Downed B17

I created this portrait to show a small piece of the history that is this land called Labrador, this is a land that I spent 30 wonderful, adventurous years traveling and exploring. I can proudly say that I met and made wonderful friends during my travels, far too many to mention in this brief narration of a story that began on Christmas Eve of 1947. A Christmas that will long be remembered by the people involved in the actual flight in 1947 and all those involved with the final rescue of the plane 57 years later.

My involvement was quite by accident on a sunny warm day in July 2002 while fishing below Dyke Lake in Western Labrador with a good friend of mine (Don Mitsuk). He asked me if I had ever seen the plane underwater in the run just ahead of us, (Don had been involved in the search for the plane in the Summer of 1998 as a fishing guide).

We made a few circles and sure enough located the plane. It was on the bottom in about 20 feet of water and it was massive. We made a big circle with the boat while gazing into the depths. We would pass over the nose and the plane would vanish from site and then we would pass over a wing with the engines and then the tail section and then the final wing and engines. I have to say it was a sight to behold.

Of course, it is quite a story, including the rescue which took place in 2004. I watched this plane being floated and towed out of the River system and down to the Lobstick Dam where it was dismantled to be loaded aboard tractor trailers for the journey to Georgia in the United States.

It is another amazing memory of Labrador.