Wyatt Thomas Johnson, the chairman emeritus of the LBJ Foundation, has said he and other supporters are prepared to spend millions of dollars to build a new pavilion at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum in Austin to display the plane.
In a Jan. 17 letter to U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, Maj, Gen. James F. Martin assured the two lawmakers the plane, also known as SAM 26000, would be permanently displayed at the Air Force museum. Portman and Turner sent a Jan. 8 letter to Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James about their concerns of losing the jet from the museum.
“The Air Force is not considering the transfer of this aircraft to the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum or any other entity,” Martin wrote in response. “The Air Force’s decades-long mission as the executive agent for presidential fixed-wing airlift is a great historical narrative and one that we are proud to present to the public. SAM 26000 is a key artifact to tell this important Air Force story.”
See video, photos of the plane and more here.
About the Author