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Story - Posted on Thu, May. 26, 2005 |
Pilot's
dream adopted
Don Hinz died before he could restore Tuskegee era Mustang
BY BRIAN BONNER
Pioneer PressBackers of the CAF Red Tail Project have a poignant
incentive to raise the $2 million needed to restore a
vintage P-51C Mustang airplane.
They are seeking not only to keep alive the legacy of
the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous World War II black fighter
pilots who flew the red-tail, machine gun-equipped, single-engine
planes.
They are also trying to honor the dreams of Donald Hinz,
the Woodbury man killed when the P-51C plane he was piloting
crashed during the 2004 annual Wings of Freedom Air Show
near Red Wing, Minn.
Aviators Wednesday displayed the craft's fuselage at Fleming
Field in South St. Paul, promoted this weekend's air show
and sought contributions for the restoration project.
They are well short of their goal, having raised $135,000
to date.
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"We're committed to the legacy of Don Hinz,'' said
Tim Barzen, media relations director of the Commemorative
Air Force Minnesota Wing, which operates a World War II
air museum in a hangar of the South St. Paul airport.
"We're carrying on the mission Don would have wanted
us to do," Barzen said.
On hand Wednesday were Harold Brown and Hiram Mann. The
men, both in their 80s, are part of the first class of
African-American combat pilots who trained in Tuskegee,
Ala., during the nation's era of racial segregation.
Brown, who lives in Ohio, and Mann, of Florida, stood
beside a photograph of Hinz at the pilot's controls of
the P-51C the day before his May 29, 2004, crash. An investigation
discovered that an equipment malfunction caused "massive
engine failure," Barzen said.
Pilots say Hinz worked selflessly to promote the Red Tail
Project as a way to keep alive the legacy of the Tuskegee
Airmen, who are credited with exemplary wartime performances
in defense of a nation that did not always treat them
well. Their tasks were to escort U.S. bombers on World
War II combat missions.
About 75 of the fighter pilots, at their annual convention
recently in Omaha, Neb., signed a framed photograph of
Hinz that will be presented to his family. The family
suffered another tragedy with the May 2 death of Marine
Corps fighter pilot Kelly Hinz, Don Hinz's son, when his
plane collided with another over south-central Iraq.
Brown, who saw Don Hinz every year for the past five,
said he will always remember the pilot's passion for the
CAF Red Tail Project as a tool for teaching the history of
the Tuskegee Airmen.
Pilots know that flying can be risky, but they "accept
the risks," Brown said. "The love of flying
outweighs the risks. But you know the risk is there."
IF YOU GO
The 2005 Wings of Freedom Air Show is scheduled for Friday
through Sunday at Red Wing Regional Airport, which is
across the Mississippi River in Bay City, Wis. More information
about the air show is available online at www.wingsoffreedom.org.
More information about the CAF Red Tail Project can be found
at www.redtail.org.
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Brian Bonner can be reached at bbonner@pioneerpress.com
or 651-228-2173. |
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