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Flight 19 Club

12/27/2014

News update from the Flight 19 Club in Denmark:

Shared by Museum member Dr. Bjørn Madsen, Thank you guys for remembering along with us! Hope to see you next year, we will try to bring in a real Avenger for the Ceremony! You are always welcome here. --

"I realize this must have been a difficult year for you all when Allan McElhiney passed away. I am glad I had the pleasure to meet him when I visited the museum in 2012. Please accept my condolences.

I would also like to express my sympathy for David Epstein who lost his wife just recently. I remember how mr. Epstein was kind to offer his time and take me through the grand tour of the museum. It was inspiring to hear about the history of the NASFL from someone who had actually been there.

Here in Denmark we could arrange our little Flight 19 ceremony in the usual way, without any storms threatening this year ! We were 16 attending this year. I will send you a few photos.

I could not help noticing that 2015 will mark the 70th anniversary of the Flight 19. Have you considered any special or different program for the memorial next year ? Here in Denmark I have suggested the idea that WE pay a visit to Fort Lauderdale for the memorial ceremony next year. I am not sure whether this will actually come true - it´s a long travel ! - but I have a full year to keep reminding my friends. I will keep you posted if the plans work out."

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Denmark Group

12/29/2013

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We received news from the Flight 19 Denmark Group in Copenhagen. Thank you to Physician Bjørn Madsen for sharing with us stories of their reunions. Despite horrible weather, some brave ones, were still able to gather to commemorate the event. We are glad to know they are safe.

From Bjørn Madsen:

"On December 5th we had our little Flight 19 ceremony in Copenhagen, as we have done every year since 1981. However, circumstances were unusual this year : Denmark was hit by a heavy storm from direction west. We do not see hurricanes like you have in Florida, yet the storm was strong enough to raise the water more than 3,5 m (that´s 10 feet) in some of the harbours on the west coast of Jutland. As the storm passed during the afternoon, ALL the bridges in Denmark had to close for traffic, and ALL train traffic (we depend a lot on public transportation) were suspended, even the local tube lines in Copenhagen. About 6000 passengers were stranded and had to stay overnight at the Copenhagen Airport. Still, in spite of the bad weather about ½ of the usual group were able to attend (some of them originate from Iceland - they do not scare easily of Nature´s wrath !) and we kept our tradition going with a little ceremony just past 8 p.m. (that´s 2 p.m. in Florida) while the storm was roaring outside."

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Denmark Flight 19 Group

12/14/2012

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Group gathering 5 December, 2012

"We get together with friends every year on December 5th for a little social gathering and a minute of silence
in remembrance of the soldiers lost on the Flight 19 mission." --Bjørn Madsen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Bjørn Madsen, a Physician from Denmark visited the Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum, and we learned that for 30 years, him and a group of friends and their children, have been holding a memorial ceremony for Flight 19.

He writes:
"I am back in Denmark after a fantastic holiday in Florida. A big THANK YOU to all at the museum for showing me around and presenting all the information and the exhibits. Especially, thanks to David Epstein for sharing some of his memories and taking me on a little tour around the museum. As I mentioned, (the memorial ceremony) started as an impulse when we were all living at university campus, when some of the guys read about the mystery of the lost airplanes. From there it has grown into a tradition - now, 30 years later, we still get together every year (and now with several children joining the tradition !). It was an experience for me to see the actual Flight 19 monument and the museum in Ft. Lauderdale. I have taken lots of photos that I look forward to share with my friend in just a few days."

December 5, 2012:
"Here in Denmark we were 16 joining together on Dec. 5th, 2012. I see some of the friends regularly, others just turn up this one time every year. Naturally, we have to do things a little differently. Everything is strictly INDOORS, since this is early winter in Denmark. We had a bit of snow in the air outside (this weekend we expect down to -15 C during the night), and a couple of guys were missing because they were sick with flu. We don´t have a monument - but we DO have model airplanes, and the reproduction poster of one of the Bob Jenny paintings. We get together late in the afternoon (most are working daytime) and keep a moment of silence around 8 p.m. (which with the 6 hour time difference follows very close to your ceremony in Ft. Lauderdale). It seems like we have had some success in bringing the spirit on to the next generation ! One of the guys told me that his youngest daughter (age 13) had chosen Flight 19 as the subject for one of her school projects, and another young guy had also written a school essay inspired by the Flight 19 story." --Bjørn Madsen

Thank you Bjørn for your efforts and to all the Group. It is wonderful to see that you all are teaching the younger generation about this time in history. We welcome you as our new member! Thank you for your support and we hope to see you again!

Click to enlarge

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