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Phone ST. 5000             Washington, D.C.

Kitty Hawk Put on Exhibit Here; Nephew Presents Wright Plane

First Heavier-Than-Air Craft to Carry Man In Controlled Flight Displayed With Ceremony

By W. H. Shippen, jr.
Aviation Editor of The Star

The first airplane to carry a man in flight was accepted formally here today in behalf of the American people.
The full-dress ceremony was held as a belated but impressive tribute to the tiny pusher biplane which the Wright brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk, N. C., 45 years ago today.
The venerable plane, more popularly known as the "Kitty Hawk," was presented to the United States by Milton Wright of Dayton, Ohio, a nephew of Wilbur and Orville Wright. The presentation was made in behalf of the estate of Orville.
The plane was accepted by Chief Justice Vinson, chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution, and Vice President-elect Barkley. The 300 invited guests included not only top Government officials and aviation leaders, but many old-timers associated with the early days of flight.
In a message to the officials and guests, President Truman declared that the return here of the Wright brothers' airplane "will quicken in all hearts an appreciation of the achievements of American inventive genius."
The message was read by Col. Robert B. Landry, Air Force aide to the President. Mr. Truman's message said:
"It is of happy significance that through  
co-operation of the executors of the estate of Orville Wright with the Smithsonian Institution and the first aeroplane flown by Wilbur and Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, N. C. in 1903 has come to a final mooring in our National Museum.
"No more fitting repository for this historic plane could be found. I share your view that the return of this craft to the United States is an event calculated to make a popular and sentimental appeal to

(See KITTY HAWK, Page A-4.)