Rededication ceremony honors historic aircraft

Published May 23, 2013
By Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Joint base leaders and community members gathered to rededicate the C-118 Liftmaster static display May 14, 2013, at the circle in front of the McGuire Passenger Terminal here.

The ceremony was the culmination of a more than three-year restoration project taken on by 305th and 514th Air Mobility wings and 87th Air Base Wing volunteers.

A group led by Senior Master Sgt. Chris Hofrichter, 514th Maintenance Operations Flight superintendent, and retired Master Sgt. Corinne Alvord, former 305th AMW historical property custodian, was assembled in October 2009 to take on the daunting aircraft restoration project.

"The reason we are out here today is to recognize to the total-force effort that went into getting this aircraft back into pristine condition," said Col. Rick Williamson, 305th Air Mobility Wing commander. "This labor of love has a lot of sweat equity."

Alic Nelson, 305th AMW historian, took the audience back through time starting when this particular C-118 first arrived March 25, 1955, at then McGuire Air Force Base. The C-118 saw service all over the world to countries like Nigeria, Greenland, Brazil, Guam, Turkey, Libya and New Zealand to name a few, during its years at McGuire. Most missions involved troop transport, but some also held cargo configurations. One of the C-118's most notable legacies is that Sgt. Elvis Presley returned to the U.S. from Germany for discharge on this very aircraft.

"I think to really do a project like this right, you have to delve into the history aircraft," said Hofrichter. "Miss Nelson definitely helped us with that."

Williamson went into detail of what kind of work had to be done to restore the aircraft to 'like-new' condition. Repairs included replacing the tires, removing and cleaning the windows, repairing the sheet metal, applying a fresh coat of paint and much more.

Maintainers from the 305th and 514th Maintenance groups worked in their spare time to restore both the interior and exterior of the aircraft. Boy Scouts from Winslow High School, Troop 251, focused their efforts on rewiring to restore lighting in the aircraft. Members of the AMC Test and Evaluations Squadron, and even retirees who had previously flown on the airplane, assisted in various ways, including scraping paint from the historic aircraft.

Williamson awarded Hofrichter with an Air Force Commendation Medal for his hard work and dedication through the entire refurbishing process. The senior master sergeant then closed out the ceremony with a heartfelt speech to all in attendance.

"I will always look upon this aircraft as a reminder that even before I was born there were men and women who made the decision to slip the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of god, no matter the cost, and who lived with integrity, service and excellence long before it was a catch phrase," he said. "They, who in the worst of times, gave themselves to bring freedom to the oppressed, and in the best of times lived to fly another day. They are our past, our present and our future all rolled into one and I am eternally grateful. It is to them that I say this project was carried out with the utmost respect for your service and your sacrifice. You have given far more than can be repaid, but I hope in a small way that we've served you well here today."

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