Friday, July 16, 2010

MORE ON LADY MOE







Lady Moe


   Lady Moe, a Tunisian donkey, was the mascot of the 96th
Bombardment Group. She was found starving in an Algerian slum
in August of 1943 by a B-17 crew taking part in the famous
Regensburg-North Africa shuttle mission. She accompanied the crew
back to England on August 24, 1943 on the return leg of the shuttle
mission. On this return trip the crew bombed Bordeaux, France,
making Lady Moe the only known jackass ever to fly on a combat mission.
    She adapted well to her new home at Snetterton Heath. She
participated in many patriotic events in England and served as the
Army mule mascot at the Army-Navy football game at London's
White City Stadium on November 12, 1944. She had stories
written about her in newspapers and magazines all over the world.
    On October 3, 1945, she wandered onto a railroad track near
the airbase and was killed by a train. She was buried at the airbase
in a simple ceremony. To those who served with her, she will always
be remembered as the "Queen of the Heath".

Photos of Lady Moe


According to this information, the 2 Lady Moes that are 
registered in the Donkey Registry for the U.S. wouldn't be 
her, since she was killed in England.  Perhaps some of the 
guys that knew her in England named their donkeys in her
memory.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Lady Moe of the 96th Bomb Group at Heath-Snetterton, was the donkey that my wife's father's crew (The Miracle Tribe) picked up in North Africa. Her father was Captain Andrew W. Miracle, and is the officer directly behind Lady Moe in your image captioned, "Just after her arrival in England."

The Lady Moe referenced in Texas may have been a tribute to Lady Moe by a former Miracle Tribe crew member, SGT Matthews (pictured on the right in your photo captioned, "Lady Moe & Friends"). SGT "Coots" Matthews, a resident of Texas, went on to become a famous oil well firefighter, first with Red Adair, and then with the company he co-founded, Boots & Coots (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/us/08matthews.html).

Charles Oliver
coliver@veteransparachutebattalion.org