Hello everyone...first time post!
I grew up in Piqua, OH, hometown of Don Gentile. He was always a hometown hero, my grandparents knew him, my uncle watched him fly under the bridge, and my aunt told me how he used to see how close he could get his wingtips to the St. Boniface church steeple.
When I was about 16 I worked at a local grocery store, Ulbrich's IGA, just a few blocks from the Gentile home, where Don's father, Patsy, still lived. Old man Ulbrich would have us carryouts help Patsy carry home his groceries (usually beer) and I always volunteered for the task since it gave me a chance to talk to Patsy about Don.
That's been 30 years ago now, time flies, but long story short....I have a piece of the ill-fated Shangri-La. It's a hang tag of some sorts, very old, marked faintly in pencil with the P51/B, 4th FG, VF-T, and the aircraft serial number which is correct to the Shangrila. It was supposedly taken off after the crash of the plane in 1944.
I'm not asking for any verification, as I know it is genuine....but if I were to post a pic of the piece, is there anyone here that could verify where it came from inside the P51 ?
I grew up in Piqua, OH, hometown of Don Gentile. He was always a hometown hero, my grandparents knew him, my uncle watched him fly under the bridge, and my aunt told me how he used to see how close he could get his wingtips to the St. Boniface church steeple.
When I was about 16 I worked at a local grocery store, Ulbrich's IGA, just a few blocks from the Gentile home, where Don's father, Patsy, still lived. Old man Ulbrich would have us carryouts help Patsy carry home his groceries (usually beer) and I always volunteered for the task since it gave me a chance to talk to Patsy about Don.
That's been 30 years ago now, time flies, but long story short....I have a piece of the ill-fated Shangri-La. It's a hang tag of some sorts, very old, marked faintly in pencil with the P51/B, 4th FG, VF-T, and the aircraft serial number which is correct to the Shangrila. It was supposedly taken off after the crash of the plane in 1944.
I'm not asking for any verification, as I know it is genuine....but if I were to post a pic of the piece, is there anyone here that could verify where it came from inside the P51 ?
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What a piece of history you have there!
Very cool! Thank you for posting Shangrila.
