The "Fat Cat" was the beloved C-47 that brought such luxuries as beer, milk and even movies to the Jolly Rogers. On February 4, 1945, however, disaster struck. The Fat Cat was overloaded with a shipment of corrugated tin destined for Mindoro when it crashed on takeoff.

No one was killed or seriously injured in the crash, and the engineer, Sgt. Milton H. Baumgart stated, "We were lucky to walk away."

However, the Fat Cat would be mourned and missed by the Jolly Rogers. To their great relief, the motion picture projector was not aboard—it was being transported by another plane—and movies were soon being shown again. They were the same movies shown over and over, but none of the men seemed to mind.

Top photo: Stephen J. Novak

Bottom photo: William C. Tinsley

Both photos used by permission of Turner Publishing, Paducah, KY.

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