From the Executive Director
by
Tom Drugan

Greetings to all and welcome to 2006! We are well into the new year and membership renewals are coming in at a brisk pace. Thanks to all who have renewed for the coming year, and for everyone else, we still need you. Please continue your support!

Reunion details are now finalized. The dates are Thursday, March 30 through Saturday April 1. We have been assured that, barring mechanical difficulties, Don Brooks will have “Liberty Belle” here during that time for rides and tours. Museum Foundation members will receive a $25 discount for rides. This is a great opportunity to see this terrific B-17 restoration and to help support Don’s very worthwhile Liberty Foundation project. We will be headquartered at the Airport Clarion again. On Friday you will be able to select from several different tours; Saturday is reserved for your visit to the museum; Saturday evening we will have the annual membership/volunteer appreciation banquet. This is a wonderful opportunity to get an in-depth look at the museum and meet the people who make everything work. Please plan to attend this, our fifth annual reunion.

Enclosed with this bulletin is an errata sheet for the Blue Book. We have been encouraged to publish this sheet for some time. The Blue Book was prepared in 1946 when there were still some unknowns about the 390th Bomb Group. Over the years we have found a number of errors in the book and noted them for readers. Since the book will never be reprinted with corrections we believe that this is the best method for clearing up inaccuracies and omissions. If you don’t have a Blue Book yet, you are missing an important element in the history of the 390th Bomb Group.

Our nose art project is complete and it looks great! The south and west wall project was funded entirely by donations from several individuals who were interested in seeing a particular plane depicted in the display and/or individuals interested in the project. We get many comments from visitors about this display and all of you are going to want to see it.

Your museum realized a wonderful windfall gain this year as the beneficiary of the estate of Michael Ruta, a 390th Bomb Group veteran. Mr. Ruta was a faithful attendee at the Veterans Reunions but generally was a quiet man who kept very much to himself. Our net share of his estate was in excess of $160,000, which was deposited into our Endowment Fund to help insure the future of your organization. Please read Michael’s story as written by the Star Ledger of Newark news article on page 6 of this issue.

We have much planned for this year. Please stay tuned for news of our progress.