Gibbons Military Motors & Museum

02/22/2026

𝘿𝙄𝘿 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙆𝙉𝙊𝙒?

We have a direct connection to some of the items on display at the Smithsonian!

“Flak Bait,” (a B26B), was in the same bomb group as Delbert Gustafson, whose uniform we have on display!

They also shared the sky on a few of their missions!

02/21/2026

𝘼𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍 𝘾𝙇𝙊𝙎𝙀 𝙏𝙊 𝙃𝙊𝙈𝙀

The surviving artifacts of Kennth T. Gibbons…

Born in 1927 in Scotia NY, Kennth followed his older brother Richard’s foot steps and enlisted in the United States Army in late 1944 at 17. Little is known currently about Ken’s training path or why he chose the airborne, but he would find himself part of the 187th PIR in the 11th Airborne.

Ken spent his time in the service at the tail end of WWII in occupation duty in Japan.

Post war, Ken returned home to the US and served with the national guard in NY, eventually reaching the rank of Major.

What survives today is a treasure trove of artifacts. Contrary to his brother, Ken kept almost all of the physical items he used in the service, joking (but truthfully) all the way down to his boxers.

One of the most unique aspects of this collection is his officers uniform, which actually contains the serial number of his brother Richard. Upon Richard’s removal of rank, these uniforms were transferred home and Ken utilized the in the late 1940s as an officer in the NY National Guard. Quite unique!

The other unique items that have survived are roughly 90 minutes of original color & black and white footage of the 11th Airborne in Japan, shot by Ken himself. While he appears on these films from time to time, it’s an amazing glimpse into immediate post war life in Japan! These films can be viewed on YouTube! We will post the link into the comments if anyone would like to view them!

Our display contains both Kens original enlisted and officer uniforms. The enlisted uniform, while complete with wool dress pants and shirt, is set up to reflect a more “relaxed,” nature as shown in his films. The display contains his original paratrooper combat pants, his original wool shirt & tie, his original named paratrooper boots, and the signature 11th Airborne “swing,” cap, also named and attributed to Ken. His officer uniforms consist of the dually named pants and dress coat, while the wool shirt and tie are uniquely named to Ken, as is the visor cap. These are some of our most prized possessions.

02/09/2026

𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘…

The surviving artifacts of Richard J. Gibbons..

Born in 1925 in Scotia NY, Richard enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1943 at 17. Going through flight training via Reading College (J3 cub), Lakeland Florida (PT-17, BT-13, AT-6) and finally ending as a 2nd Lt. typed in the P40 with class 44I.

Richard’s story now takes a unique turn, and one that has never been publicly shared in full…

At some point in flight training, a disagreement occurred between Richard and a senior officer involved in instructing the cadets. Upon graduation, and in Richard’s own words, there was a heated “discussion,” in which Richard was told he was a liar, and therefore a physical fight ensued. This resulted in a court martial and strip of Richard’s rank back to private.

Upon deciding the best use of his skills, the USAAF sent Richard to gunnery school, thereby qualifying him as a ball turret gunner, and assigning him to March Field CA with B24 crews.

Upon crew assignment, Richard was assigned to a crew which contained (2) pilots whom he had graduated with in class 44I. In the coming weeks, these 2 individuals (Bob Henshaw & John Blossom) taught Richard to fly the B24, in case in a combat situation one or both of them became incapacitated. It was at this time that John Blossoms’s party persona came to shine, and Richard found himself flying right seat in the B24 for quite some time during sub patrol missions from March Field to Panama.

After honorable discharge in late 1945, Richard attempted to make his was to Okinawa to fly for the free Chinese against the communist force attempting to conquer China. His options were this; find your own transportation over and keep your American citizenship, or we send you and you have to give up citizenship. In his attempt to make his way to China, he was stranded in Okinawa as the communist Chinese overran the free Chinese Air Force. Richard would spend some time on Okinawa before returning back to the US.

What survives today is a treasure trove of documents and photos. His original named”pinks,” shirt and trousers are also still surviving, as is his officer cap.

Our display contains this original uniform, as well as several of the original documents and photos. We also pieced together, using all original equipment, Richard’s flight gear as was true to what he wore. These are some of our most prized possessions.

01/26/2026

Leland C. Farlow was a bombardier in the 392nd Bomb Group.

Beginning his tour in 1944, the crew, officially titled to Lt. Baetz, completed a total of 4 missions including their ill fated 12-28-44 mission which would make Leland Farlow a POW for the remainder of the war.

On 12-28-44, the bomber nicknamed “Idiot’s Delight,” took a flak hit on the number 2 engine immediately after “bombs away.” The direct hit to the engine caused a fire, which quickly spread to the bomb bay, and the aircraft began to drastically loose altitude. At an unspecified altitude, the aircraft succumbed to the fire, and exploded mid-air. 2 men made it out that day, Bombardier Leland C. Farlow, and Sgt. Roman Sobota. They would spend the remainder of the war as POWs in Stalag Luft III.

Today, what remains of Leland Farlow’s time in the service, is his Class A uniform and assorted pictures. These artifacts can all be seen in our display dedicated to the United States Army Air Force!

01/23/2026

𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙆 𝙔𝙊𝙐 to Military.com for picking up the story on what we do!

Let us not forget who let us get here, who we represent every day…

𝐽𝘰ℎ𝘯 “𝐽𝘢𝑐𝘬” 𝐻𝘦𝑚𝘴𝑡𝘳𝑒𝘦𝑡
𝑅𝘪𝑐𝘩𝑎𝘳𝑑 𝐺𝘪𝑏𝘣𝑜𝘯𝑠
𝐾𝘦𝑛 𝐺𝘪𝑏𝘣𝑜𝘯𝑠
𝐽𝘢𝑚𝘦𝑠 𝐺𝘪𝑏𝘣𝑜𝘯𝑠
𝐽𝘰ℎ𝘯 “𝐵𝘶𝑑” 𝘔𝑜𝘦ℎ𝘭𝑒
𝐶𝘩𝑎𝘳𝑙𝘪𝑒 𝑀𝘰𝑒𝘩𝑙𝘦
𝘌𝑑 𝑀𝘢𝑟𝘵𝑖𝘯𝑒𝘤
𝘋𝑒𝘭𝑏𝘦𝑟𝘵 𝘎𝑢𝘴𝑡𝘢𝑓𝘴𝑜𝘯
𝘓𝑒𝘭𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝐹𝘢𝑟𝘭𝑜𝘸

His grandfather passed away in 2018. Brendan Gibbons still works to preserve his legacy through collecting and restoring World War II memorabilia.

01/19/2026

𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴…

Delbert R. Gustafson was a B-26 pilot with the 322nd Bomb Group, 451st Bomb Squadron.

Credited with 25 missions, Gustafson logged a total of 91 combat hours from September 1944, to April of 1945.

On more than one occasion, Gustafson would fly lead ship for the 451st on missions into France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

On one particular occasion, Gustafson’s aircraft was forced to land with one engine on fire.

Gustsfson earned the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaves, the ETO campaign ribbon with 3 devices, and the American Campaign ribbon.

What remains today of his time in the service are his Class A “4 pocket” jacket, as well as his entirely custom “Ike,” style jacket, shirt, and pinks trousers. All of these original items can be seen in our display cabinet dedicated to the United States Army Air Force!

01/15/2026

𝑇𝘩𝑎𝘯𝑘 𝑦𝘰𝑢 WRGB CBS 6 News, Albany & Julia Dunn for this amazing piece on what we do and why we do it….

Brendan Gibbons and his late grandfather, Richard, a World War II veteran, shared a unique and special bond: giving pieces of history a new lease on life.

01/12/2026

𝙒𝙀 𝘿𝙄𝘿 𝘼 𝙉𝘼𝙈𝙀 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙀…!

And there’s a reason! What started as a private collection and a focus on our vehicle activities, is morphing into something more.

We have decided to start posting and sharing our collections…. the letters, the documents, the photos, the uniforms, everything. It’s time to share with the public these amazing stories we are caretaker of. So stay tuned!

02/21/2024