The Lockheed P-38 was dubbed the Glacier Girl by its recovery crew, led by the late Middlesboro resident Roy Shoffner. The Glacier Girl was reconstructed in Middlesboro, a project funded by Shoffner. Local WWII veterans and aviation enthusiasts became enamored with the thunderously airborne piece of history. Many locals are proud to call Middlesboro the home of the P-38 project and will always consider the Glacier Girl Shoffner’s plane, although it was sold in the Spring of 2007 to Provenance Fighters Sales.
“If I saw that plane flying anywhere in the world, I’d say, ‘There goes Roy Shoffner’s plane.’ I don’t care who owns it, who buys it or who flies it; as far as we’re concerned, it will always be Roy’s plane,” Middlesboro/ Bell County Airport Board Attorney John Brown said when the news of the sale was released.
People the world over are interested in seeing the Glacier Girl fly, according to the plane’s caretaker, Bob Cardin, who accompanies the Glacier Girl on its tours.
“The Glacier Girl has really become an international star,” Cardin said.
The Glacier Girl will arrive late on June 18 or early June 19, depending on the weather. Then the active little artifact will be parked in the hangar built especially for it at the Middlesboro/Bell County Airport until the scheduled departure on June 21 at high noon, says Cardin.
Cardin and the Glacier Girl will be on the ABC program “Good Morning America” on June 22, also according to Cardin, for a national send-off interview from New Jersey.
Cardin says, “Oh, she’s ready,” for the trip to England that they’ve dubbed Bolero II, in reference to the Bolero mission that the Glacier Girl never got to finish in 1942. Cardin expects a small Bon Voyage ceremony to take place on June 21 as the Glacier Girl takes to the skies one last time from the Middlesboro/ Bell County Airport runway.
Brandy L. Murray is a Staff Writer for the Daily News. She can be reached via e-mail at bmurray@middlesborodailynews.com.
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