More than 700 people gathered Thursday at the National Warplane Museum to watch a restored Douglas C-47 begin a journey back to Normandy for a remembrance of D-Day next month.
The World War Two era plane, Whiskey 7, took off from the Geneseo to be present at the French Commemoration of D-Day. During the first two weeks of June, the World War Two plane will fly over original drop zones and deploy volunteer paratroopers.
Captain John Stewart Lindsay is a pilot on the five-person flight crew. Although, Lindsay has flown over the Atlantic hundreds of times, this flight is the most important of his life. For Lindsay, it’s both historic and personal.
“My son has become part of the Liberty Jump Team. And the two of us together are going to share this experience,” said Lindsay. “I’ll be flying the plane and he’ll be jumping out the back. And that’s been my focus for the last several months.”
Crew will navigate 36 hundred miles over the ocean in a non-pressurized, un-insulated plane, making 7 stops before they arrive in Cherbourg, France.
The flights Chief Pilot, Captain Christopher Polhemus, hopes more young people will be inspired to learn more about World War Two history. The flight, according to him, is about remembering those who fought.
“The guys that were on our airplane 70 years ago risked everything,” said Polhemus. “They flew at night (2 o'clock in the morning), 700 feet above the ground, jumping into the night sky, not knowing where they were going to land, with the Germans shooting at them.”
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