Group preserves B-26 memorabilia

Henderson, a retired lieutenant colonel with the Air Force, flew 44 missions into eastern France and western Germany in the twin-engine bomber during World War II.

The job was difficult. Anti-aircraft flak was common, as were German Messerschmitt Me 262 fighters. Such planes were often deployed to pick American bombers and fighters out of the sky.

"You never knew what to expect," Henderson, 87, said. "What they called a milk run could turn out to be very dangerous. You just took what came. We were there to do a job, get the job done, go home and get on with our lives."

Today, Henderson honors the memory of the plane he flew and the friends he lost in combat as a volunteer with the B-26 Marauder Historical Society.

The society, based in Tucson, has more than 1,600 members worldwide, many of whom were associated with the craft when it was being produced and flown during the early 1940s.

The Marauder had a reputation for crashing early on due to design flaws and accelerated training. Military personnel had any number of nicknames for the plane, including "Widowmaker" and "B-Dash Crash" according to the society's Web site.

Still, when it came to battle, the B-26 kept one of the lowest attrition rates of any U.S. combat aircraft in World War II, thanks to men like Henderson and the other talented pilots keeping them in the air.

"It was a very successful aircraft, but has nowhere near the same notoriety as the B-17, the B-25 or the B-29," said Phillip Gutt, executive director of the society since 2004. "It was sort of the forgotten aircraft. There are probably fewer B-26s left in the world than any of the others. This society is dedicated to preserving its memory."

The society keeps a Web site, b-26mhs.org, with a detailed history of the craft, everything from information about the Glenn L. Martin Co, which manufactured the plane, to a full list of specs about it, including wingspan (71 feet) and combat radius (999 nautical miles).

It sends out quarterly newsletters and holds annual gala reunions for its members.

It also funds an archive at the Pima Air and Space Museum on East Valencia Road.

The archive, which shares a space with the museum's general archives, consists of thousands of donated photographs, flight records, personnel files, leather flight jackets, uniforms and gear.

"We cover just about anything," said Andrew Boehly, the Marauder archivist for the museum. "Whether they flew the planes, maintained, supported, designed or built them."

Together with Henderson, Boehly spends his days, combing through photos and cataloging each one in the museum's archival database.

When people contact the society looking for information, Boehly is the man to speak with.

"Someone might be looking for a picture of the aircraft because a family member flew it or they are working on a model or they are working on some sort of artwork," Boehly said. "We get all kinds of requests."

Gutt said the society's biggest mission right now is setting up an endowment fund to secure its finances and to help pay for the restoration of a B-26 that is currently stored at the museum.

Only a few locations in the world have a completely restored B-26 Marauder on display.

"There were a lot of lessons you could learn from World War II," Gutt said. "They didn't all come from the B-26, but we can use the B-26 to make sure future generations don't forget about how things went, what was learned and what we can do to prevent some of the tragedies that happened."

Henderson, a retiree who divides his time between Tucson and Michigan, has been happy to contribute to the cause.

"I liked the airplane and this was something I could do," he said. "It brings back memories. Some were pleasant, Some were not so pleasant."

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