You may have heard the name Tony Mazzolini but perhaps not heard his story before. It’s about his quest to find and restore a WWII B29 Superfortress Bomber.
He was initially raised in the Murray Hill area of Cleveland. The family then moved to the 110th & Woodland neighborhood, an Italian-American enclave. His parents, Joseph and Lillian raised him with his brothers, Richard, Donald and Vincent (Sonny).
An Air Force Veteran of four years active duty in the 1950s, he was a Flight Engineer in Korea and Japan, “Mostly C47s” but about all the other USAF planes in the warzone. A Flight Engineer controls everything the Pilot and Navigator do not.
Recently the National Aeronautic Association flew Mazzolini to Wichita to honor him as a Distinguished Statesman for demonstrating leadership and perseverance in securing and restoring a B-29 as a tribute to the patriots whose commitment and sacrifice contributed to the preservation of freedom and peace during World War Two and beyond. Greg Principato, NAA President, said “It is our privilege at the National Aeronautic Association to honor great achievements and great careers.”
Tony found ‘Doc’ on the Naval China Lake “Boneyard” in the California Mojave Desert, where it had been sitting for forty-two years. Having a passion for vintage aircraft he decided to try and buy it. He contacted the U.S. Navy.
According to Josh Wells, Executive Director and GM of ‘Doc’s Friends’, Inc., a nonprofit in Wichita, Kansas, the Navy told him, “Well, you can’t buy it. We can Barter and trade for it.” The Navy wanted a Doolittle Tokyo Raider-style B-25 PBJ variant. Mazzolini, who worked for Continental Airlines and General Electric, and apparently had connections that the average guy didn’t. He located one in Venezuela, negotiated then bought it and shipped it to Florida and then to Cleveland for restoration. After six years the restoration was complete. NOW, he could complete the barter and take ownership of the B-29 and thus began the quest to restore it too.
This B-29, ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, initially had been part of a squadron of B-29s. Mazzolini now could take it over from the Navy. It took another ten years to get it out of the Mojave due to bureaucratic red tape and the need to protect the habitat of the endangered desert tortoise. The plane was obviously not air worthy, so Mazzolini contacted Jeff Turner, the Vice President and site leader of Boeing in Wichita, Kansas. Turner told him that if he could get it back to Wichita, they would help him out.
In 2000 it arrived there on seven flatbed trailers. Two years plus fourteen more and it was finished, thanks to hundreds of volunteers. “This couldn’t have happened anywhere else in the world but Wichita,” Wells said. “We have retired aviation workers here from Boeing, Bombadier, Textron, Learjet, Cessna, and Beechcraft. All of these people needed a place to go after they retired. And they brought their expertise, not to mention all the aviation shops, the parts, widgets, sprocket parts and the other suppliers in the Wichita area who came together to build this airplane. The day we flew in 2017 was something else. There wasn’t a dry eye. Lots of fist pumps, high fives and hugs. It was just another story of Wichita’s historic past, where we are, being the air capital of the world.”
‘Doc’ is now housed in a 42.000 square foot hangar, built specifically to house ‘Doc”. It is located at the Education & Visitors Center at the Eisenhower Nation Airport. It is a real-life maintenance center where volunteers still actively work on it to insure preservation. If one is so interested a flight on board can be booked.
Mazzolini currently resides in South Euclid with his spouse of sixty-six years Maryann. They have two daughters, Lisa (Joe) Kowardy and Claudine (Derek) DiSanto and have been blessed with seven grandchildren.
Sullivan writes from Northfield Village. He is a U.S. Army veteran having served with the 2nd Armored Division in Europe and the U.S.
