Valle
P-38 National Association Annual Meeting, Valle, AZ, June 24-27, 2012
The P-38 National annual meeting held at the Planes of Fame Museum honored several 474th Fighter Group members with museum cases displaying personal WWII artifacts. One of the cases belongs to my father, 1st Lt. Shannon Estill, and was created by Dayle DeBry and Bob Alvis. Gallery photos will show how gorgeous it is - a true labor of love for which I am grateful.
My dear pilot friends from LA flew in for the weekend: Paul Hissey (a member of the 474th and former P-38 pilot), Bill Allen, and Jean-Paul Issock. We drove from Phoenix with my cousin, Wes Estill and his wife, Anne. Paul Meier and his partner, Barbara, were there from California which was particularly amazing, since Paul was able to see the plane parts included in my father’s case. This is amazing because it was Paul’s P-38 my father was flying the day he was shot down.
Valle is at the entrance to the Grand Canyon where visitors from all over the world will have a chance to visit this display. The following weekend, Lt. Estill’s grandson, Justin Rocca and his wife, Kera, visited the museum. A photo of Justin with his grandfather’s case and one of his tattoo that spells 474 in Roman numerals is included in the photo gallery. Next year’s meeting will be held on the Queen Mary in the spring. We hope to show our German documentary, The Last Flight of Lt. Estill at main Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, CA.