Author to talk about World War II mystery 'Vanishing Point' in Auburn

Ithaca Journal
·1 min read

Fans of New York history have a chance to dig deeper and learn more about a World War II mystery that happened right in our state.

Journalist Tom Wilber will discuss his new book, Vanishing Point, beginning at 2 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Morgan Opera House in Aurora.

The event was originally scheduled for Oct. 8 as part of the Aurora Free Library's Book Lover's Ball, but it was postponed.

The book revives the long-lost story of Wendell Keith Ponder's World War II bomber that vanished in an upstate New York blizzard on Feb. 18, 1944. The plane, a four-engine b-24 Liberator known as "Getaway Gertie," was believed to be lost in Lake Ontario, and included a flight crew of eight American airmen.

Wendell Keith Ponder, known as Keith to his family, grew up in Forkville, Mississippi, where he caught the national obsession with flying that was fueled by Charles Lindbergh's historic flight. Ponder was flight engineer on the doomed B-24 Liberator Gateway Gertie -- later renamed Getaway Gertie in press accounts -- that went missing during a training flight on Feb. 18, 1944 and vanished in an upstate New York blizzard. It is the focus of journalist Tom Wilber's book "Vanishing Point."

Read more about 'Vanishing Point': A WWII bomber vanished in an upstate New York blizzard. A new book tracks the mystery

“Vanishing Point: The Search for a B-24 Bomber Crew Lost on the World War II Home Front,” (Three Hills, $29.95) is part history, part mystery and part memorial.

Wilber worked for more than 25 years as a reporter with Gannett’s USA TODAY newspaper network in upstate New York, and his career includes multiple teaching assignments at Binghamton University. He is also the author of Under the Surface, Fracking Fortunes and the Fate of the Marcellus Shale.

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This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Author Tom Wilber to talk about WWII mystery 'Vanishing Point' in Auburn