Chapter 136F

10/11/2006

Ch 136F Road Trip New Museum Piece

[After returning to the museum I went inside and noticed the Olmsted Car Colletion is now prominently displayed as the first thing a guest sees upon entering. Just below the Porsche 959 supercar and the 1937 Alfa Romeo roadster you can see me pictured, sitting along with Ma, Dale and Bill at our backyard track. Couldn't find an actual pic of John Fitch in his Mustang P51 fighter but I retrieved the one above from of one of his compatriots]

From rehashed chapters, I sent second article below for museum newsletter:

My Conversation with John Fitch –by Terry Olmsted

OK, it only lasted 10 minutes and was over the phone but 1) he is a legend, and 2) this story probably only has legs during this current exhibit.

After the terrific exhibit briefing by Ken Gross, I just had to find out whether John had spent time at the same German POW camp as my Uncle Nelson Warren. My Uncle’s plane had also been shot down near Leipzig in eastern Germany during WW2. As an amateur History Detective I had been able to track down a local guy from uncle’s notes written on Lucky Strike wrappers tucked inside a diary fashioned from corned beef tins from the Red Cross: Albin Rezotarski from the Mohawk Dairy in Amsterdam. Another local Bob Freihofer, Freihofer Bakery Troy also was in that POW camp. Freihofer crew.

When I reached John at his Connecticut home, he was gracious and interesting but could not talk too long as he was sending friends a NY Times article that featured him. John did reveal that he was most likely not at Stalag Luft III, Sagan nor at VIIa Mooseberg as Reichfuhrer Himmler kept John moving to be used as a bargaining chip in a hostage exchange at the end of the war.

Before hanging up, I had mentioned that in 1971 during construction of the Interstates (787 & 90) we (at NYSDOT) had installed his Fitch crash barrels at certain bridge intersections as new technology safety devices. The inspiration for that design apparently came from the sand filled petrol cans he used to protect his tent in the North African desert from the strafing German fighter planes.

Stop and think for a moment about the contributions we’ve received from our “Greatest Generation” automobile related and otherwise. This is what led me to suggest an exhibit theme based on these fading heroes. Perhaps I’m biased from my upbringing. Dad was a flight engineer for 30 missions over France and Germany on a B-24. That experience shaped his life as well as imparted a strong sense of mechanical / automotive interest in my life. I was also moved listening to Carroll Shelby speak at S.A.M. He was also a P51 Mustang pilot during wartime. I had the sense that after their war experiences, they were not afraid to try anything and wanted to continue to make a positive difference in the world.

Freihofer obit

Freihofer Bakery