Son of WWII veteran sells collection of 5,000 model airplanes in Loon Lake

Outside the Wilderness Inn in Loon Lake, Joe Gately strolled past table after table of model airplanes that he, his two brothers and his father began collecting in the 1950s.

Every Friday and Saturday until September from 9 a.m. until about 4 p.m, Gately is selling 3,000 built model airplanes and 2,000 unbuilt ones still in the original boxes at a three-family estate sale.

“My father was a waist gunner on a B-24 in World War II,” Gately said. “He served 36 missions over Europe … He went in in 1944. He was 17. And he got out in ’45 because he flew 36 missions. At 25 (missions), you’re supposed to get out.

“Well, he didn’t look at the board. So, he flew an extra 11 missions because he wasn’t keeping track.”

Gately is from southern California but moved to Loon Lake in 2018. He graduated high school in 1973 as the legal authority for the military draft in Vietnam ended. So, Gately chose the college path. He and his wife now own the Wilderness Inn and the Loon Lake Motel across the way off state Route 292.

Gately, 70, said his father has “got medals out the ass,” including the distinguished flying cross and the French Medal of Honor.

“His squadron flew in front of Patton’s army to clear it out to liberate France,” Gately said.

When his father got out of the Air Force once the war ended, he began collecting warbirds, a habit he later passed on to his sons.

Gately said his father kept journals from his time in World War II and would sometimes tell his sons stories.

“Did he say he was scared?” Gately said. “No. But, you know, you’re 18 years old, shooting a 50-caliber out the side of an airplane.”

The price of one of Gately’s model airplanes depends on the size, with the cheapest option at $5 and the most expensive being $20.

“On eBay, the smallest ones are going from $50 to $150,” Gately said. “But I can’t take the time. We own the motel, me and my wife. I can’t take the time to package them, wrap them and negotiate.”

Not only was Gately’s father in the service, but so was one of his brothers. Gately’s even selling some jumpsuits and uniforms from when his father and brother were in the service.

His brother was drafted during the Vietnam War. He was going to be in the army, but he took a test for the Air Force and scored well.

“So they put him through college, kept him out of the draft, kept him out of the Army, and then when he graduated from college, they said, ‘We don’t have any more pilot slots, so you’re free to go after they had paid for everything.’ ”

Gately’s brother, who died last October, wound up getting his degree in physics.

Before long, he was on board a nuclear-powered submarine. Gately said the Navy needed his expertise in physics, so he was convinced to join their ranks.

“When you joined the Navy, they gave you a wish list,” Gately said. “He checked aviation.”

His brother began flying F-18s, which Gately referred to as the “Cadillacs of the time.” The other plane his brother flew was the A-7 Corsair. Gately said he has all different kinds of models of F-18s, A-7 Corsairs and his father’s B-24s available for purchase.

While Gately plans to keep a few built model airplanes, he hopes that whoever chooses to buy one of his models finds joy in the hobby he shared for years with his father and two brothers.

“I hope they build them,” Gately said. “I hope they give them their due. They’re meant to be built, not looked at, and not get beat up because they’re stacked on each other.”