Somers Native Delivers Hurricane Aid in Historic World War II Plane

SOMERS, N.Y. - Staring down the barrel-shaped cabin of the C-47 Skytrain known as “Placid Lassie,” it was easy to imagine the scene on D-Day. The rushing wind roared through the open hatch as paratroopers leaped into the void, their parachutes snapping open with a sharp pull from the static line, shucked like husks of corn in mid-air. Below them, the rumble of artillery echoed, and the 2,000-foot distance between them and the battlefield rose rapidly, meeting them at their uncertain fate.

But it was not D-Day - it was a crisp fall day in Poughkeepsie, and Placid Lassie sat quietly at a 10-degree incline outside her hangar, 80 years later. The only sound was a small, single-engine jet practicing takeoffs nearby. While no one actually jumped from Lassie on D-Day, that didn’t mean she was entirely missing in action.

“This aircraft didn’t carry Easy Company jumpers on D-Day, but it was involved in the mission, towing gliders,” said Somers native Jeffrey Goldberg. “This is what it probably would have looked like on D-Day, with a couple of modifications.”

Modifications like the addition of the 1990s Delta Airlines seats, to comfortably fly crew and VIPS, and the upgraded GPS navigational system, that Goldberg said postdates the plane by about 40 years, were necessary. It still retains many of its original elements, like the 360-degree skylight that allowed soldiers to navigate long overseas flights with sextants.

“They would pull them out and navigate with the stars just as sailors did for centuries before that,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg, a cartographer at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a private pilot, has been interested in aviation his whole life. He became involved with the Tunison Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving WWII aircraft, about a year ago. Recently, he was part of a crew that flew Lassie on a detour during a planned trip in October.

The crew had originally planned the trip to Toccoa, G.A., as a send-off for the crew members who participated in commemorative trips to Europe for the 75th and 80th D-Day anniversaries. In Normandy, members of the organization, along with actors from “Band of Brothers,” performed demonstrations to reenact how troops would have parachuted 80 years ago. More about the actors’ experiences were filmed for a documentary, “The Jump: Currahee to Normandy.”

“We were originally planning the trip as a thank-you to the crew for their training,” Goldberg said.

As they were en route, someone suggested making a detour to pick up supplies in Statesville, N.C., before dropping them off in Rutherford County, N.C.

“We decided it adds 19 miles on to the trip, so there’s absolutely no reason for us not to stop in and help in some way, shape, or form,” he said.

In late September, Hurricane Helene tore through the southern states with the ferocity of an invading army, leaving widespread devastation in her wake. According to Geography professor and climatologist Cary Mock, who studies hurricane history at the University of South Carolina, most of Helene’s victims were inland, far from the coast. They were caught off guard as the storm unleashed an assault of more than 20 inches of rain in the mountains, turning streams and rivers into dangerous torrents.

By Oct. 3, Goldberg said Lassie and other planes like her were providing aid through Aerobridge, a nonprofit that coordinates aircraft responses to disasters when ground access is limited.

The mission, which carried 2,500 pounds of essentials like diapers, water and pet food, allowed the crew to put the historic aircraft back to work, supporting the same kind of life-saving operations that the C-47 was built for during WWII. Despite the somber circumstances of the hurricane, the stop in North Carolina was a moment of pride for the team. 

“We were able to carry so much equipment that it solved immediate logistical issues,” said Goldberg. As they unloaded the supplies, onlookers paused to film the arrival of the iconic plane. They were able to assist so much that when they offered assistance on the way back a week later, they were turned away.

Goldberg was proud to see Lassie continue her legacy of service.

“This opportunity came up and it was important for us to do it,” he said, “That’s what this plane was literally built for—bringing in supplies and cargo. We were very happy to show off a piece of living history.”

Crafted from tin so thin that pilots must wear headphones to protect their hearing, and with flaps made of fabric, it may seem as fragile as flesh and bone. Yet, just like the soldiers she once carried, the aircraft has proven its durability, outliving her original purpose and continuing to serve in new ways.

As Goldberg put it, Lassie, “didn’t have any major bullet holes,” and was able to live out quite a life after WWII.

Post-war Lassie returned to the U.S. and was sold to the Reconstruction Finance Company (RFC), “which handled the disposal of surplus military aircraft for the government,” according to the Tunison Foundation’s website. 

“After a short stint with a soon-bankrupt airline, Lassie, then known as N74589, joined West Coast Airlines in 1949, flying passengers out of Boeing Field (Seattle, WA) to destinations across the West, until 1968.”  it reads.

While the craft doesn’t have the comforts many modern commercial jets offer today, it was not to be scoffed at at the time.

“For a while this was the finest in luxury,” Goldberg said.

She was repainted in D-Day colors after researchers uncovered her wartime role as a combat and D-Day veteran in the 2010s. The Tunison Foundation, founded in 2017 by Lyle and Eric Zipkin, is dedicated to preserving WWII aircraft, particularly the C-47 Placid Lassie. The foundation honors Ed Tunison, the last living member of Lassie’s wartime crew, by naming the organization after him. 

While “Lassie’s” future appears bright, the relentless march of climate change looms, bringing with it a surge in extreme weather events. As hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters strike, planes like Lassie may be called into action again to assist with disaster relief in the future. Goldberg said she wasn’t the only WWII plane to be used in this particular mission either. Although she was likely the only one dressed up historically for the occasion, he said.

“That’s what this plane was built for,” Goldberg said. “This one didn’t participate in it, but planes like this were part of the Berlin Airlift in 1948, they served cargo operations around the world, and some still do today in more remote areas. It was very humbling for us to see her serve that purpose one more time.”