C-118A Back On Display at McGuire

After three-and-a-half years of undergoing restoration to its near-original condition, a C-118A is back on static display at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., announced base officials. Members of the 305th Air Mobility Wing, Air Force Reserve Command’s 514th AMW, and 87th Air Base Wing unveiled the Liftmaster on March 30 as they transported it to the front of the McGuire Passenger Terminal, according to an April 4 base release. The C-118 was the first cargo airplane assigned to McGuire in 1953 and it helped usher in McGuire’s transformation from a combat base to a mobility base, said Aungelic Nelson, 305th AMW historian. The Liftmaster also contributed to evacuating Hungarian refugees fleeing from the Soviets in 1956-57. Elvis Presley also reportedly returned from Germany on the very aircraft, states the release. Many volunteers both on base and off, including members of the Boy Scouts, helped with the restoration process, contributing “more than 4,000 hours,” toward refurbishment of the aircraft’s fuselage and work on its interior, propeller blades, and paint scheme since renovation began in October 2009, states the release. (McGuire report by SSgt. David Carbajal)