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December 1, 2006
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The veterans' memorial in Bartlesville, Oklahoma features an A-4 Skyhawk that saw combat in Vietnam and was restored by Cessna.
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If you happen to be in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, driving down Washington Boulevard, and out of the corner of your eye catch a glimpse of what appears to be a low flying aircraft, do not be alarmed. What you are seeing is the newest addition to the Wall of Honor Veterans Memorial at Washington Park Mall. The Plaza features an A-4 Skyhawk that saw combat in Vietnam and was restored by a joint venture between the Wall of Honor, Cessna Aircraft Company, and DuPont.
In a grassy area near the northwest entrance of the mall, the aircraft rests on a pedestal atop a runway complete with blue landing lights. Shoppers can stand underneath the wing and reflect upon the sacrifices of those who flew these aircraft.
Charles Kittrell, general chairman of the Wall of Honor, a World War II Marine, and the driving force behind this joint effort, explained the thinking behind the project: “When we dedicated the Wall of Honor in 2004, it included a memorial to Lance Corporal Thomas A. Blain, USMC, Oklahoma’s first fatality in Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was created by local Marine recruiters. Their contribution helped set the tone for the future of the memorial.”
“In 2005,” Kittrell continued, “we added an eight-foot bronze statue of a World War II soldier by a local sculptor and dedicated it to the American soldiers. Then the question came up: What can we do for the fly boys?”
In 2004 Kittrell approached The Marines' Assistant Commandant, Gen. William L. Nyland in Oklahoma city at the celebration for the Marine Corps birthday with an idea to answer that question. Kittrell wanted to restore an aircraft that would honor the sacrifices of US aviators past and present, and wondered if the general could be of any assistance in securing one to restore. The general's answer: affirmative.
Within one year of speaking with Nyland, a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk from the National Museum of Aviation at Pensacola, Florida arrived, in pieces. It was placed in hangar space at the Bartlesville airport donated by Conoco Phillips for the restoration and was in need of major repair to get it into shape for public display. Cessna's plant in Independence, Kansas received a call for help.
Terry Clark, director of support Operations at the Cessna’s Independence, Kansas facility spoke about his initial discussion with Kittrell on the project. “It was Charlie's expectation to do a museum quality restoration. That interested me. The Navy insisted upon a proper restoration, and Bartlesville needed a commitment from Cessna to make that happen.”
Clark explained that the folks at the Independence plant are no strangers to Bartlesville, which is about fifty miles south of Cessna's Independence facility, as it's “the nearest town with a mall.”
Over the course of several months, each piece of the A-4 was shipped individually from Bartlesville to the Independence facility, where they would be painted, and sent back for assembly. The project presented a unique opportunity for the Cessna employees.
“Doing this restoration was pretty neat,” says Clark, “because our painters got to work on an airframe that they were not used to, with different colors and different materials. And since it wasn't a flying airplane, they didn’t need to worry about things like weight and paint thickness didn't matter. Even the managers worked with some of the other volunteers in the booth.”
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The Cessna team devoted over 500 hours to the restoration project, including final touch up and detailing at the site.
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The A-4 was painted to exactly match the one that Senator John McCain was flying when he was shot down over Hanoi on October 26, 1967.
Clark pointed out that the request for assistance came in a perfect time window for the Independence Plant. ”We had a unique opportunity to honor the request because of where we were in our workload at the time. With the ramp-up on the production of the Mustang, we wouldn’t be able to do it if the request came in today.”
In total the Cessna team devoted over five hundred hours to restoring the airplane at the Independence Facility, as well as in Bartlesville, doing the final touch up and fine detailing. DuPont donated the paint for the project. It's estimated that the work of the team of volunteers saved the Museum over $40,000. “You know if Cessna's does it, it's going to done right,” said Kittrell. “They did a beautiful job and set an example for the whole community.”
The A-4 was dedicated to American air power on October 28, 2006 in a ceremony attended by General Charles C. Krulak, commandant of the United States Marine Corps (Ret.) and James J. Mulva, chairman and CEO of Conoco Phillips.
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