The Victory Vertical Project presented by Garik Pedersen, pianist

Vertical Victory Project at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick

Come join us May 4th or May 5th for an exciting event at 15 Pleasant Street in Brunswick!

The Vertical Victory Project will entertain you with wonderful music and tell you how during World War II, the famed aircraft's usual payload with several thousand pounds of bombs changed. Under special circumstances the B-17 doubled as a cargo plane for “G.I. pianos.” Also known as “Victory Verticals,” the instruments were parachuted to awaiting troops in what the advertisement terms “far places of the world — England, Australia, New Guinea, and elsewhere.”

Intended to lift troop morale, the 40-inch-tall Victory Verticals were identified by their military colors (olive drab, blue and gray), absence of front legs (deemed too delicate for the battlefield), and durable shipping crates. About 2,500 of the verticals were transported to every theater of war, including Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and the South Pacific. They were played by a dance band in the Philippines, a special service unit in Alaska, and by performers from Bob Hope to violinist Isaac Stern as they toured on behalf of the United Service Organizations (USO).