In support of an official event 

The Museum will be closed Sunday, May 25
In addition, the Fourth Hangar will be closed Saturday, May 24

Access to the Presidential Gallery will be limited from May 15 to June 5
 

"Fiery Ginger IV" Vertical Fin

On display in Fiery Ginger IV's vertical fin. Some of the red, yellow and blue stripes remain on the top of the tail, even after decades in tropical weather. Each stripe represented one of the colors of the 348th Fighter Group's three squadrons. Though not visible today, the unpainted metal areas were once covered in white paint, a common USAAF recognition marking used in the Southwest Pacific.

The holes in the tail were made by the Japanese fighter that shot Kearby down. After the war, the wreckage of the aircraft lay undisturbed and forgotten until the 1990s. This artifact came to the museum in 2004.

Click here to return to the Col. Kearby Overview.