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Here is Pudgy V. This is a replica of the plane that Major Tommy B. McGuire, Jr. went down in the Pacific theater in. Maj McGuire was the second leading ace in WWII, next to his buddy Major Richard Bong. Maj McGuire also received the Medal of Honor. This plane was flown to McGuire AFB and when it landed, the nose gear broke, causing both props to strike the ground. As part of the USAF Museum, the plane must be kept in near flying condition. As such, the call went out for replacement props but there were none left in the inventory. So the all volunteer restoration team hammered the bent props back to straight as well as they could. The engines were rebuilt and the plane made flyable (with the exception of the now non-flight worthy props). Then we designed the pedestal and mounted the plane in the traffic circle at the base's main entrance road. Maj McGuire's crashed plane was found years after the war and his remains were still there. His widow still lived in NJ, so a special ceremony was conducted to reunite her with some of her husband's personal affects and some aircraft parts too. The name "Pudgy" was Maj McGuire's nickname for his wife. Some of Major McGuire's things were donated to McGuire AFB and they were displayed in the wing headquarters building outside of the wing commander's suite.
