Pennington P-51 Memorial

Welcome!

Welcome to the Pennington P-51 Memorial; the P-51'Lucy Gal' Project to keep Western NY WWII Mustang pilot's legacies flying...

The North American P-51 Mustang

Flight Officer Leland "Sticky" Pennington

Hello "Lucy Gal" friends! Hope you have each had a great summer. It has been a busy one thus far for myself (Austin Hancock) and the "Lucy Gal" project in general. Here is the latest news to get you caught up to speed...

2012 Geneseo Airshow - Our museum, the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group, put on a wonderful airshow this year on July 13/14/15. Despite a few last-minute cancellations, attendees still had fun enjoying the "Greatest Show on Turf" for it's spirit and soul. This year was unique for the "Lucy Gal" project because it was the 1st year that I actually had my own tent and display during our show. This year, I sold t-shirts and decals as well as collected donations! In addition to selling and collecting, I was also able to claim the can/bottle returns from our show this year. As some of you know, I hold monthly can/bottle drives (ala WWII) and use the money earned toward "Lucy Gal's" construction. In summary, the project did very well this year at the show, earning around $1,000 USD between t-shirt/decal sales, donations, and recyclable redemptions! Thank you to all who contributed!

Yours Truly doing some fundraising at Geneseo 2012!

Grant Writing - This past summer, in my free time, I made it my goal to write as many corporate grant applications as possible. I did just that, submitting to companies such as Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Northrup-Grumman, For Motors, Verizon, Wal-Mart, etc. I have heard back from a handful of corps thus far, none of which are able to contribute at this time. I will continue to pursue grants though! After all, it only takes one big chunk of change from one place to get "Lucy Gal" in the air. For every 100 that say "no," there's bound to be one the says "yes."
Gennarino Fund - Last Sunday (Sept. 9th), the Pennington "Lucy Gal" project teamed-up with the Bernie Gennarino Memorial Fund to raise money toward F/O Pennington and "Lucy Gal's" recovery. The Gennarino fund is ran by 1941 HAG volunteer Jim Gennarino, and it was started as a means to raise money for a proper military burial for his father, Bernie. Jim was successful in his endeavor, and this year we teamed up to make the focus on Leland Pennington. This trend should continue for many years to come! The benefit itself was a success, raising $200 a piece for the "Lucy Gal" project and Missing Veteran recoveries.
2013 Rochester WINGS Aero Convention - Last year, yours truly volunteered with the Rochester WINGS convention to coordinate social media/apps. WINGS is a free aviation convention, open to the public, for anyone interest in flying or already flies. Since the conclusion of the 2012 show last June, there has been an interest by the group to make the 2013 theme all about the "Lucy Gal" project and the P-51! Meetings for WINGS 2013 will commence shortly, so stay tuned for details as the unfold.
Cyrillia Pennington - Another one of my latest undertakings in the "Lucy Gal" project has been to build a relationship with Leland Pennington's daughter Cyrillia. Cyrillia was born while Leland was off at war. She grew up with her mother, Lucy (hence "Lucy Gal") in New Orleans. She still lives there today. My mother, Mary Anne, is very much into genealogy research and interviewing, so she volunteered to be my Cyrillia liaison. So far, they have had 2-3 wonderful phone conversations. Once my mother finishes compiling the results of these interviews, I will share them on here with you!
"Lucy Gal" Items - Have you bought your "Lucy Gal" t-shirt or decal yet? If not, what are you waiting for? :-) All you need to show off your support for our project can be found right here>>>http://fighterfund.blogspot.com/p/store.html. If you wish, you can also send cash or check using the address found under "Contact Us." Thank You!

Stop the Presses!

Hey "Lucy Gal" fans! I have some pretty exciting news to share. About a month ago, I was asked by Michael O'Leary, editor for Challenge Publications, if I would be interested in writing an article about my project to be published. I most definitely said "yes" to this, and a few days later I sent a write-up off to him.

Well, it seems that my article has officially been published in the latest issue of "Air Classics," a monthly WWII aircraft focused magazine. If you are out and about shopping and happen to be near the periodicals section, look for Volume 48 - Issue #5. This is the issue with my article in it.

I would like to personally thank Mr. O'Leary for his help in getting this project out there to the broader market. Also, I thank all of YOU for the continued support!

All smiles here!

March/Early April News and Notes

Hello all you "Lucy Gal" followers! The last month and a half have been a whirlwind of activity for the project. I am just now able to sit down and post the latest "happenings" for you to read. Here's the rundown of the latest news!...

1.) Letters - As I mentioned in previous posts, I took on a massive letter-writing campaign to gain support and donations for the project. I targeted people of fame and fortune with said mailings. I have heard back from quite a few! No donations were received, however the support that I gained from the letters made the effort worth it in the end. Check out what I got back in the mail!

I got back a letter of support from Mr. George Lucas (Red Tails) via his Secretary!

Another letter of support that I received was from Mr. Jack Roush - Avid P-51/Ford "Mustang" fan and NASCAR boss!

If these letters weren't enough, I also received a personal note of encouragement from Warbird collector Kermit Weeks. This was followed shortly by yet another support letter from former President Mr. George H.W. Bush! So, even though no money was raised from this effort, at least the word got out to the "higher ups," plus, we have some really cool letters to hang on the wall now.

2.) Solidworks - Last year, the Dassault Systemes Corp. was very generous to our project, and they donated Solidworks 3D modelling software. This program allows us to design P-51 parts along with the original blueprints. I have recently taken on the task of learning how to use Solidworks. I have some experience from a CAD class I took in high school, and also there are tutorials to work through to familiarise me with the program. Luckily for me, at the end of the month, I will be attending a Solidworks "basics" seminar at CADimensions in nearby Rochester. This event will give me a stronger background to work with.

3.) 2012 Geneseo Airshow - This will be my first year of actually promoting the "Lucy Gal" project at our own airshow! I will have a tent set-up right on the flightline. Stay tuned to hear about what else I have planned for the "Greatest Show on Turf 2012."

2012 Geneseo Airshow Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/events/234612336623719/

4.) RR-Merlin V-1650 Engine - I just recently got a lead on a fellow NY'er who has a collection of V-1650 engines. I have been in contact with said gentleman, and these Merlins do indeed exist! Stay tuned for more information on this exciting contact.

So there! What do you all think? Isn't this exciting?

Best,

Austin Hancock

WWII Can and Bottle Collection Drive!

Have some cans and/or bottles taking up space? Why not bring them on down to the Geneseo Airport to benefit the P-51B "Lucy Gal" Project? Just like in WWII, we'll turn these metal cans into a fighter plane! :-)

Facebook Page : http://www.facebook.com/events/268993383185861/

For a little background, in World War II, the United States began a massive rationing campaign to save certain materials. These materials were in turn used in production of war supplies, such as ships, tanks, and aircraft!

Small towns all over the USA held "scrap drives" quite routinely to collect materials for the war effort. Items collected included tin cans, nylon stockings (for use in parachutes), and used rubber tires.

Today, we re-enact scrap collecting in an effort to get our own WWII P-51B Mustang "off the ground!" We will be collecting any NYS $0.05 redeemable containers, such as metal soda cans, plastic pop bottles, and glass beer bottles. After these are collected, we will be taking them to the Geneseo redemption center for counting. Once we receive the money for recycling the containers, we will immediately use said funds on "Lucy Gal!"

We'll see you there!

Recent Leland Pennington Findings

Hello "Lucy Gal" followers!

Recently, my Aunt (Sally Parker, Rochester Business Journal) has begun helping me research more on Leland Pennington's pre-war days. When I first learned of Leland an began doing research 2 years ago for the project, I found that he grew up with his Uncle and Aunt in Rochester. I also found the names of said Uncle/Aunt by searching the 1930 census report.

Leland Pennington's Uncle was Solomon Young, his Aunt way Fannie Young. After finding these names through my research, I never fully delved into learning more. At the time, I got real busy with other aspects of the project and didn't have the time.

This past fall, I had a very ironic coincidence occur in a museum studies course I was taking at St. John Fisher. My professor had passed around an old document from the George Eastman records, and what name should appear in the report? Why, non other than a Mr. Solomon Young! It turns out the Solomon, Leland's Uncle, was the last Valet of Mr. George Eastman! George Eastman is better known as the founder of Kodak.

Now, with my Aunt's help, we have been able to learn a lot more about Leland Pennington's upbringing. Recent research has found an image of Solomon Young and Fanny driving in a parade to honor Frederick Douglas. The picture was taken in 1924, two years after Leland was born. Look closely, you see the young boy (circled) sitting in the lap of Fanny? That is a 1-2 year old Leland Pennington!

Cool Huh? :-)

My Aunt and I dug further. We found that in the few months between his graduation from Monroe H.S. and his deployment to Ramitelli, Leland worked for the Rochester Smelting Foundry. See the excerpts from the paper below for details. This was all very exciting to find!

We made one last discovery through our "sleuthing." Apparently, Leland Pennington is somewhere in the following iconic photo taken of a group of Tuskegee Airmen in a pre-mission briefing. I have not yet been able to pin down which one of these guys he is (probably in the background.) Still, even knowing that he is somewhere in this photo, one that is recognised by thousands, is quite fulfilling.

Not sure which is Leland Pennington just yet!

So there you have it, the latest "findings" on our local MIA Tuskegee hero, Leland H. Pennington. Stay tuned for more news and updates!

- Austin H.

February News & Notes

Hello "Lucy Gal" followers! I'm sitting here on the last Sunday in February re-living the busy month in my head. I figured that I might as well post the latest "happenings" with the project, not only for your enjoyment, but also so I don't forget any of it! :-) Here's the latest and greatest...

1.) February - Being Black History Month, Feb. provided many good opportunities to get the "Lucy Gal" project and story of Leland Pennington out in the local public. Earlier this month, I visited with the Rochester City School District's "Safe to be Smart" enrichment program. You can see more details about this by scrolling down to some of my older posts. Also, yesterday (the 25th), I was a guest of the Rochester Razorsharks amateur basketball team. I attended their game and handed out fliers about the project and answered questions about the Tuskegee Airmen as well.

2.) Connections - With the recent release of the movie Red Tails, I have been very busy trying to connect with the cast/crew of the film. This includes George Lucas and LucasFilm LTD. Well, this past Wednesday I got a VERY important call! A PR representative from LucasFilm received a letter that I wrote requesting support. Over the next few weeks/months, the "Lucy Gal" project will make it's way through the "higher ups" at LucasFilm, and possibly end up fetching a sponsorship! In the mean time, the company has generously donated a copy of "Double Victory," a documentary that they produced about the Tuskegee Airmen. We have been told that we can use this DVD for our profit by holding a viewing party! Stay tuned...

3.) Letter Campaign - As I briefly mentioned above, I have been writing letters like crazy lately. These letters include the Red Tails cast/crew, actors, entrepreneurs, athletes, etc. The letter writing campaign will come to a head this week as I will have them all ready to be mailed by Friday! I cannot wait to see if/whom I hear back from!

First Round of Letters to be Mailed

4.) Mr. Trey Ellis - I recently was able to find the e-mail address for Mr. Trey Ellis. He is a world-renown author, and also had a hand in writing for the HBO movie The Tuskegee Airmen in 1995. I sent him a message about the "Lucy Gal" project, asking if he would have an interest in helping us spread the word and possibly sit on our board. Well, I heard back from him! He has agreed to be a "Lucy Gal" board member, and also will share the project with his comrades from the 1995 made-for-tv movie.

The Tuskegee Airmen writer - Trey Ellis

5.) Rudder, the "Red Tail" - Last, but certainly not least on my list, is the official start of the P-51B "Lucy Gal" construction. I have officially fundraised enough to purchase the rudder kit from Tri-State Aviation, as well as materials for the rudder's jig. This week I should be hearing back from a couple sources about how to build the jig. After this, we will buy the necessary materials, build the jig, then buy the rudder kit! From there, the rest is history...

P-51 Rudder Jig

So there you have it! Stay tuned though, there's always new developments with this project and I am honored to share them with you.

- Austin Hancock