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October 26th, 2009 Mike 1 comment

Jeanne Rickey II
From Lt. Ihlenburg, Pilot.
“The B-24′s and B-17′s have started a buzzing feud of late – so – o – o, being as I didn’t fly a
mission today, I paid a B-24 field a visit. I think I settled it today. I made a six-foot hedge five feet
in four places and brought back home part of their wind sock.”

Jeanne(Gin)RickeyII
From Matt:
I remembered the story… apparently the day he did that there was someone on
the ’24 base that happened to have a camera out. They took the shot of Pop
over the tower. Pop didn’t even know it was taken. Anyway, several weeks later
the photo comes to the base care of “The Pilot” who was flying this plane. How
funny is that? Pop used to love that story. It’s amazing what you can forget… it’s
also amazing what will bring it back.
Additional Notes on this plane from Matt:
Just found out an interesting tidbit… the “Jeanne Rickey II” was painted with the
name on it. My grandfather writes in a letter dated July 6,1944,
“Too bad I haven’t got the old Jeanne Ricky II any more for the picture with the
name on it. I guess not though, ’cause I wouldn’t want to fly that ship again even
if they could fix it. It makes me so mad we didn’t take some pictures of her after
we landed, as we had both a bomb bay camera and a waist hand camera that
day, but in the excitement and confusion, all was forgotten.”

From Google cache

October 25th, 2009 Mike 1 comment
2009.02.28 18:46:59
Another interesting tidbit for Scott… something you may already know, but,your dad (LaMotte) left for home on the 4th of July. How cool is that. Both your dad and

Danny left that day. Pop was bummed about it… both for the reasons that his

original crew is all but gone and he wants to go home too… “Seeing those

boys go home really hurts.”
2009.02.28 18:45:12
Again from Matt, he recalls a story of the Jeanne Rickey II and the buzzing of the tower.
—–
I just got to a letter written on the 10th of July… it explains, and brings back memories, of a story my pop would tell… one that I had forgotten until I read this letter. Anyway, the shot of the 17 over the tower isn’t at Great Ashfield… it’s at one of the local B-24 bases. Here’s what he says in the letter,

“The B-24′s and B-17′s have started a buzzing feud of late – so – o – o, being as I didn’t fly a mission today, I paid a B-24 field a visit. I think I settled it today. I made a six-foot hedge five feet in four places and brought back home part of their wind sock.”

It was after reading that where I remembered the story… apparently the day he did that there was someone on the ’24 base that happened to have a camera out. They took the shot of Pop over the tower. Pop didn’t even know it was taken. Anyway, several weeks later the photo comes to the base care of “The Pilot” who was flying this plane. How funny is that. Pop used to love that story. It’s amazing what you can forget… it’s also amazing what will bring it back.

Matt
2009.02.20 21:37:09
What Lloyd LaMotte’s view would have been.