WWII plane fragment from Medal of Honor recipient displayed at New Hampshire museum

By Tom Garris

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    LONDONDERRY, New Hampshire (WMUR) — A fragment of a World War II bomber flown by New Hampshire’s only Medal of Honor aviator is now on display at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire in Londonderry.

Steve Heffelfinger donated the authenticated fragment after he and his wife saw that it was available online.

“When my wife and I saw it, we said the museum has to have one,” Heffelfinger said.

The fragment was a piece of a B-17 bomber flown by Harl Pease Jr., the namesake of the Air National Guard base in Portsmouth.

“Not everybody knows about his personal story and what he went through,” Heffelfinger said.

Pease enlisted before World War II began. While in the Pacific, he and others volunteered for a bombing mission in a plane deemed unserviceable and completed it. However, the aircraft was shot down on the way back. Pease was captured and never made it out.

Heffelfinger said when he saw it was online, he couldn’t believe it.

“Wow, wow, wow. This is incredible,” he said. “It’s a tangible artifact of Harl Pease’s heroic service to our country.”

“And even though it’s a small piece of the aircraft, it tells a huge story,” said Jeff Rapsis, executive director of the Aviation Museum.

The Aviation Museum will hold a special ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday. All are invited to attend and celebrate a Granite Stater who gave all.

“I think it’s very important that the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire be able to tell that story to people so that it doesn’t fade away,” Rapsis said.

The fragment is one of 75 pieces of the plane out there. Heffelfinger says he and his wife made the donation in memory of their family members who served in major 20th-century conflicts.

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