This is an incredibly interesting story with a local Oshkosh connection.

http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald...tml?id=7039732

The pilot of the crashed plane was Ralph H. Tate, Jr., who I interviewed for the Timeless Voices program back in 2004. Ralph and his wife Ruth had settled in the Oshkosh area in 2001. Ralph passed in 2009. Here is the link to his Timeless Voices interview: http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=642979003001

Here is a bit more about the crash and the rescue: http://www.milhist.net/88/swiss.html

The story continues. Ralph's father was Brigadier-General Ralph H. Tate (1899-1977). Gen. Tate was serving in the Occupational Forces immediately following WWII, while Ralph Jr. was flying in the Army Air Force. Being a high ranking officer, Gen. Tate brought home some war loot, including a customized standing desk that had been made for Hitler in recognition of the 1938 Anschluss - the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938. Ralph, Jr.'s wife Ruth donated the desk to the AirVenture Museum, and Curator Ron Twellman and I picked it up yesterday and put it in the Eagle Hanger, where it will remain on display. I'll try and get some photos of it posted later today. It's a poignant reminder of the war, yet in way, a mark of the Allies' success in defeating Hitler for the simple fact that it was brought back to the States.