A B-17’s Birthday Bash 

OR – Plumes of blue-gray smoke from vintage aircraft engines and an enthusiastic BBQ team melded together to help set an exciting mood for a unique birthday party in 2022. The Salem, Oregon-based B-17 Alliance Foundation held a 75th Birthday Bash for its B-17, “The Lacey Lady,” during the last week of August 2022. The foundation’s B-17G has the lowest flight time of any Flying Fortress in existence and is a well-known legend in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Way beyond, thanks to Art Lacey of Milwaukee, Oregon. 

“My grandfather, Art Lacey, rescued this B-17G from the military scrap yard in Altus, Oklahoma, and somehow managed to fly it to Oregon in 1947,” explained Jason Scott, Art’s grandson. “Family lore suggests he did it for two reasons. First, he thought a bomber would make a great, if not eyebrow-raising, canopy for his gas station. Second, a friend bet him $5 it could not be done. Suffice it to say, my grandfather raised more than a few eyebrows, and his friend lost the bet.” 

Billed as a living history experience, the birthday hoopla was a fly-in, drive-in, and bring-your-family kind of event. The week-long celebration included the Freedom Riders, a motorcycle group paying tribute to veterans, a Native American presentation, a tribute to veterans, and a Happy Hour that included speeches from pilots and support crew of the Flying Legends Tour, who brought the B-17 “Sentimental Journey” and the B-25 “Maid in the Shade” to the birthday bash.