“Project C-47” Progressing at Camp Toccoa

“Project C-47” is making progress at Camp Toccoa at Currahee.

WNEG news recently sat down with Construction coordinator Patrick Hall. Hall says the project is coming along nicely. “This weekend was great. We were able to get the brackets made. Stovall Machine Products out of Gumlog and Patterson Pump helped us get all of that done. The airplane is tied to the foundation. Hopefully, the first weekend in October we can start adding in the control surfaces like the wings and the vertical and horizontal stabilizer. We have been contacted by Lockheed out of Marietta and we hope to have some gentlemen from the C-130 program come help us one weekend. They are familiar with the sheet metal process to get the wings back in shape.”

How did the “Project C-47” get started? A magazine article led the volunteers from Camp Toccoa to Alabama where they traded a bulldozer donated by local businessman Rick Phillips for the plane that was manufactured in March of 1943 in Long Beach, California. Hall says the man delivered the plane to them. “He put it on five flatbed tractor-trailers. He had all of the permits and liability. (Stephens County Sheriff) Randy Shirley sent an off-duty deputy down to escort them. They met up at the Alabama-Georgia line and they were here two hours early. It sat for almost two years until we were in a position to get the foundations poured because we did not want the airplane to move once it is tied down, and Southern Auto Paint out of Gainesville donated all of the paint for the airplane.”

 

Hall says he gets a little emotional when talking about that which has been donated for the project and the group of volunteers involved. “One of them comes as far as Chicago, a retired firefighter, another firefighter is out of Knoxville, Tennessee. A group of volunteers that are just fantastic, and we work. We were able to get the plane painted, through a connection with the Elk’s Lodge we were able to get a set of tires. Steve Lathan, was able to bring a huge piece of machinery that he uses for logging to move to the present location 9near the entrance of Camp Toccoa). We were able to get the windows put in, donated by Plexiglass, and Piedmont Plastics of Buford manufactured the actual windows. Bolt Depot out of Massachusetts donated all of the fasteners for the windows, and donated bolts, nuts, and washers to put the wings on. We have had tremendous support, not only from our community, but all around.”

Hall says local volunteers and contractors have been great to contribute time and money not only to this project but the total Camp Toccoa experience.“At one point we had a group of 7-8 from the Elk’s Lodge when we were building the barracks, and then every weekend we have a group that man the gift shop and the headquarters telling the story and taking people on tours. We have now closed in the Pavilion and we hope to get heating and air in to make it a year round facility.”

Hall tells WNEG that Camp Toccoa always appreciates monetary donations and looks forward to the day when visitors will be able to board the C-47 and walk all the way to the cockpit as they hope to put together as close to what paratroopers jumped out of on D-Day.