Without A Fight

Without A Fight

Every since I can remember I had an interest in airplanes.  Before I could drive a car I wanted to fly a plane.  In high school, we would head down to JKF to watch the planes take off.   I even considered going into the Air Force Academy.  Life took a different path.  However, as I got older, I never lost the enthusiasm for flight.  I discovered the different air shows and museums that were scattered throughout the country.  Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Upstate New York to name a few.  I would travel for just a glimpse.  But somehow I never went to the one that is in my own back yard.  This week will be my last chance to do so.  The 56^th Fighter Group restaurant will close their doors for good this Sunday.

I am told a visit to the 56th Fighter Group will transport you back to an era of Big Band music and unparalleled patriotism.  The charming 1917 French Style Allied Headquarters Farmhouse sits on the site, Republic Airport, where the P-47 fighter aircraft was built during WWII.  I have piloted planes off that runway, I have visited the Airpower Museum located on the other side of the airport…but I have never been to the restaurant.

The 56^th Fighter Group proudly served during World War II.  It was commanded by Col. "Hub" Zemke.  The 56th was the only Fighter Group to fly the "Jug" from the beginning to the end of the war, and had the most fighter aces of the Eighth Air Force.  The “Jug” is the P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft.  This aircraft was built in only one location, Long Island.  It was a product of Republic Aviation whose name is now adorned on the current airport.  In 2001 I was able to attend the Yankee Air Museum 56th Fighter Group Symposium.  Col. Francis "Gabby" Gabreski,  Col. Walker "Bud" Mahurin and Lt. Gen. Jerry Johnson were all on hand.  I even obtained a limited edition print signed by the three aces.  After the war, Col. Gabreski would find a home on Long Island.  He came back to the place that provided him with the plane that would save his life time and time again.  Gabreski would become synonymous with the P-47…and Long Island itself.  The Suffolk County Airport that opened in 1969 was renamed Gabreski Airport in 1991 in his honor.

Now this piece of Long Island history will be no more.  And why is it closing?  A disagreement over taxes with the local government.  Once again the legislators of Long Island have let us down.  A historical landmark restaurant for almost 30 years, and they can’t come to an amicable settlement with them.  Seems both counties won’t be satisfied until there is no reasons left for the residents to stay.  They must feel it is better to let the business close up and have another empty building, not to mention the loss of jobs and income tax, then to work with them to find a solution to their issue.  We bailout the banks, but we can’t find a way to save this place.

It is the same stupidity with the Nassau Coliseum and the Islanders.  Charles Wang offered to build a centerpiece for the entire county of Nassau…creating jobs and revenue.  Nassau officials balked on the idea.  It would be too crowded they said, maybe they don’t notice the crowds leaving Long Island in droves.  Their short-term nonsense will cause further regression for both counties.  It is a shame, they are a shame.  It is funny how quickly both Brooklyn and Queens stepped up to try and lure the Islanders.  2015 is rapidly approaching.  The politicians have made it abundantly clear that it will be the last year Long Island will have a professional hockey team.  And what will happen to all that land that encompasses the Coliseum when they leave?  Nothing.  There will be no reason to develop it, or any reason for people to come.  That ship will have sailed.

The current legislators for the counties have no sense of pride for the legacies of Long Island.  Instead they seem intent on destroying them.  They should take time and listen to the last line of one of Billy Joel's songs..."there ain't no island left for islanders like me".

Because that will be THEIR legacy.