Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Those pushing for a museum dedicated to central Kansas' role in training B-29 bombers during World War II are celebrating another step in making the museum a reality.

The supporters recently acquired a parachute building in Pratt, located on a former B-29 air base. The building, one of only two remaining in Kansas and already on the National Registry of Historic Places, was built tall enough to hang parachutes to be aired out and repacked.

With a historic structure to build around, museum supporters plan this fall to start a formal organization with living members of the air group and descendants.

They want to use the parachute building and another newly constructed structure to display artifacts from the area's bomber days.

B-29s also trained in Salina, Great Bend and Walker.