Douglas County Historical Society Offers Lunch and Learn Northern Ireland’s Jonny McNee
Join Douglas County Historical Society on Friday, May 23rd from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in Building 10, 1st floor Common Area at MCC’s Fort Omaha campus for a Lunch and Learn with Northern Ireland’s Jonny McNee.
Jonny McNee is an aviation historian and author from Northern Ireland. In 2011, he discovered and excavated the Second World War P8074 Spitfire aircraft flown by a young Omahan, Pilot Officer Roland ‘Bud’ Wolfe. Bud was flying with the Royal Air Force in 133 Eagle Squadron (RAF), one of three such RAF Squadrons comprised of American volunteer pilots flying before America officially entered the war. After Bud parachuted to safety from his stricken aircraft, his iconic fighter crashed and buried itself deep beneath the peat on a County Donegal mountain. The pilot’s amazing escape story, the plane’s incredible state of preservation and the firing of one of its recovered Browning machine guns - watched by over a million people on the BBC website - catapulted the P8074 story onto a global stage.
Mr. McNee works for the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland and is married to a very patient and understanding wife. He has two young children and on the rare occasions when he finds himself with spare time, he enjoys reading, hunting and browsing old book stores.
Copies of McNee’s book, The Story of the Donegal Spitfire will be for sale at this event. McNee records the highs and lows he experienced to ensure this unique excavation went ahead, culminating in an emotional visit to Derry in November 2011 by the pilot’s two daughters and other members of the extended family to commemorate their father’s war time career. The book also features a full pictorial account of the excavation. McNee will stay on hand after the discussion to sign copies of the book.
Lunch is available for purchase at the Campus Café, or you may bring your own lunch! Cost to participate is free for members, or $5 for non-members. Pre-registration is required by emailing admin@douglascohistory.org or by calling 402-455-9990.