Two World War II veterans from Bridgewater in Somerset County will be standing by to greet a Boeing B-29 Superfortress when it lands at Trenton-Mercer Airport on Memorial Day.
EWING TWP. - Two World War II veterans from Bridgewater in Somerset County will be standing by to greet a Boeing B-29 Superfortress when it lands at Trenton-Mercer Airport on Monday.
Lt. Col. Robert Vaucher and Joe Wing both served on B-29s during the war. The airplane will land at noon accompanied by other World War II airplanes, including a C-45 Expeditor, T-6 Texan and a collection of World War II aircraft from the local Commemorative Air Force Delaware Valley Wing based at Princeton Airport.
Vaucher, a decorated World War II veteran, was a B-29 aircraft commander. He piloted the first B-29 Superfortress accepted from Boeing by the U.S. Army Air Corp, delivering it to the U.S. Air Corp 40th Bomb Group in Pratt, Kansas.
He also flew the first B-29 strategic combat mission over mainland Japan on June 15, 1944, and also the longest B-29 mission - 4,030 miles round trip - from India to Sumatra on Aug. 10, 1944.
Wing served as a gunner and back up flight engineer on B-29s during World War II flying over 30 missions from Tinian to Japan. One of his last missions was flying with the Enola Gay the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
The B-29, Fifi, is one of only two remaining airworthy B-29s in the world and is the only one that is flown regularly.
The aircraft will remain at the airport on Tuesday and Wednesday, and tours of the aircraft are available for $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 11 to 17. Those under 11 can see inside the aircraft at no charge.
Fees for flights range from $80 to $1,595 and reservations may be made at online.