GLIDER PROJECT MEMORIES, RECOLLECTIONS
SEEKING GLIDER STORIES
by Sue Hadden for the MRHF Board
The Menominee Range Historical Foundation is collecting any personal
remembrances of the WW II CG-4A Glider which was built at the
Kingsford Ford factory from 1942-1945. These stories will be used in
the Museum’s future glider exhibit.
Ernest Thunell of Quinnesec served with the 540th Combat Engineers.
“While fighting in Salerno, Italy, I saw one glider landing on a hill about
1/2 mile from us. I saw one jeep come out of the glider, but do not know
where it drove off to. I knew that gliders were being built at the Ford
plant back home in Kingsford, where I worked before I was inducted.”
On the battlefield, the enemy had installed glider barriers. “Long poles
were partially buried upright in the ground about 100’ apart. A second
row of poles was staggered to strip the wings off gliders when they
tried to land.”
Back home, Evelyn Thunell recalls “White cloth was used in the
building of a glider. After the war when production stopped, some
workers brought home yards of this cloth. Curtains were made, baby
dresses were fashioned.” For years, Iron Mountain-Kingsford folks
used this cloth for many different things.
As a boy in Kingsford during the 1940s, Pete Meyers remembers once
witnessing The Snatch at the airport. It was a thrill to see a glider
picked up and towed away with a C47 Transport by means of a long
nylon rope suspended between 2 poles.
The Museum wants to hear more from anyone who has glider
memories. Long or short recollections are all OK. A museum
volunteer can meet with you and put your memories on a video tape.
To have your story recorded, please call Sue Hadden at 906-563-5541. Your
story could also be written down and sent to the Museum by postal mail
or email. Send to Glider Memories, MUSEUMS, PO Box 237, Iron
Mountain, MI 49801. For more Glider information, visit the website
address of the Museum which is: http://www.menomineemuseum.com Click
on “What is a glider?” for more glider facts and details.
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"