World War II Artifact Unearthed

Many of us have friends or relatives who lived through or participated in World War II. It is known as history's greatest armed conflict. Movements from that era were so influential, they were represented with their own icons such as Rosie the Riveter, and these icons have become quite collectible over the years. One such memento has been unearthed on a beach in Wales, but it won't end up on anyone's shelf. An American P-38 fighter plane ran out of gas and crash landed some sixty-five years ago, where it was buried in surf and sand. The pilot, Second Lt. Robert F. “Fred” Elliot, 24, of Rich Square, N.C., was not injured in the crash, but died three months later during a flight over Tunisia in North Africa.

Due to unusual weather last summer, the sand began to shift and erode, revealing the long-forgotten WWII relic. The Lockheed “Lightening” fighter has a distinctive twin-boom design and based on its serial number as well as other records, “the fighter is arguably the oldest P-38 in existence, and the oldest surviving 8^th Air Force combat aircraft of any type,” said Ric Gillespie, who heads a U.S.-based nonprofit group dedicated to preserving historic aircraft. Check out the original article for more details about the plane and the only remaining Elliot family member who learns more about his namesake.