NAA-K B-25 Bomber Builders Memorial

In late 1994, George Bauer contacted the NAA-K B-25 Bomber Builders Newsletter. At the time, he was writing his first book "Fairfax Ghosts, the Bomber Builders and others who made a difference". He asked if any of our members would be interested in doing interviews for possible inclusion in his book. Over the next several years, the George met with many former NAA-K employees and attended several reunions. He was a great supporter of our organization.

On August 18,1996, through the efforts of George and our own Jim Stella, we dedicated the B-25 vertical tail and rudder assembly that was signed by over 100 former bomber builders. It was during this time that we became aware that George had a greater plan. During the dedication ceremony, George announced his plan to build a monument as a tribute to the thousands of men and women who built the 6,608 B-25 Mitchell bombers at the North American Aviation Kansas plant in Fairfax Kansas. The idea was so well received that several people offered to donate right there.

On October 21, 1996 a meeting was held to further the memorial idea. George announced his plan to build an entire aviation museum. His plan was to erect the memorial at the entrance to honor the "Bomber Builders". This museum would have to be at an airport to facilitate airshows and plane rides. Unfortunately, there is no longer an airport in Kansas City, Kansas. The Fairfax site is now the location of a General Motors plant with only parts of the original runways still visible.

George found out that the "Bomber Builders" were a proud and loyal group. In their eyes, there was no need for another museum when they had been working with one all along. It would also be cheaper to expand the current museum than to build and entirely new one. Although not at the site of the bomber plant, the museum was also located in Kansas City, Kansas. In their view, that was close enough. There were also concerns that if a larger project failed, the memorial would never be built. A questionnaire was sent to the newsletter members to get their opinions. Through further conversations, it was decided that the "NAA-K Bomber Builders Newsletter" would build their own memorial.

On June 4, 1997 a committee of Harry Desko, Alice Desko, Larry Winn, Hazel Thomas and Deloris Sandels met to plan the memorial. The first fifty dollar donation was accepted that day. Formal fundraising was officially started for the memorial. A fundraising account was started at a local bank. I started work on the design concepts and we started sending out contribution requests. The largest single donation was for five hundred dollars. The smallest was for one dollar and fifty cents. A memorial was on it's way.

The memorial was planned to be carved out of a 4,320 pound Rushmore Granite block. At the top I placed the newly recreated North American Kansas logo. That would be followed by line drawing of a B-25 bomber. The wording on the monument, chosen by the committee would be:

The memorial was funded with donations, materials, and labor by 128 individuals, companies, and organizations. The granite was quarried in South Dakota and lettered at the Johnson and Sons Monument Co. in Independence, Missouri. The stone was placed on is base with the assistance of Carthage Marble Co. on January 23, 1998.

Saturday, May 2, 1998 at 11:00 am, the monument was officially unveiled and dedicated. Declared "Bomber Builders Day" by then Mayor Carol Marinovich, that day will remain etched in history. In less than 18 months from concept to creation, the "Bomber Builders" had done it again.

The monument stood that way until July of 2002. With bricks donated by ACME Brick Co. from Olathe, Kansas and remaining funds from the original fund, a brick path leading to the monument was laid. Fundraising was then started for a pair of benches to line either side of the brick path. The benches were placed in the summer of 2003. The remainder of the funds raised for the monument were donated to the museum for general maintenance. The monument is now listed on the National List of Historic Monuments.

Even though the original plan for a museum has not yet been realized, George was indeed proud of what was accomplished. There was some sorrow in his words as he wrote in his second book "A Century of Kansas City Aviation History, the Dreamers and the Doers":

Although I am extremely grateful for the work of the "bomber builders" and other people with similar dedication and vision, it has been very disappointing to me that the people of Kansas City have not seen fit to remember in any tangible way the contribution that their parents and grandparents, and their friends and neighbors, made to the war effort more than fifty years ago. It was left for the "Bomber Builders" to erect their own memorial at the Wyandotte County Museum in Bonner Springs, Kansas, which was dedicated on May 2, 1998.

I, like George, am extremely grateful. I have also not forgotten. We as a society owe a lot to the "Greatest Generation". I helped build the memorial, and I have not given up on the museum. As times passes, more and more of the "Bomber Builders" have gone. I want each and every one of them to know they will not be forgotten.

Although my Grandfather was proud of the monument he helped build, he was somewhat disappointed that he could not place it at the site of the former plant. Doing my best to keep his dream alive, my current endeavor is to bring part of the plant to the memorial. On May 13, 2015, the B-25 History Project took possession of the final artifact from the Fairfax Plant site, the original gates and posts from gate 9. This was the entrance for a large portion of the plant workers. We realize the historic significance of our actions. I was honored to make this speech prior to taking the final artifacts off the site: