, and to reconnect with friends. Everyone was interested and complimented the volunteers for their hard work in helping to preserve our history. We had a full house! Thank you to Ken Kaye from the Sun-Sentinel newspaper for spreading the word! The Broward Goes To War Exhibit will be on display at our Museum until September 16, 2013. Click here to read about the exhibit and to check for visiting hours Photos by Minerva Bloom and Robert Morris.
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67th Anniversary US Navy Flight 19 Memorial Honoring the WWII servicemen During WWII, the Military had to mobilize with speed and urgency, thus the number of casualties at military bases was on the high side. A sad but equally historic note is the fact that 95 Americans lost their lives at the NAS Fort Lauderdale base during 1942-1945— the three most intensive training years of the war. The Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association proudly salutes all of the service members who perished while serving at this naval air station. Memorial Ceremony Program Sample - Click for larger view - The historic WWII Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum hosted the 67th Anniversary of the US Navy Flight 19 Memorial, on 5 December 2012. The Master of Ceremony was Donald Prichard, Vice President of the NASFL Historical Association. In attendance were Broward County Aviation Department Directors, several historians and local politicians, including Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca and retired Mayor Jim Naugle, whose uncle Thomas "Tex" Ellison was a flight Instructor at this naval base. In all, about 160 people attended the ceremony. Among the attendees were many veterans of wars, five of them were personnel of the former NAS Fort Lauderdale: Lt. David White, TBM flight Instructor who participated in the search for Flight 19; George Lord, Aviation gunner's mate on TBMs; Henry Torres, Sr., who was in charge of the Machine Shop at the Beach Target Range; Floyd Johnson, TBF Gunner; and Allan McElhiney USNR aboard the USS Asheville, a ship that tested weapons for this naval base. Also, Officers and crewmen of the USS Taylor (FFG-50) The Proud Defender participated with Commander Dennis Volpe, as well as members of the Stranahan High School Marine Corps JROTC Color Guard. The vocalist for this occasion was professional singer and entertainer Frank Loconto and the bugler assembly and TAPS was performed by Robert Young. This event was covered by the media. Honoring Allan McElhiney This Museum began with the vision of one man, who was a sailor in World War II, aboard the USS Asheville: Allan McElhiney, who in the course of more than 30 years has compiled a vast amount of documents, photographs, articles and artifacts for the institution he founded. This Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places, the only military museum in Broward county, and the only remaining WWII military building left in Broward county, thanks to his efforts. We salute you Allan McElhiney. Gallery of Images Copyright © David Baum Click for larger view
“The leader was an experienced combat pilot, these were reliable planes in good condition, and it was a routine training mission. We were alerted to look around the islands and to keep searching the water for debris. They just vanished. We had hundreds of planes out looking, and we searched over land and water for days, and nobody ever found the bodies or any debris.” - Lt. David White, NASFL Flight Instructor, participated in the search for Flight 19. 5 December, 1945: Flight 19 disappears into the Bermuda Triangle Flight 19 was the designation of five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared on December 5, 1945 during a U.S Navy overwater navigation training flight from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida. All 14 airmen on the flight were lost, as were all 13 crew members of a PBM Mariner flying boat assumed to have exploded in mid-air while searching for the flight. It was one of the largest air and sea searches in history. Flight 19 remains one of the great aviation mysteries.
We invited five WWII Veterans living in the area of Fort Lauderdale for a Round Table discussion at the Link Trainer Building #8 (our current Museum). These Veterans served at the NAS Fort Lauderdale base during the period of 1942–1946. George Lord was a Gunnery Instructor; Henry Torres Sr., had been in charge of the Machine Shop at the Beach Target Range, Allan McElhiney was stationed aboard the USS Asheville at Port Everglades. The Asheville tested experimental weapons for NASFL. David Epstein who got to train with George H.W. Bush, would drive a Jeep Willys loaded with parachutes from NAS Key West to NAS Fort Lauderdale. And David White a Senior Flight Instructor, was part of the search for Flight 19.
The Veterans were asked questions such as:
Check our Member Spotlights for March and April: Lt. David White Senior Instructor at NAS Fort Lauderdale
1944 and 1945. Participated on the search for Flight 19 __Witness
The Bermuda Triangle by Louise Hidalgo, Witness Senior Producer for the BBC World Service The story of the Bermuda Triangle began when five US Navy planes went missing in 1945. No trace of the bombers was ever found - and since then - other ships and planes have diappeared in the same area of the Atlantic Ocean. Witness hears from one man who took part in the original search for Flight 19: Lt. David White USN WWII. Download this episode (mp3) Related Article: Bermuda Triangle plane mystery 'solved' (Sept 13, 2009). |
Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale MuseumNational Register of Historic Places. A Florida Heritage Site. Only remaining structure from WWII left on the naval base property. Home of Flight 19 one of the great aviation mysteries. A 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. The Only Military Museum in Broward County. Support the Museum at Amazon
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Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum
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