“Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” Ronald W. Reagan, 40th President of the United States of America
Joe Rosenthal/Associated Press via Fold3
This Memorial Day we have a chance to pause and honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We owe them such a tremendous debt, for the freedoms we enjoy today were paid for with an extremely high price! Their sacrifices ensures that our liberties and freedoms largely continue today – from the ability to gather with loved ones, to worship together, to speak as we see fit (and the companion right not to be forced to speak that which we know to be false), and to assemble and peacefully protest to effectuate change.
Captain John W.L. Benbow, 457th Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group; Lost on the July 16, 1945 Strike Mission to Nagoya
The statue below is outside of the National Archives building in Washington D.C. It is of an ever watchful soldier holding his helmet, sword, and shield. The inscription below the statue reads “ETERNAL VIGILANCE IS THE PRICE OF LIBERTY”.
Guardianship Statute by James Fraser (Photo by Jeff Reed, National Archives)
Let us not be asleep at the wheel. We have forces from within that are intolerant, and this intolerance is being cultivated in our schools, colleges and universities. Speech which a few years ago was considered normal speech, is now being touted as hate speech. And we are now being told that we need to address certain individuals in ways that has no basis in reality.
Six thousand eight hundred twenty-one United States servicemen lost their lives securing in the battle for Iwo Jima. Many more, like Captain Benbow, lost their lives in bringing World War II to a close. If we do not protect our liberty and freedoms, the sacrifices made by them, and so many more, will have been in vain.
Andrew Willet has provided us with photos of his Tamiya 1/32nd North American P-51D-20-NA Mustang finished with the markings of 575 My Madge/‘Julia’ll Fool Yer’, a 458th Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group Iwo Jima VLR Mustang.
Andrew WilletAndrew Willet
Andrew used the original boxing of Tamiya’s superlative 1/32nd scale Mustang. This boxing has the parts for the SCR-695 IFF transmitter (multi-band airborne transponder which allowed a plane to be identified on friendly radars) which were installed in the VLR Mustangs, and the bracket which allows the battery to be moved to the engine compartment. Unfortunately, the boxing does not include either the 110 gallon or 165 gallon metal drop tanks used by Iwo Jima VLR Mustang groups.
Tamiya
575 My Madge/‘Julia’ll Fool Yer’ was flown by Captain Goldie Marcott. If there was another pilot assigned to fly 575, we have not been able to identify who that pilot was. Captain Marcott was not credit with any aerial victories. Below are photos of Captain Marcott and both sides of 575.
Captain Goldie Marcott (via Brian Walter)
I think this is a great photo. It shows the graceful and aerodynamic lines of the nose/cowling.
575 “My Madge/Julia’ll Fool Yer” (via Brian Walter)575 “My Madge/Julia’ll Fool Yer” (via Dr. John Benbow)
Andrew’s original intent was to build 551 Delta Queen, another 458th FS/506th FG Mustang flown by Captain J.B. Baker, Jr. He had seen a build of Eduard’s 1/48th scale P-51D Mustang with Delta Queen’s markings and the striped blue tail. Unfortunately, there are no after market decals for 551 Delta Queen in 1/32nd scale. Wanting to build a 458th FS Mustang with a striped blue tail, Andrew purchased DK Decals’ P-51D/K Mustang over the Pacific and Australia (32022) with decals for 575.
The only other after market decal sheet that includes markings for a 458th FS Mustang in 1/32nd is Hussar Productions’ P-51 Over Pacific, Part 1, which has decals for 590 “Little Que” flown by 1st Lt. Quarterman Lee.
Andrew did a great job of painting and weathering the cockpit sidewalls, and adding additional detail.
Andrew Willet
Andrew used Ammo of MiG’s Atom Acrylic Paint Zinc Chromate Green (Atom-20074) for the cockpit area, and Tamiya Yellow Green (XF-4) for all other interior areas. Tamiya’s Yellow Green is an excellent match for Zinc Chromate Yellow.
Andrew Willet
The photo below shows the assembled and painted cockpit components installed on the left side of the kit fuselage. Andrew did a really nice job of chipping the areas in front of the rudder pedals to simulate the wear of the black non-skid material down to the wood cockpit floor. Nice touch! The seat belts are from HGW.
Andrew Willet
The wheel wells of the D model of the Mustang looked like the photo below. The roof was unpainted Alclad aluminum, with the sides, ribs, stringers, other components painted primarily Zinc Chromate Yellow. As can be seen, a few parts were painted Zinc Chromate Green.
Andrew K. Carothers
Fundekals 🙂 produced a North American P-51D stencil data decal sheet that includes the red stencil markings on the unpainted Alclad aluminum.
Fundekals 🙂
Andrew used those stencils decals in the wheel wells. He first used Bare Metal Foil to simulate the unpainted aluminum, then applied the stencil decals to the Bare Metal Foil, and the added the remaining wheel well component. Very nice detail that increases the realism of the wheel wells.
Andrew Willet
Andrew also added fluid and electrical lines to the wheel wells to add more visual interest.
Andrew WilletAndrew Willet
Andrew used various shades of Alclad II Metallics for his natural metal finish on 575. Unfortunately, there are no after market decals for the diagonal stripes on the tail in 1/32nd scale. You have to mask and paint them which most modelers shy away from in favor of a solid tail 506th FG Mustang.
Andrew Willet
The diagonal tail stripes on the actual 506th Fighter Group Mustangs were 4 inches wide. When scaling them down to 1/32nd, Andrew calculated that the diagonal tail stripes were approximately 3.1 mm. Andrew used Mr. Paint Sea Blue (MRP-237) for the stripes.
Andrew Willet
To finish the model, Andrew purchased Brengun Models resin 1/32nd 110 gallon drop tanks. They are a very accurate scaled down version of the real tanks.
Brengun Models
The tanks are not 3D printed, but cast resin. They come with cast resin sway braces, photo etched pieces, and decals.
Brengun Models
After applying the decals, Andrew completed the model by weathering it to reflect the actual look of the Mustangs due to the less than hospitable conditions on Iwo Jima.
Andrew WilletAndrew Willet
Congrats to Andrew for an excellent build! He has also purchased the Revell 1/32nd P-51D Mustang in which he intends to finish using decals for 528 The Enchantress, a 457th Fighter Squadron, 506th Fighter Group Iwo Jima VLR Mustang. We look forward to updates as he builds another Iwo Jima VLR Mustang.
Andrew Willet is a CMDR in the Royal Australian Navy who specializes in logistics. In his more than 25years in the RAN, he has been all over the world, both at sea and ashore. Commander Willet has always had an interest in aviation especially in the Pacific. His preferred scale is 1/32nd.
Today, November 11th, is the federal holiday in the United States to honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
78th Fighter Squadron pilots pose for a picture with one of their Curtiss P-40K Warhawks while stationed on Midway Island in 1943 (Mark Stevens/7th Fighter Command Association)
Veterans Day coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are commemorated in other countries, marking the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of 11th month of 1918, when the armistice with Germany went into effect.
Ground crew and pilots assigned to 640 “The Shawnee Princess/Empire Commuter” pose for a picture in front of their 462nd Fighter Squadron P-51D Mustang. From left of right: Cpl. Sheetz (armorer), Cpl. Riley (radioman), 1st Lt. Seale (pilot), Capt. Zagorsky (pilot), and Sgt. Jackson (crew chief) (506th Fighter Group Association)
Originally known as Armistice Day in the United States, it was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 at the urging of the major organizations representing veterans in the United States.
Crew members of “Thumper” pose for a picture in front of their Boeing B-29 Superfortress on Tinian Island in 1945 (870th Bomb Squadron, 497th BombGroup, 73rd Bombardment Wing)
Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day which is observed in May of each year. Veterans Day commemorates the service of all those who served in the United States Armed Forces, while Memorial Day specifically honors those who died in military service to our country.
457th Fighter Squadron pilots pose for a picture along side 642 “Fighting Lady” (506th Fighter Group Association)
Thank you to all veterans who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Your service and sacrifices to protect and preserve the freedoms we continue to enjoy are greatly appreciated!
“Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” Ronald W. Reagan, 40th President of the United States of America
Joe Rosenthal/Associated Press via Fold3
This Memorial Day we have a chance to pause and honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We owe them such a tremendous debt, for the freedoms we enjoy today were paid for with an extremely high price! Their sacrifices ensured our liberty largely continues today – from the ability to gather with loved ones, to worship together, to speak as we see fit (and the companion right not to be forced to speak that which we know to be false), and to assemble and peacefully protest to effectuate change.
The statue below is outside of the National Archives building in Washington D.C. It is of an ever watchful soldier holding his helmet, sword, and shield. The inscription below the statue reads “ETERNAL VIGILANCE IS THE PRICE OF LIBERTY”.
Guardianship Statute by James Fraser (Photo by Jeff Reed, National Archives)
Let us not be asleep at the wheel. We have forces from within that are intolerant, and this intolerance is being cultivated in our schools, colleges and universities. Speech which a few years ago was considered normal speech, is now being touted as hate speech. And we are now being told that we need to address certain individuals in ways that has no basis in reality.
Six thousand eight hundred twenty-one United States servicemen lost their lives on Iwo Jima. If we do not protect our liberty and freedoms, the sacrifices made by them, and so many more, will have been in vain.
It is not often that a family gets to celebrate the 100th birthday of a loved one. Very few ever make it to that age, and that fact makes it all the more reason to celebrate that accomplishment. On February 1st, the Jones’ family and the 506th Fighter Group family get to celebrate the 100th birthday of Staff Sergeant Burton W. Jones (USAAF ret), who was a ground crew member in the 457th Fighter Squadron.
Burt was born on February 1, 1921, Whitesboro, New York, to Arthur and Mary (Briggs) Jones. He graduated from Whiteboro High School on June 26, 1939, was ordered to report on August 24, 1942, for his pre-induction physical, and then on September 8, 1942, to begin his basic training.
Private Burton W. Jones (via Priscilla Heburn & Evan Jones)
Because of a mechanical aptitude, and work experience in a garage and the Savage Arms Company, Burt was transferred to the United States Army Air Corps and began training as a armorer, and would later also be trained as an aircraft mechanic.
His first squadron assignment was the 24th Anti-Submarine Squadron working on North American B-25 Mitchells at Westover Army Air Field. From there, Burt was transferred to the 843rd Bombardment Squadron (H) working on the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. With the 843rd, he spent time at the Kearney Army Air Base in Kearney, Nebraska, then at MacDill Army Air Field near Tampa, Florida.
843rd BG(H) Ground Crew (Burton W. Jones via Priscilla Heburn/Evan Jones)
In May, 1944, then Sergeant Jones was informed that he had been transferred to the 457th Fighter Squadron of the 506th Fighter Group which had recently been formed and was in the process of organizing at Lakeland Army Airfield. At Lakeland, he was trained on how to service and repair the North American P-51D Mustang, and its in-line, liquid cooled Packard built Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.
Sergeant Jones, and the rest of the ground echelon of the 457th Fighter Squadron took a troop train from Lakeland to Seattle, Washington. They arrived on Iwo Jima onboard the H.M.S Bloemfontein, a converted Swedish hospital ship. The long overseas journey started in Seattle with stops at Hawaii, Eniwetok Atoll, Tinian, and finally Iwo Jima.
Sergeant Burton W. Jones on Iwo Jima (via Priscilla Heburn & Evan Jones)
Burt began writing his memoirs at the age of 73. The following is what he wrote about his first night on Iwo Jima:
“Whether it was by providence or whatever, it was just our luck to hear some night fighters, Black Widow P-61 night fighting aircraft warming up on their strip. They were at the foot of Mount Suribachi on Motoyama air strip number one [South Field]. We soon got the word that the Japanese were coming in from Japan to bomb the island. You could hear the P-61s taking off. It wasn’t more than twenty minutes later when it looked like the 4th of July. Incendiary and tracer bullets were whizzing across the sky in every direction! I was going through our first of many bombing raids on Iwo Jima.”
After the war in the Pacific ended, Burt accumulated enough points to leave Iwo Jima by mid-October, 1945. He transitioned to Saipan, and during his short stint on the island, was assigned to the 882nd Bombardment Squadron (H) working on Boeing B-29s. Burt arrived back in the United States on December 3, 1945, returned home on December 13, 1945, and was honorably discharged from the United States Army Air Force on the same day.
Burton W. Jones at World War II Memorial (via Priscilla Heburn & Evan Jones)
Happy 100th Birthday Burton!
Special thanks to Burton’s daughter, Priscilla (Jones) Heburn, and his nephew, Evan Jones, for providing information and photos for this post.
Iwo Jima Models 