Day 5

Then: Finishing their ride to Little Rock you left the boys in complete despair, not being able to find anything other than closed... EVERYTHING. Hoping that the following day woud not disappoint in the same way as the last, the brothers finished their night with the unfulfillment of Taco Bell.

Now: The Misson: Travel from Little Rock, AR to Sheridan, AR, meet with Nelson Mears (Grant County Veteran's Service Officer and Webmaster of b17memorialpark.com), attend U.S. Army Air Corps 70th Anniversary B17 Crash Memorial Ceremony and find real food.

Phil and Tim awoke and slowly got ready for the day, showering, ironing and grabbing a bite to eat as they left the hotel, headed for Sheridan, AR. A call was made to Mr. Nelson Mears to inform of him of their arrival, giving them directions to his home. Nelson was waiting for them out in front of his house, and greeting them warmly as they got out of their carriage.

Invited into Nelson's home, he spoke of the history of the tragic B17 crash on March 12, 1943 that the brothers' Great Uncle Philip E. Niewolak had died in 70 years ago. The brothers brought out what that had recovered from the collection of their grandmother's, which included some hand written letters, pillow shams, U.S. Army Air Corps Graduation Card, Western Union Telegraph, patches and pins. Learning lots from each other with storytelling and documents, it was time for Nelson to navigate and ride shotgun to the crash sight. Nelson showed them around the site, explained how and where the plane landed and what many local reports said about the crash.

Leaving the site, Nelson directed the boys to the Grant County Museum, where they have a large display of artifacts from the B17 crash, as well as from the Civil War to current military items and cars. Spending two hours at the museum it as time to eat... again.

Grant County Museum:
 

Quickly finding multiple places, they decided on the Yellowjack Drive In.

Tim's Order: Cheeseburger Basket and small Sprite

Phil's Order: Cheeseburger Basker and small Coke

Yummy diner style burgers, Mmmmmm.

Arriving to the crash site the boys were surprised to see that there were a whole lot of vehicles lining the road of the crash site. Surprised at the turn out, the brothers parked along side of the road and walked to the gathering.

The boys were greeted by a slew of folks, thanking them for their attendance since they were the only relatives of one of the nine fallen airmen being honored at the ceremony. 14 active airmen were in attendance, nine of which stood in place for the nine B17 crew members, others in attendance included members of the local Legion, Sheridan's Mayor, County Judge and local residents. With two tables of pictures and pieces of wreckaged displayed in front of a semi circle of flags attended by member of the Legion the ceremony started at 3:00pm. Each airmen was called up to hold a picture of one of the fallen crew members as a brief bio was read. Pausing the ceremony for a moment of silence at 3:35pm, the official time of the crash, the frogs in the swamp also stopped croaking (seriously). The ceremony continued on until 4:30pm as Nelson remembered several new stories to disclose, several of which helped him deduce conclusions about the accident being a military cover-up.

B17 70th Anniversary Ceremony:


After the ceremony culminated the brothers thanked Mr. Nelson Mears and all other members of the Legion for all of their hard work and dedication. The boys headed to The Whippet (a restaurant recommended by Nelson and local residents). Nelson suggested to order the fried catfish with a "setup".

Tim's Order: Coffee and Water, BBQ Ribs with bbq beans, cole slaw, pickled tomatoes and fries.

Phil's Order: Coffee and Water, Catfish Dinner with baked beans, cole slaw, hushpuppies, pickled tomatoes and fries.

*The pickled tomatoes were out of this world!


FOOD - Yellowjacket & The Whippet:

Bellies full again, the Brothers LaSalle headed back to Little Rock to kick their feet up and relax in their hotel room.

Sights: