WWII Flyboys Mural Dedication Ceremony set for Sunday in Renovo

By Christopher Miller

RENOVO, PA – Join the western Clinton County community and The Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park on Sunday, May 28 for the WWII FlyBoys Mural Dedication Ceremony, 2:00 PM, at the corner of Huron Ave. and 7th Street (Tony’s Hardware).

The mural, which has been in the works for a few years now, will be unveiled outside of Tony’s Hardware along Huron Avenue during the dedication ceremony on Sunday.

According to the schedule of events for the ceremony, there will be remarks from those involved including Robert “Haney” Calhoun, the artist, Board members of The Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park, and music from Bucktail High School Drumline, Erica Dorman and Autumn Gavlock.

Below are comments from individuals involved with the project.
Mary George Rhone
The WWII mural has been a project through Heritage Park that has taken three years to come to fruition. When delivering meals to the elderly, John Curcio and I spoke of the mural often. Our intention was to create a mural honoring all veterans but once Robert Calhoun’s drawings were seen, it was decided the mural would be one to honor WWII flyboys. The drawings were incredible and something that need to be brought to life. What I didn’t realize is that so many of the young men from the Western end of Clinton County were turret gunners. Did the Air Corps decide who the turret gunners would be based on their training, or did the flyboys themselves choose that path? I personally wonder if that was their choice because of being around hunting all their lives and being great shots or something they all decided to do on their own. I then learned through research that the flyboys were chosen due to their training. It boggles my mind of the number of those enlisted who were flyboys. The mural had been made possible by donation only, no grant was used for this creation. We are on target with donations and by the unveiling we hope we will have it all funded. Trish Wilson took on the task of the research so the flyboys stories could be heard all these years later. I can’t fathom how any of them endured these missions and the conditions, but by the grace of God some did return. Men like John Curcio kept their history alive and that is what GRAHP’s intention has been as well.

Patricia Wilson
On December 2, 2022, I attended a planning meeting about a Flyboys Mural that Robert “Haney” Calhoun was commissioned to do by the Greater Renovo Area Heritage Park. I was asked to put together information about the Flyboys for the Memorial Day 2023 unveiling. I accepted the challenge at that meeting because Rich Wykoff asked me and because I owed him for the many ways he assisted with our Veterans Day Assembly at Bucktail Area Middle/Senior High School. Little did I know the task that was given me was filled with so many emotions.

At first, I had experienced the frustration of not knowing where to begin and wanting to drop the project altogether. As I continued to dive into the project, ever so slowly, I began to realize the importance of this task.

Many of their stories were left untold yet begging to be told. I purchased a copy of Heath White’s book (Air Corps Days: The Journey of a World War II Flyboy) about Arthur Pierson, his great uncle who was killed in a plane crash as a Flyboy in WWII. Knowing Heath as a young boy, I was mesmerized by his story. My first contact was with Heath and so my research began. Heath, you were my inspiration.

My frustration continued because finding information was a challenge. As the information slowly trickled in, my frustration turned into a mission with a purpose. Never having been in the military myself, I owed these men who risked everything in defense of our nation. It was time for the Flyboys of Renovo to take center stage and be recognized with this beautiful mural for future generations. I gathered as many stories as I could, knowing that there are still many left untold, but I had three months to complete this task. The moral of the story is that you must start somewhere, and so I did. I began with a list of names given to me by Haney Calhoun. His grandmother, Pauline Finnefrock had compiled a list of Flyboys and so I started there. I posted a cry for help on Facebook and The Record. People began calling me with information. I received a phone call one Sunday night from a woman in Florida, who wanted her high school sweetheart to be included among the Flyboys. As the story unfolded, it turned out that this woman was from Hammersley Fork, PA and knew my father-in-law, Woodrow Wilson. I had a wonderful chat about her Flyboy sweetheart, she is 99 years old. She told me they were separated after high school and years down the road, she reconnected with him after reading his wife’s obituary. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 98 in 2022, but they were able to spend some time together before he passed. Not only were these Flyboys part of the Greatest Generation, but their stories carried with them a romantic flair emulated by sounds of the times from bands such as Glenn Miller.

It has been my honor and privilege to put a dent into the stories of the Flyboys who have ties to the community of Renovo. Thank you, gentleman, for your service and sacrifice. The pages of history are honored to share some of the stories of the Greatest Generation!

Robert “Haney” Calhoun
It’s been two years running since the Renovo Heritage Park got a hold of me and it’s been a long process, trying to get it up and running, donations, meetings, and I cannot wait until it is up on Sunday, that’s for sure. I am a little anxious.

One of the paintings going on the mural is me in my Navy Cracker Jacks and a plane, Rich put them both together. The inspiration I had for the mural was my great uncle Stanley Mason, who he and his whole crew were killed in a B-17 crash during World War II. Renovo Heritage Park asked me to do something for the mural with veterans, so I thought let’s go with the flyboys.

I visited England, the site of my great uncle’s crash, five years ago, and September is that anniversary 80 years ago. Lots and lots of research was put into getting the mural ready. I tried to be as accurate as I could on drawings, and with the planes and paintings looking at old newspapers and photos. I think we put this together very well. I was able to learn a little about the process of putting it together physically when I went down to Brownie’s Signs in Lock Haven.

I want to thank all of the veterans, the families, Renovo Heritage Park for getting me involved in the project, and especially to all of the donors. Thanks to the people that helped with the research and those putting it all together. I certainly could not have done it all by myself.