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Vampire
Free Worlds League
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 912
Location: Spain
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 Posted: 16-Dec-2003 13:49 Post subject: The Curse of the "Lady Be Good" |
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Now, as you might know, the "Lady Be Good" was a B24 Liberator bomber that got lost and crashed in the desert during World War II
The grim story is well known, if you don't, you can read it here
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/bombers/b2-39.htm
What I didn't know is that there was a curse as well. It's a hell of a scary ghost story:
Lin's last meeting with the B-24 was a rather eerie one. He was visiting Wheelus Air Force Base in Tripoli, where he was discussing F-105 matters with the Air Force personnel at that base, when he was asked if he would like to see THE LADY BE GOOD. He had hear the story of the B-24D which had been abandoned by its crew when they got lost on their first mission in April 4, 1943. Their story is well known, so it won't be repeated, but the feeling he got when the chopper sat them down next to the aging B-24 under the broiling sun sent shivers down his back. The old bird had landed itself after the crew had bailed out, and had broken its back in doing so, but there is no doubt in his mind that the crew could have survived had they stayed with the airplane. After seventeen years in the dry desert air the airplane was still in remarkable shape. The ammunition in the gun belts still gleamed. Preserved in the Libyan desert, the B-24 suffered no corrosion. The fact that the airplane was virtually intact surprised Lin, for he had seen other crashed aircraft in Libya that were stripped clean within thirty minutes of their going down. The Arabs apparently consider THE LADY BE GOOD to be taboo. And some interesting things happened to those who stripped the B-24 for souvenirs.
The first C-47 that landed alongside the wreck had its radio fail, and the crew removed the radio from THE LADY BE GOOD, and crashed in Germany, killing all thirteen aboard. A helicopter pilot from Wheelus removed one of the Lady's engine plates and mounted it in his aircraft. He crashed and was killed. A newspaper reporter took one of the .50 caliber bullets from the waist gun as a souvenir. He was killed in a car crash in Europe a few weeks later. The base operations office at Wheelus removed one of the propellers from the Lady and mounted it in front of the office. Not too long thereafter the Libyan government took over Wheelus. Perhaps the Arabs knew what they were doing when they avoided THE LADY BE GOOD. She still lies in the Libyan Desert, a silent reminder to the too often overlooked career of an unsung heavyweight with an even heavier punch, a champion that never received the Laurels she so richly merited.
THE END - WINGS, February 1978, Vol. 8. No.1
Full article here:
http://members.aol.com/dheitm8612/requiem.htm
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Memento audare semper
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Stinger
The Knights of Chaos
General
Joined: 30-Apr-2002 00:00
Posts: 1833
Location: United States
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| Posted: 16-Dec-2003 15:11 Post subject: RE: The Curse of the "Lady Be Good" |
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Yeah I believe thjat it was cursed. No joke my brother had a car that ran for a total of 3 days of the 3 months he owned it. For some reason that car every time it was fixed it broke. I vividly remember it finally running after 3 weeks of fixing and replacing parts only to have it throw a rod (All fluids were good). At that point my brother sold it to a junk yard. All in all I think my parents spent close to 2K on a car they bought for him for a total of 300 dollars, they even had a mechanic work on it and it broke on the way home.
I have had cursed mechs as well The Wardog that wouldnt stand.
It took 20 points in the opening round and fell, then the next round it tried to stand 3 times and fell each time (3/4 G/P). It did that for 3 more rounds. He shut the machine down after striping all the armor off of the CT.
A Battlemaster that got jumped by hidden infantry. the only shot they got of was to my CTR I took 2 points of damage that went internal (friggen golden BB's) and gave me a Gyro and engine hit. I was piloting it in a campaign andthe next week it took another crit in the opening round by a AC'2 in the CT again and gave me 2 more enging hits (1 was fixed during the mission breaks, The Gyro wasnt fised since we didnt have the nessary parts.) The next round 4 tanks moved into position and turned it into a fire ball (yes another 2 was rolled for location on the CT, end result was around 4 total engine hits for the round. I ejected safely).
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Stinger
If it's "creepy" to use the Internet, military satellites, and robot aircraft to find a house full of gorgeous young models so I can drop in on them unexpected, then FINE, I'm "creepy". Howard Wolowitz. BBT.
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Hardware
Clan Ghost Bear
Star Colonel
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 605
Location: United States
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| Posted: 16-Dec-2003 21:54 Post subject: RE: The Curse of the "Lady Be Good" |
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The Lady Be Good had basically been stripped by British petroleum surveyors and souvenier hunters. In 1994 the Libyan the Libyan Government removed the wreck to a military base for safe keeping.
Only 8 of the nine crewmen's remains were ever found. 5 were found in a cluster 85 miles north of their link up site. A diary found where the five crewmen perished indicated that only three of the crew could continue and they headed off.
Staff Seargent Guy E. Shelley's remains were discovered 21 miles north of the other remains.
The remains of Technical Sergeant Harold J. Ripslinger were found 26 miles further on from the spot where Shelley fell.
The remains of Staff Sergeant V.L. Moore were not found.
The bombadier, John S. Woravka failed to join up with the rest of the crew. His body was found at his landing site. It was determined that his parachute failed to open properly and he died where he landed.
At least one of these men walked 132 miles in desert heat that reached 130 degrees with virtually no water and no protection. Survival experts estimated they could have covered 25 to 30 miles at best.
So much for the opinion of the experts.
http://www.qmfound.com/lady_be_good_b-24_bomber_recovery.htm
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The more I get to know people the more I like my dog.
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Alexander
Heavy Horse Merc Brigade
Commanding Officer
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 828
Location: Canada
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| Posted: 16-Dec-2003 23:55 Post subject: RE: The Curse of the "Lady Be Good" |
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I had a car that was possessed, I'm sure. It was a 1990 Chev Cavalier Z-24, and it was the first newer car I've ever bought, and the first I bought with my own money.
I owned the car for five years, and had many strange things happen during that time.
The only time I ever had to put any money into the car for engine repairs, I put in an alternator. I was entertaining a lady one night, and was driving her home, when the car broke down on the way. So, I paid for a cab for her, and towed my car back to my place. I replaced the alternator with a brand new one. A few days later the same girl was again in my car, and again the alternator went. That was my signal to dump her, and fix the car. I never had engine trouble again.
Or, one night, I was asleep in my apartment, when I had a dream that someone was breaking into my car. I woke up to take a look, and just as I got dressed, there was a knock at the door - it was 3am. Outside was a cop, who told me that my car had just been broken into, but, that the guy was caught, because the cop just happened to be unexpectedly cruising down the back alley, because he had a suspicion.
Or, I was parked at a shopping mall one afternoon, wandering around, when I flet a strange anxiety about my car. I walked out to her, and saw, much to my surprise, that the passenger side was completely pounded in, as someone smashed into her and took off. Unfortunately, insurance wouldn't cover the repairs, and I couldn't afford to fix her, so I traded her in, and got my 2000 Z-24. But, I feel that the spirit of my first Cavalier has moved onto my new car...
Alexander (Wierded Out Now!) 
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War is God's way of teaching geography.
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Commanding Officer, North West Armoured Cavalry
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Sir Henry
Team Bansai
Senior Tech Specialist
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 4899
Location: United States
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| Posted: 17-Dec-2003 07:53 Post subject: RE: The Curse of the "Lady Be Good" |
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I have Battlemaster that's scared of the water. It been in water three times.
The first was a slip and fall while entering. It never made it out. It wouldn't stand and one of the bad guys hit my CTR with 40 point of damage and it sunk.
The second was a fall of two hexes into a level one Lake?(Puddle...) Took a head shot, 3 crits later the head was flooded.
The third was crossing a bridge over a river. The bridge took an arty hit and crumbled beneath me. The river was only 12 hexes below..... Splat...
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Sir Henry
A Dragon in the disguise of a bunny, is still a Dragon.
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