On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire took possession of a piece of the fuselage of a B-17E flown by Capt. Harl Pease of Plymouth, N.H. when his aircraft was shot down over Rabaul, New Britain on Aug. 6-7, 1942, leading to his capture and subsequent execution in a Japanese prison camp.
The piece, extracted from the crash site in the 1980s, was recently acquired by volunteer Steve Heffelfinger and his wife Gisela, who donated it to the museum in memory of their relatives whose record of military service extends back to World War I.
The authenticated aircraft piece will help the museum tell the story of Pease, namesake of the Pease airport and tradeport in Portsmouth and the only N.H. aviator to date to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award.
The fragment was accepted in a presentation ceremony that included a reading of the entire citation that was issued with Pease’s Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously to his parents by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in December of 1942, plus a ceremonial procession and installation of the fragment conducted by Major Derek Voigt of the N.H. Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
Special guests included Col. Nelson Perron, Commander of the 157th Refueling Wing of the N.H. Air National Guard, who spoke of the importance of remembering Pease’s extraordinary record of service and sacrifice. For the ceremony, Guard representatives brought the actual Medal of Honor presented to the Pease family, which they have in their possession, and displayed it to visitors as part of the ceremony.
We would like to recognize Senior Master Sergeant Alan Beaulieu of the N.H.A.N.G. 157th Refueling Wing for coordinating the Guard’s involvement with this solemn occasion.
Finally, on behalf of the Aviation Museum’s board of directors and our entire community of supporters, thank you to Steve and Gisela Heffelfinger for this extraordinary donation. It will ensure that museum visitors have an opportunity to become acquainted with the story of Capt. Harl Pease, a true Granite State aviation hero.
To view a video of the ceremony, click here.
