HURLBURT FIELD — Kim Carmean is one step closer to understanding the legacy of his father and the men who served alongside him in World War II.
Carmean, of West Virginia, arrived at Hurlburt Field early Friday afternoon with his wife to finally see the C-47 his father flew in over Normandy on D-Day.
View a photo gallery of Carmean viewing the plane >>
“This has just been so long-coming,” Kay Carmean said as she watched her husband approach the plane for the first time. “(Kim) has just dedicated years to this.”
The couple’s journey to the aircraft was propelled by a driving need to learn more about Tech. Sgt. Cletis C. Carmean’s role in the war so his sacrifices and valor would never be forgotten.
“He very rarely talked about the war,” Kim said of his father. “He would maybe joke about it a little.”
When he was younger, Kim said he never thought to press the issue, and so the stories his father surely had remained untold.
Cletis passed away in 2005, but Kim’s desire to learn more about his time with the 316th Troop Carrier Group didn’t fade, so he decided to get on the Internet and see if it would offer any clues.
What he found was a treasure trove of information that eventually led him to two of the men who had flown on the C-47 with his father.
The key to unlocking the past came from a booked called “Valor without Arms,” which outlined the history of the 316th Trooper Carrier Group and included references to a 21-year-old crew chief named Cletis Carmean.
Through a series of emails, conversations and meetings, Kim discovered that the author, Michael Ingrisano, knew his father and had photos of him the family never knew existed.
He also learned that his father’s aircraft was at Hurlburt Field.
This particular aircraft was dedicated at the base’s airpark June 9, 1973, but it was mislabeled for decades until Ingrisano and its former pilot, Bill Prindible, pointed out the error, according to Herb Mason, a historian with the Air Force Special Operations Command.
As it turned out, officials had gotten the type of aircraft right but assigned an incorrect tail number to it, Mason said.
The error was corrected only about two years ago after Ingrisano and Prindible were granted nearly unprecedented access to the aircraft and showed officials that the serial number inside the plane didn’t match its tail number, Mason said.
Kim said he was grateful for the insight that the two men had provided, and finally decided it was time to try to visit his father’s plane this holiday season.
He reached out to Hurlburt officials to see if it would be possible, and took the long journey south after getting the green light from the base.
His emotions stayed in check right up until he approached the aircraft.
“I’m definitely feeling it,” Kim said as he held his hand over his heart as he stood beside the plane. “Today’s much different.”
Kay wiped away tears as she shot video of her husband walking around it.
“It makes me cry because we just cannot forget the past,” she said. “We have to learn what these guys gave up.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.