But, the older gentleman in the group with us had actually flown on the Enola Gay (after the atomic mission) and he asked if we might be allowed to look for where he had scratched his name near one of the gunner positions. She was dirty and disheveled, but there she was - original and unrestored !! We had not been allowed to touch (or even approach) any of the hundreds of aircraft we had already seen. The fuselage was in two (equal length) pieces the tail and stabilizers were off, the wings off, the engines off the wings and sitting nearby. In the middle of the last building we visited was the Enola Gay. Around noon on Saturday of that weekend my dad, uncle and I drove from McLean to Suitland where we (and 4 people from another family) were given a tour through the Garber Facility by an active duty, uniformed, Air Force Major. I asked my uncle to make the tour arrangements knowing he could get past any complications which might arise. I got both of them hooked on my idea, and we arranged a family gathering (at my uncle's in McLean) for a Holiday weekend (Labor Day I think).
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I bought additional copies of the book and sent one to my dad and another to an uncle who lives just outside of Washington and has lots of connections. He also said that I could arrange for an escorted tour of the facility. (where they keep and restore all the airplanes not on display or on loan).
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He confirmed that the ariplane was at the Paul Garber facility in Suitland, Md. I called the curator/director of the Air & Space Museum and asked about "things". Being a "Smithsonian Associate" (contributing member) I decided I wanted to see the plane. Roughly 20 years ago I read a book about the airplane, the crew, and the mission - I was fascinated ! The epilog stated that the DOD had given the airplane to the Smithsonian and it was stored in a warehouse in Maryland. The Enola Gay is one of my favorite subjects. I am a huge airplane buff but not a pilot.