A message from America
A framed photograph of Bill Eagleson, a veteran of the 453rd Bomb Group, and me, discussing details about the Collings Foundation’s B-24 at the Aviation Heritage Festival in Nashua, New Hampshire, September 2004. The occasion was the official launch of my book, An Emotional Gauntlet.
The photograph was taken by another friend, John Paul Durborow, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. John was named after two of his uncles – Lt John Durborow, killed in action over Germany while flying from Old Buckenham, Norfolk, England, on 8 April 1944 (453rd Bomb Group), and Lt Paul Durborow, killed in action on a mission to Germany while flying from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk, on 29 July 1944 (100th Bomb Group).
A few months after the event in Nashua, John sent me this framed photograph. The frame included a digital audio recorder, allowing for a short greeting to be recorded. John had called Bill and got him to record a message over the phone.
The frame spent quite a few years in storage while I was living mostly overseas. Meanwhile, both Bill and John passed away. I was delighted to find, in 2022, that the battery was still working, and the recording preserved.
“All the best, Stuart, from your friends on the other side of the pond.”