Last Wednesday, The Denver Lake Norman Rotary, welcomed its very own Paul Quinn as its featured speaker. Paul has over 26 years as a Rotarian, spending many years with the Rotary of Lancaster, PA and with the Denver/Lake Norman Rotary Club, serving the clubs in many positions.

Paul's story starts at the Gastonia Municipal Airport in Gastonia, NC. Mr. Sims, a well-respected businessman in Gaston County, bought and had the B-24 Liberator flown into Gastonia. Mr. Sims' son had flown a B-24 Liberator during WWII and was killed in action. Mr. Sims had a display area made at the airport and had it fenced in. Paul’s dad was a member of the Air Patrol Boy Scout Troop in Gaston County. One of his responsibilities was maintaining the plane sitting in that fenced in area. Paul and his brother would play on the plane while their father did the maintenance work in the display area. This was the beginning of his B-24 Liberator hunt. Around 1954, the plane was sold to unknown buyers and flown out of Gastonia.

Paul began his search looking for clues and records as to where this B-24 was located. His research found that the plane had changed ownership a few times and had been converted into a cargo plane. The last place It was known to exist was with a cargo company in Mexico. Then came somewhat of a surprise. The cargo company that had purchased the plane was owned by the greatest Mexican actor and singer, Pedro Infante. Pedro and his co-pilot had just taken off from an airport in Mexico when the plane lost its engines' power and crashed nose down into the ground. Pedro became a country hero, with statues and monuments built in his honor.

Paul certainly found the end to the mystery of the Gastonia B-24 Liberator. There were 19,000 manufactured during WWII and there remain only thirteen of the B-24 planes known to be in existence.

Paul has a more detailed printed article on the search that he initiated and solved. These articles can be found in the September 1921, “Air Classic Magazine and a front-page article in the Sunday, Gastonia Gazette on August 29, 2021.