Man flies plane father used in WWII

By: Neil Abeles - Texarkana Gazette

Staff photo by Neil Abeles • Here are the three employees of AEP/SWEPCO who flew in this restored B-17 “Aluminum Overcast” as participants in a “Fly the Fortress” program made possible by the Experimental Aircraft Association. From left, they are Henry Bishop, Jim Holla...

Submitted photo • Here’s the wartime photo of Jim Holland’s father, T. J. Holland, and crew member of the B-17 “Scheherazade” in England in World War II. Holland is second from left, top row, smiling.

When Jim Hollard of Atlanta stooped to step inside the B-17, he felt how cramped and small it was. Its aluminum walls were paper thin.

It was an emotional moment because this was the airplane his father, the late T.J. Holland, had flown as a crew member during World War II.

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Published: 03/13/2013