dude you look good you lose some weight or something yeah man I've been laying off the honey buns and I've been hanging out with quinoa yeah but I'm ready to slide back into some short ribs how can you even go from quinoa to short ribs I mean that's a weird diet to begin with but diet I'm talking about women you know quinoa that's my healthy girl she guys all the health food now short ribs fun comes in small packages then you've got honey buns that's my relaxation girlfriend she's like my go-to girlfriend I've never never heard this before I mean don't you remember my girlfriend cayenne so her name wasn't Cayenne no her name was Sarah so remember my girlfriend cheesecake no oh my gosh she was just just a little piece of her went a long way [Music] at the bottom hey okay so I'm gonna send you to drop off this bail when Robbie and I were picking in the Northeast we came across this beautiful ship spell what I didn't know that's technically government property do you have your documentation yeah okay lieutenant Morgan so you're gonna see she's awesome we're just gonna take this item and put it back in its rightful place the guys are headed toward the Naval Base in DC to return that Navy Bell on the way there though I've set him up with a pick in Virginia John King who comes from a family of pilots and performs in a flying circus unfortunately there was a big storm so they need help getting the property cleaned up look at all these trees these big ones here these are down oh yeah oh yeah all of that all the trees are down Wow right through this area didn't it like a tornado came through here oh yeah here's a building you can see the buildings I mean there's been some definite damage here still got the storm coming we saw a bunch of trees down on the way in here that's from 30 trees on the property here is that when this roof got taken off it was discouraging to see how much damage had been done a lot of water damage 1/2 of the roofs were Blue Nile you talk to Danielle yeah there's kind of a list of some of the stuff we buy and we're interested in hey right hey I'm gonna grab my coat real quick man yeah I don't throw anything away okay and I've been collecting this stuff for years for some reason my dad was not a person that collected things in the beginning but later in years he loved machinery the scooters airplanes you name it he would collect it so how long ago did he passed 10 years ago okay my dad was a pilot he retired here in Washington out of the Navy so y'all said you guys had a flying The Flying Circus we've been a part of that for 40-some years we're here every Sunday May through October the show begins at 2:30 and it is just a family affair we start out with the parachute jumper being dropped from one of the biplanes and then towards the end of the show we have several wing walkers guys and gals that will get up on the top of the wing look at these wings Frank this place is 100% devoted to people that love to fly it was like one giant man cave so this was your dad's workshop yeah and you know these all these buildings we built them ourselves guys that love gas and oil that love cars that love motorcycles we all have these spaces they're like sanctuaries this is the first one that we've been into that's totally devoted to airplanes as you can see the place is a mess so we want to get the place cleared out I have several other biplanes that I'm paying hang around down to Flying Circus you want to be able to walk in here and have this clean enough to where you can work on planes again that's where I don't work in towards you okay parts and pieces of airplanes is out of my wheelhouse as far as the assembly the maintenance and even learning how to fly something like this I know the only way I'm gonna be able to buy any of this airplane stuff as if John doesn't have a use for it John yeah what's the significance of these photographs on this board here it looks like instrument panel some United Airlines equipment that was a study charts that we would use the the study board is something you meant to familiarize yourself with the cockpit itself without taking the time to go into the airplane or into the simulator is this something that you'd consider selling yeah a couple hundred bucks you know is what I'm thinking this one's damaged it has to be taken off yeah I can I can do that we forgot it was there she was sitting underneath the fuselage of two other airplanes so it's kind of cutting hidden but for something that I didn't even know was there for a good deal tell me what's going on this is a 727 27 three engines one in the tail two alongside and what's this one and that's the overhead panel okay this is above your head like you're in the exactly it's got such a great story visually it's still really interesting and it's early aviation that flew that airplane as the as an engineer and the copilot and captain got all the seat I flew with to the United for 49 years 21 years when I was hired and I loved what I did you know if you do a job that you love you never work a day in your life John what now your dad had good taste got the Vespa in here yep yep so this is something obviously that he restored as well or did he buy it like that no no he was sure just this scooter is it man this is called the GS 160 and when they first came out they were called mark ones and they had a glove box above the tail light yeah and this is a later one it's got the glove box behind the leg shield this is what they call it mark two they started making the Vespa GS 160 in 1962 it's pretty complete and here's the kicker this is a stylish Italian scooter with a lot of power 160 CC two-stroke this thing will pull wheelies in third gear the whole thing is shaped so aerodynamically it's stylish it's beautiful and of course it is because it's Italian let's see if it will kick thrill know there's a restoration that has been started on this scooter he coded it but all the coatings coming off in there now the paint job is by no means museum quality there's some Nicks there's some dings from sitting around in this building the biggie is the engine is stuck so there's a lot of work that has to be done to this scooter to get it up to what it could possibly be this got great bones if this was assembled like where I was running down the road the way it looks right now it'd be 2 to 2500 yeah I found the leg shield badge yeah yeah say you know his father did a lot of work but there's still a lot of work that needs to be done to get it to the finish line I want to be the guy that does that I just have to get it for a decent number to basically take it back down and rebuild it up again 1,500 17:50 I'm just thinking of the back end of it and which is what it's gonna cost a finish it I tell you I tell you what I do sixteen hundred bucks okay I appreciate it John is attached to this place and this scooter because of the memories and that is a very powerful thing but at the end of the day he knows he's gonna have to sell off some of this stuff to bring this place up to what it used to be yeah it's a 38 Buick and we bought and dad bought this out in Lincoln Nebraska and then he painted up fix it up that's pretty cool people drive by places like this all the time they see the stuff outside the yard they see the old building and a lot of them don't understand how someone can feel so connected to these places and all of these things well the connection is the memories Frank did you see this what is it has a Harley transmission on it yeah this is a Harley transmission I'll be darned that someone hooked up to this belt pulley and it runs this little saw did you guys ever use this yeah did you really okay this is pioneer spirit with the heart of a motorcycle whoever put this together had to understand the way the transmission works and how he would apply that to the saw so usually what you'll find is the engine for a motorcycle running writing like a water pump or a corn sheller you know I haven't seen the transmission used too much bring unique yeah this is pretty unique yeah yeah can I make you an offer on this sure 500 bucks $500 is pretty much the value of the transmission if you remove that from the saw there's not a lot left does it to me we're doing it yeah sure very cool you have to have a mechanical sense of humor to understand this piece the type of person that's gonna buy it is maybe gonna pull the transmission off of it and put it into a bike or just leave it alone and try to get inside the mind of the person that built it [Music] now this was another air pangur we built did you fly this yes nope John's entire family and all of his friends were invested into flying circus this is the engine my dad and I were restoring to go on the tri-pacer out in the hangar there we had restored a number of airplanes in here I've got pictures of a citta Brya which is a single wing airplane that we do our banner towing with and we restored that airplane paint job and everything he was a great family man and he was very good with his hands he made everything we wanted to hit every half I know we wanted to swing set he built it if we wanted to go kart he built it we didn't buy a lot of new stuff with four kids in a Navy sale right there weren't a lot of money I miss him and it's a big hole in everybody very because we're a very close family good half of the families lives right here within two miles you know my dad's attitude was flying was the ultimate joy you know dad was first generation I was second generation my son has a pilot's license my brother's a pilot my nephew is a pilot so a huge ripple effect yeah his path my other grandson so it started kind of a dynasty in aviation you guys a scooter people yeah the best buzz you got the Lambrettas did you guys ever have panels for the side of this I would imagine we did do a bolt can we pull this out of here yeah I've been sitting there a while yep there you go yeah this is a Lambretta li 125 series three John later this thing it's Italian stylish sleek streamlined powerful two-stroke this is uh late 60s defender things whatever they are around here some you think they're around here I mean would they be in this building or like what's underneath all these tarps I know that those panels are somewhere in the hangar or on in one of the head buildings Frank let me know if you see those panels we're looking hey Frank found you Cushman oh yeah got the transmission on it Mike help me pull this out a little bit all right this is gonna be definitely just a parts machine it's got the car over I'll grab the other stuff all right you know it's kind of transmission this free the engine is free the frames there what'd you find oh it's got all kinds of parts there's the call oh yeah oh yeah build one here it comes out of the main hangar and says here's the Cushman parts that the header pipe dude it's got the mantle other things over there it became almost a whole scooter my dad always had a scooter as a kid I can remember and we have a film of three of us riding on a Cushman scooter you know and we're going down the neighborhood there you go BAM he's finding the mother lode we're actually summing this bike together right here on the ground people can build a nice-looking scooter from this or if they need parts is a primo piece for parts $300 looks seems a little low what were you thinking 350 let's do the 350 okay all right thanks thanks for finding the cell phone yeah seeping find my Lambretta file let me see if I can return the favor there's people out there they're restoring their scooters and they want their original equipment that came with it this is original piece John swears that cowls to this Lambretta the side panels are here somewhere I'm gonna try to find these panels because the panel's complete the scooter and bring the value up the panel's probably blew in a storm I go from finding Cushman parts for Frank to finding Lambretta parts from myself I'm gonna come down a little bit that uh okay all right that's a game-changer yep and look at that looks a lot better most guys that are into motorcycles they don't understand scooters they don't understand the market they don't understand why people collect them they think it's a kid's toy until they actually get on one and I was that guy until I went out one night and we tore it up and after that it was like months later I had like 10 of these things this thing is begging to get out of here and just get on leashed man in this condition if it was running you know maybe to the right guy twelve fourteen hundred bucks oh yeah to me but it needs work though you know I mean it's you know it's it's probably a needle cable set and you're getting the parts for this at true value no you know 700 yeah you know hello don't alright looking down on it see if I don't run after all these years my dad would be very proud he'd be very proud of sharing his stuff and and being able to share the what's being done out here at the Flying Circus John's dad loved airplanes so much that everyone around him loved airplanes just as much his passion was that contagious I wish I would have met the guy I feel like I met the guy appreciate why you'd always cleaned up you guys before the storm yeah mother nature toward this place apart but it's John his family and his friends that are gonna circle the wagons and put this place back together you [Music] Dani D what's up hey Danielle do you remember a guy named Mel short he collects early stuff he's got like Harley bicycles and Indian bicycles yeah that's the one Nell sort called you and he's ready he's ready to sell I haven't seen this guy in 25 years I'm excited to see him me too I'm excited for you hey I'm kidding everything lined up the naval base but I'll call you later on that was more info thanks Danielle have fun and I'll talk to you later bye this guy's heavy hair he's a wheelman Frank I've never seen this guy's collection I mean this is the collection that like legends are made oh oh there he is yeah fly you're here just in case no what's up long time no see my friend good to see ya Frank nice to meet you I haven't seen him for what he's been 25 years Mike was always out beating the bushes finding stuff and he kind of knew what who was looking for what remember one Robbie and I used to go to swap meets the bicycle swap meets Ohio yeah yeah I don't know that I was a the godfather of collecting then but I was just getting started 25 years ago you know I collect antique bicycles most of them are pre-1920 when I was 15 years old I got a job up in a bicycle shop and then I get into more bicycle stuff and I met other people and just kind of lost them going after that what you got going on here Mel I got some things to show you over here this is the guy that every bicycle collector looked up to as a mentor and for inspiration he always had the best of the best oh my gosh oh wow it's like a little mini museum you got going on here the only time you're gonna see this much high-quality stuff is from a collector that's been doing it as long as Mel you got a Featherstone with the triangular sprocket yeah I've never seen one of these just I've just seen him in cattle there's only two that I know of really is only two I liked bicycles pre-1920 because back in those days there was a lot of experimenting going on a lot of ideas different materials bamboo wood aluminum there's so many interesting things they were doing they were very smart back in those days so I started collecting bikes in 1973 I just got out of the Navy started buying a few things here and there and it got out of hand now I have 85 bicycles 85 Mel has had a lot of bikes pass through his hands but the 85 that he is chosen to keep are incredible so back in those days at 73 and on up there was no internet a way to search for things so yeah the old catalogs and talking to the old-timers that had been collecting this stuff for years were the only way to get information what's the deal with the transmission that is a one-of-a-kind only one known to exist I think it was a prototype it's a two-speed transmission we're in we're in low gear now mm and you kick it up in the high oh my god when you want to coast down here you kick it in neutral and Wow the predecessor to the transmission in a car the engineering innovations that came out of the bicycle industry helped fuel the Industrial Revolution the motorcycle industry the automobile industry the aviation industry all benefited from what was happening in the bicycle industry this is canadian-made right here right made in Toronto that's Toronto all right these little tiny these handlebars are wood there's handlebars although himself for 500 bucks now oh yeah easily the head tube is steel did you add this badge to it yeah I did okay so you added this front suspension to it yeah that was an accessory item you've got it doubled down tube double top tube the frame was so unique held it was two pieces of wood down each side it was like a double frame a very strong look and I've never seen anything like it in any other bike so that got my attention what do you value this bike at probably 7,000 okay so you're at 7,000 on this the other bike that I'm interested in is the Chilean no four five yeah you're a five on that that's a beautiful bike the Chilean as with any 1890s wooden frame bike is of interest to me whenever I see them if I can go work out a deal I always try to get them these are very innovative they're very cutting-edge and I love the lug work on this bike you know it's wild how they were playing with so many different materials it's about 10 grand for the pair no I'm gonna stick pretty tight oh that I work with you 11 5 all right I'm doing it I'm doing it I never sign ever see this stuff for sale that's right yeah when I first started collecting you know I didn't so much of anything and I wanted to get more and more and then once you get a little older you think you know I'm not taking this stuff with me how come I looking at this other room oh man yeah you got a nice workshop you know we just push Frankie you don't before in here telling you I've been a tool die maker and machinist for 45 years in the beginning I was fascinated with anything mechanical my first ride on a motorcycle when I was six my dad set me on the gas tank of his triumph one of the places we would ride by on our little block rod would be a local machine shop and in the summertime the big doors would be up and I've seen these ladies in there running I'm thinking that's what I want to do I'd like six seven years old I'm thinking man I I like these these wheels spin and then this thing on that got my interest in the bicycles and the machine works oh man look at these see this is exactly what I remember you collecting you always had all the Indian bikes and all the Harley bikes what is this like 1915 that's 1917 that was the first year they made up 1917 that's a hard piece to find oh my gosh oh you this Frank this bikes this is original paint indian bike these are the best two examples I've ever found that's insane 1917 was the first year for the olive green on Harley's yeah with the motorcycles - yeah because it was a year the u.s. entered World War one and as a patriotic gesture Harley they're gonna paint all their models all they've green okay and they intended it to be for one year but the customers loved it when she got to striping on it it was beautiful so they kept the colors up till the late one is a beautiful color look at the head badge on this Frank you've seen that stamped out of copper so is this the only one that you've ever had or seen with the tank yes they were never sold with the bikes they were an aftermarket item the honey Davidson bicycle is desirable to buy collectors and I've had probably 12 of them over the years I usually don't sell much but now it's time to go the other way and I'd like to see him go to somebody who can enjoy them as much as I did money is obviously a factor but so is the right person he cares about this stuff that much so what are you thinking on these thirty thousand for the Harley and fifteen for the Indian it's a lot of money but these are extremely rare these are the nicest examples on the planet I don't let me think about that that's that's pretty overwhelming what do I hate what about this this handlebar mount airplane okay that imagine out in front of a balloon tire bike Frankie how about 80 bucks all right I love it we're in Maryland picking with Mel who is one of the biggest bicycle collectors we know toe clips lamp parts all of these boxes on this wall represent all of the years that Mel has been collecting bikes then the Sun do you like to dig like Oh Lord who doesn't there's boxes of seats there's boxes a seat post seat Springs headsets I mean it's all right here got chain rings did you make these yeah I made some of those the only place you find this much stuff is from a collector that's been collecting their entire life made all these Rattrap pedals man holy crap a Rattrap pedal has an aggressive metal tread instead of a rubber tread the idea is when you press your foot into the pedal you get more grip more grip more power more efficiency more speed how much for the box okay I think that is the box of mismatched there's no pairs in there I don't believe 320 for the Box 320 for the box 320 for the bug every once in a while you'll find one of these pedals or you might even find two but they don't match so this box is huge for a bicycle collector because you never know when you're gonna find a bike with one pedal or when you're gonna find a pedal and then you can go to the box and find a match that's a life longer collecting right there all of these pedals look at us Frank when you get the chance to buy like a box of pedals even though they don't match I don't care it's the fact that there's so many of them and I'm such a young guy I've got all of these years left in me to find all of the pairs so this would have been on a Pierce bicycle Frankie mm-hmm front suspension on it yeah see the fork itself the blades are leaf springs we got on a Pierce Fork 250 two and a quarter no I'm paying it off on it all right 250 they're hard to find when you want one the old nickel on it too there's a lot of bicycle collectors waiting in the wings for that right part and when guys like Mel decide to turn some of this stuff loose this is when it happens for other people it's like the ripple effect is huge his collecting his passion his drive to bring all of this stuff into one place has now paid off not just for himself but for a lot of other people oh yeah check out this one that's the bike about that I can't believe he still has the bike I sold him so many years ago it's an 1889 Springfield roadster safety hi wheel made in Boston really cool bike the bottom of the one bearing Cup is missing so I made one of those okay and I had another original pedal they fit right on and that's perfectly no way so you had this pedal yep this is a perfect example of why collectors saved parts it could be a pedal or a pair of handlebars whatever it is you never know when you're gonna need it and nine times out of ten if you sell it you need it what's the deal with the monkey on the bike I haven't seen these just little weird things I found Mel doesn't just live above his collection he lives in his collection from the moment you walk in to the kitchen you see bicycle stuff everywhere and he's inspired by the things around him hey Mel hey what you got well I want to call these little like wine wine walkers you know they would have went on a little when why you're lying you opened the door they slide one way to close the door they go do they go back the other way you know the line walkers they all came from antique shops over a period of about 20 years till I found all four there's like four different versions made Groucho Marx or that the clown and the police officer and all that I was drawn to them because I thought it would be fun to actually put them up and put them on a string but I never did it's nice they have the original weights - are these something you would sell yes I would 200 apiece that's $800 I'll do it you'll do it Oh bicycle collectors don't just collect bicycles they collect anything and everything related to it all of it is important in our eyes I wouldn't what's the deal with this bike with a sloping top - that is a trainer and they were used in pairs there would be two of them and these guys are training trying to and give it all it's got to be ready for the bike races to be to be training let me sit here the trainer bicycle is more or less a bicycle built with a support frame and rollers that the tires fit down into is it moving very very slowly very so it's just crawling oh yeah and on the rear is a worm drive mechanism that actually turns the little little wheels that are on the ground and so you or your pedaling this and it's like winding its way down and it's creeping very very slowly there you go what interests me about this bike is the apparatus that it's sitting on and the geometry of it I like how mechanical it is supposedly straight fork blade it's not raked at all that top tube sloped it's just I like it as soon as I saw it too it's got a real large chain ring on it rat trap pedals I mean it looks like a time trial bike what do you value this set up probably $3,000 pad that's a neat piece just so unique 2500 2750 will do it meet you in the middle I absolutely love it I think it's incredible every collector comes to that point in their life that all the fruits of their labor all the hard work and the knowledge has to be passed on Mel is at that point in his life and I'm honored that he called us to come look at his collection [Music] bring it on that thing man so it's my first time Frank here's the tandem section you're the tandem guy I like tandems I don't know why you could have somebody else do the pedaling no the man the legend himself Mel short has asked us to come look at his bicycle collection I'm a bicycle guy I love bicycles I used to race bicycles I collect bicycles I started seriously collecting bicycles in 1987 so way before the cell phone and the Internet and the only way to correspond with guys like Mel was through letters and $20 phone calls back in the day remember when you had to send a Polaroid in the mail and then you'd call me and it would cost you what 20 bucks to call me if you could sell something to Mel short it was really an affirmation that you had good stuff okay Mel what is that seat off of the second one end it's it's a Warwick spring suspension see I've never even seen a Warwick yeah I used to Minnesota and you had an extra seat for it I made that one oh you made this a seat you made the hardware everything the whole thing really I could make the parts I enjoyed doing that and you know I think I was I was helping the Hobby I know if you made it it's got to be high-quality yeah see that that that round hole were they all oh yeah see perfect look at that but one thing about it it comes off so you have to keep you in there as long as you're sitting on it and it's up straight it it doesn't come apart okay so this goes in there like that yeah yeah it works that was a weird design yeah I'll do it I'll do it for 500 I love it this is the start of a bicycle for me it's beautiful you do incredible work thank you seriously incredible work at the end of the day I'm like man I can't get the Indian bike off my mind I want to see it again I want to look at it again you know we initially got here these are the first bikes that we looked at this bike I can't put in words how I feel about this thing it's incredible I can't afford this thing these two bicycles are $45,000 30 grand for the Harley 15 for the Indian this bike I do have interest in I have a lot of Indian motorcycles in my collection it is the nicest one on the planet and it's original paint original pinstriping every detail of this bike is incredible if you're willing to work with me a little bit on it you know I'd like to at least have a conversation more about it you know I'm hoping that when Mel through 15 grand out on the Indian bicycle that he was basically throwing something at the wall to see if it sticks he's just given me the big number because he knows I want to negotiate with him I think I had told you a 15 and if he wanted to consider 12 that was getting closer to the number I have in mind look at the nickel plating on the handlebars and nickel plating on the crankset the hub's how long have you had it now probably 20 years obviously I'm interested in this bike and you've kept this bike for a long time because of the condition it's one of the best ones you've had and it's one of the best ones I've seen too but I have seen bikes in this condition for eight to ten mm-hmm you know you know we've known each other for so long and we've done so many deals with each other that you know this is all part of the relationship and it's all part of the dance he wouldn't respect me and I wouldn't respect him the same way that we do unless we do this part of the deal to be honest with you I'd be a player at 10 that's my comfort zone on it you know and that's the great thing about being face-to-face with someone you're buying something from instead of just pushing enter on a computer 10,000 is a very fair offer a very good offer you've been good to me today you've stepped up and bought some things that was happy to sell you bottom line is if you wanted for Ken you can have it really you can I would pretend it it's going to a good home you fire we get out to Iowa I want to stop in and say oh my gosh it's pretty cool that it was yours you're the Guru man on this stuff I'm not famous I'm infamous yeah I thought who do I want to have this more than Mike goodbye a girl oh my gosh mal yeah come on come on here kiss her goodbye Mel wants to be in control of his collections destiny alright Frankie he wants to pick and choose the right people for the right piece because he cares about this stuff that much Mel we did it is that everything yeah we're cut from the same cloth Mike as a bike guy it basically started out with bicycles as did I that's the fun of it when you meet a guy like you who enjoys and appreciates what you have and he knows you appreciate what he has [Applause] [Music] mom traffic this traffic is moving slow as a bill through Congress hey what's up Danielle did you make it to DC yet we're here we did we're officially in Washington DC traffic major ooh good luck with that we made it here hey the Bell get there safe Bell is safe yeah so what's going on so I've got an address here I've got the passport Frank's got his driver's license yeah you didn't tell me to bring my passport requested mice Passport so I'm just doing what I'm told you're totally seriously not messing with me to ask for my passport I don't know maybe they heard some rumors about you okay so you went to the Naval Museum that's right on the Navy base lieutenant Morgan is your point of contact you need an escort to take you around the base that's fine so lieutenant Morgan is gonna take you and the Bell to meet Karen Karen knows everything about the spell all right thanks all right have fun by returning this ship's Bell back to the US Navy is no joke you got it yeah I've got it all right man come on traffic settle down I got it I got it I got it I got this traffic is insane in the security it's even worse did you notice the GPS doesn't work in here I was gonna say everything's on lockdown even the GPS has got since your rock all right here we are buddy National Museum of the United States Navy schools is it you ever think we'd end up here huh you must be freaking like hey how did you know we need that card no no and we actually had a little bit of difficulty finding it but I'm glad we're here hey it's right in the middle of Washington DC and it is the only Museum in DC dedicated to telling the entire story of the United States Navy if you look you can see that this was an old gun factory also there was some anchors made here in the early part as anchors outside incredible this is the way for us to house our history and your bringing back to us one of our valuable art I'm excited for you guys to see this you can see how it gets displayed in here so you guys are always expanding the collection yes we have over three hundred thousand Navy artifacts and the one who oversees a-- is the head of the curator branch with karen fran karen we're bringing another artifact thank goodness thank you so god's a boat let me bend these tabs down we wanted to have it created for the journey I'm anxious to see it alright you ready for this the fact that Mike and Frank were willing to bring the bill back they bought it essentially yet they're willing to return it to the Navy is is fabulous this was found in New Hampshire there were a couple gals that their father had passed away and they were cleaning out his house and they found a bell and they didn't really know how the Bell it got to them their father had served in the Navy but that was really the only connection that's all they knew that they had to it it's good to have at home well it's had an interesting history obviously it's off of the USS Cole not the one that was attacked but this one was commissioned in 1919 the ship was named after major Cole US Marine Corps he died in the Battle of belleau wood ship took part in the latter part of World War one but her big service was in World War two she did escort duty in the North Atlantic so escorting ships across to England they were being torpedoed by the Germans etc she also landed troops in North Africa and for that she received a Presidential Unit Citation which is the highest award a ship can get and she participated in invasion of Sicily so she had quite a career and then in 1945 when the ship decommissioned the Bell came into our collection so this bill has been in your collection 45 Wow and in 1955 it was loaned to a Navy training center and then it ends Wow so after 1955 we have no more documentation until we got the phone call the news spread very fast throughout the command that another Bell had been found so everybody is very excited that it was gonna be coming back this is the main ship's Bell main ship Bell yeah so it would be what was used to keep the time to announce emergencies you know any kind of thing like that the Bell is the the one thing that symbolizes the ship to most sailors it's been referred to as the you know the soul of the ship when there's a reunion of sailors this is the first thing they want to see this is the most important artifact and when it's on display in a venue like this thousands of people see it every year and this is the only thing we have from the Col so I cannot express how happy we are that this is back this is a great learning opportunity for Frankie and I and we're really feeling good about getting it back to its rightful owner thank you both very thank you very much we appreciate it you want to hold it I can take your picture with it for the last time good
