and reminder to follow me on twitter, like me on facebook, follow me on instagram @loudobbstonight. have a great weekend. good night from new york. >> amid the terror of hitler's bombs... >> the airpower of the nazis was turned against britain. >> ...an unmistakable voice rallies the brits. >> i have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. >> you think churchill saw his lisp as beneficial? >> what hitlerism is suffering in libya is only a sample and a foretaste of what we have got to give him and his accomplices. >> it was such an inspiring speech that it just worked magic on people. >> his dental tech worked magic, too. >> churchill said to my father, "you're not going anywhere. you're staying here with me." >> how did he earn a place in history? >> when you opened the box, what did you see? >> well, i saw some teeth

staring at me. >> fighting tooth and nail, dentistry's finest hour. >> these are the teeth that won the second world war. >> any way to get a closer look? >> for you, yes. >> hello. i'm jamie colby. and, today, i'm in the back seat of one of those fabulous london taxis. after crossing the pond, i figured i'll leave the driving to somebody else. i'm here to meet an heir whose father played a big part in world history through his connection to great britain's indispensable leader in world war ii, the one-and-only winston churchill. and i have to warn you folks, they don't call this show "strange inheritance" for nothing.

>> my name is nigel cudlipp. my father, derek, was a master dental technician here in london for over 50 years. he died in 2007 and left his most important work to me. >> hello. i'm jamie. >> nice to meet you, jamie. i'm nigel. welcome to london and welcome to limehouse. >> thank you. it's a beautiful spot. is this where you live? >> we do. we live on a yacht out there. please come this way. >> thank you. nigel's career is in finance, originally for posh resorts and hotels and now for a museum here in london. but i didn't climb aboard nigel's yacht to talk about that. when i was told that i was coming to london to see teeth, i thought it was crazy. do you think it's crazy? >> it might look that way to many people, but churchill was a very, very important man. >> the most important man on the planet, arguably, when, in the spring of 1940, as hitler's forces overrun europe, winston churchill becomes prime minister. and his words become his country's most powerful weapon.

>> never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. >> and never in the field of human dentistry, nigel cudlipp believes, was so much owed by so many to one technician, his father. derek cudlipp is born in 1915 and raised in a modest home in south london. >> i don't think he got on terribly well at school, because he was a quiet, very, very shy man. >> his schoolmasters steer derek to apprentice as a technician making dentures. darn good career advice in the pre-fluoride days, when most britons lose at least some of their adult teeth and end up needing dentures. derek cudlipp discovers he really likes the exacting work, and he's a whiz at it. >> the nature of his personality was somebody who was a perfectionist, and i think, in dentistry, he found an outlet

for that part of his personality. >> in 1936, derek is snapped up by a prominent dentist, in london's fashionable cavendish square, named wilfred fish. >> fish was at the top of the profession, dentistry to royalty and to many, many important people of the day. >> you think your dad aspired to have famous clients? >> no. definitely not. i think his pleasure came from the quality of the work that he produced. my father was a frustrated artist, to be honest with you, but he was absolutely passionate about what he did. >> one of dr. fish's dental patients is winston churchill. a backbencher in parliament, churchill issues dire warnings about the growing threat of adolf hitler and nazi germany. >> [ shouting in german ] [ crowd cheering ] >> now they are rearming with the utmost speed, and ready to their hands is this new lamentable weapon of the air.

>> from the air, hitler's luftwaffe rains down terror on london in the fall of 1940. with the blitz as a backdrop, derek marries his bride, dorothy. >> they went on a honeymoon, they said, on a train with the bombs falling all around them. >> for 76 consecutive days, london is bombed day and night. in the middle of it all, derek cudlipp gets the assignment of a lifetime. >> churchill said to my father, "you're not going anywhere. you're staying here with me." >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. the answer when we return.

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and neither do we. we are taps, the tragedy assistants program for survivors. we provide resources, support and comfort to heal the hearts and meet the needs of grieving military families. all at no cost to them. your generosity can make an enormous difference in the lives of the families of our fallen military heroes. our military families need to know they're not alone. and they're not forgotten. show them your support at taps.org >> it's "c." he called it "the black dog." churchill also had periods of manic high energy. some believe he was a manic-depressive. [ bombs whistling ] >> in 1940, as londoners struggle under a nazi onslaught from the sky, one familiar voice bolsters their resolve,

that of prime minister winston churchill. >> you ask, what is our policy? i will say it is to wage war by sea, land, and air with all our might and with all the strength that god can give us. >> people were losing their sons, their fathers, and somehow, he managed to rally the country. >> we ask no favors of the enemy. >> he will become perhaps the most effective order ever to speak into a microphone. >> we will mete out, of the germans, the measure and more than the measure they have meted out to us. >> but churchill was not a natural-born public speaker. from childhood, he struggles with a lisp. >> he made every effort to master it. >> but phil reed, director of the churchill war room museum, says by the time he reaches 10 downing street, the prime minister has more than mastered his lisp. he's embracing it. >> what hitlerism is suffering in libya is only a sample and a foretaste of what we have got to

give him and his accomplices wherever this war should lead us. >> do you think churchill saw his lisp as beneficial or a hindrance to his power? >> i think, in the war, he saw it as being something that characterized him and added a bit of humor to it. remember, this is a man who feigned not to be able to pronounce the word nazis. always referred to them as "nazzies." and it was his way of making fools of them. >> wounds have been inflicted upon the nazi tyranny and the system, which have bitten deep and will fester and inflame. >> how important were his words? >> they were immensely important, because churchill had to tell it like it was, which is, "it's gonna be tough. a lot of people are gonna be killed. but you got to stick with it." and that really did genuinely inspire people with a bit of backbone, basically. >> i have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.

>> he was such an inspiring speaker. the manner in which he delivered, it just worked magic on people. >> churchill is a virtuoso performer. like the pegs, bridge, and strings of a fine stradivarius, the components of his instrument -- his voice, breath, tongue, and teeth -- have to be just so. >> he roused people to the flag, if you like, with his voice and the way he delivered his lines. >> unfortunately, reports nigel cudlipp, the heir in this "strange inheritance" story, churchill treats his dentures not the way maestros treat their violins, but how british rock stars treat their guitars. >> churchill, when he was angry, would put his thumb under the teeth and flick them across the room. and my father always said that he could tell how well the war was going by how far they flew across the room. things were really bad when they hit the opposite wall. nigel's dad, derek, a mild-mannered 26-year-old dental

tech, is churchill's denture repairman. >> my father would be quite anxious about the whole thing. churchill was not a man who was to be messed with. he was quite an impatient man. in the dentist's chair, he would have a cigar in one hand, a brandy in the other. >> and an odd demand well-suited to derek's skills -- make sure those false teeth keep churchill sounding like churchill. >> he is now but a lackey and a serf, the merest utensil of his master's will. [ cheers and applause ] >> do you know, technically, what your father did for winston churchill that was different than normal? >> my father invented, with sir wilfred fish, this distinctive plate that would retain his lisp and his natural speaking voice. >> nigel tells me that i can see what he's talking about at london's royal college of surgeons. hi, sam. i'm jamie colby.

>> hi, jamie. >> sam alberti is the director. i guess when you donate yourself to science, you might end up in a place like this. sam brings me right to the winston churchill display. >> wilfred fish, the dentist, designed the teeth, but, of course, it was the technician who made them. and churchill was devoted to derek cudlipp. the star item is this little item here. >> "made for and worn by sir winston churchill." >> that's right. >> any way to get a closer look? >> for you, i'll take them out. >> you would? >> yes. he wanted to maintain churchill's very particular oratorial style. >> a lisp. >> precisely. in order to do this, he added clasps to the side. and these would just keep the dentures slightly proud of the palate and allow a flow of saliva around them. and this maintained that very famous lisp. >> you think any dental technician could have made those? >> no. these are extremely rare and very, very difficult to make.

>> churchill makes clear he knows that when derek cudlipp breaks some personal news to the prime minister. >> he told churchill that his papers had come through to go into the army, and churchill literally just tore them to shreds in front of my father's face and said to my father, "you're not going anywhere. you're staying here with me." >> because of his dentures. >> because of his dentures, yes. >> you ask, what is our aim? i can answer in one word -- victory. >> this is churchill's office in which he delivered four of his speeches during the war. >> the secret bunker under the streets of westminster is now a museum. >> victory at all costs. victory in spite of all terror. victory however long and hard the road may be. >> the last of the bombing raids happen, and they left everything that you see. and so, for instance, this here is churchill's original chair, and you are going to sit in it. >> oh, my god. you can feel the unimaginable

pressure on churchill. >> churchill was obviously pretty tense. if you just feel that notch at the end there -- that he made with the ring that he wore on that hand, and he belted it like that. [ bells tolling ] >> but his voice never cracks. >> this is your victory. >> may 8, 1945, "v-e day." >> victory of the cause of freedom in every land. [ crowd cheering ] >> when derek's wartime post with churchill ends, he keeps two spare sets of the prime minister's dentures. he goes on to open his own prosthetics service. >> he was probably recognized to be the best in the country. all his clients came to him, word of mouth. >> word of mouth? >> yeah, very much so. >> [ laughs ] >> yes, very much so.

>> decades later, nigel's father donates one of his sets of churchill's dentures to the royal college of surgeons. >> it was something he was very proud of, but, of course, it was a quiet donation, which suited him. >> but nigel thinks his dad deserves a more prominent place in the history books. so when derek dies, in 2007, and nigel inherits the remaining set of churchill's dentures, he stows them in his cufflinks drawer. >> they're not something that you have on the mantelpiece. and i kept thinking to myself, "i must do something about these. they're just sitting there." >> was it about the money? >> it was more about recognition for my father. he was too shy during his life to mention them. >> coming up, nigel's plan to get his dad that recognition. how much interest were you able to generate in these? >> you know, the term is "gone viral," and it did. >> that's next. >> here's another quiz question for you. which american revolutionary war

figure was also a practicing dentist? the answer in a moment. you.

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>> so, which american revolutionary war figure was also a practicing dentist? it's paul revere, who started out by apprenticing with a dentist who made dentures for none other than george washington. >> when british dental technician derek cudlipp dies in 2007, he passes down to his son, nigel, his finest piece of work, a set of false teeth he made during world war ii for prime minister winston churchill. nigel puts the dentures in a

drawer but never forgets them. he wants to figure out how to use them to honor his dad. >> i wanted to tell the people about my father, because he was too shy during his life to mention them. >> since his dad already donated one set to a british museum, nigel dreams up another plan. he figures he'll find someone to auction them off. he says he doesn't need the money. he just wants to get his father in the newspapers. >> i could never have sold them while he was alive, 'cause he wouldn't have liked the publicity. >> hello, andrew. i'm jamie. >> oh, hello. so very pleased to meet you. >> nigel thinks he's found the man to finally get him some -- appraiser andrew bullock of keys auctions in norfolk, england. i have a place over here. andrew's sold a lot of odd churchill items -- unsmoked cigars, playing cards, cigar boxes -- but never imagines he'd receive a commission like the one from nigel. when you opened the box, what

did you see? >> well, i saw some teeth staring at me. >> andrew immediately knows he can get nigel exactly what he wants. how much interest were you able to generate in these? >> you know, the term is "gone viral," and it did. >> so it's global. >> it was worldwide, and it got to be sort of quite a joke that the next phone call was gonna be for andrew from timbuktu or somewhere. a lot of people actually found the whole episode a little bit macabre, where others were absolutely fascinated. when something of interest arrives for auction, it may not necessarily be of great value, but there's very often a wonderful story behind it. >> it's a wild story. >> it is. churchill had a lisp, and these partial dentures were specially designed to maintain that lisp. so it was, you know, of paramount importance. >> word got out. >> yep. i came across it in

the himalayan times newspaper. and i thought, "probably now, we've done enough p.r." >> coming up, the bidding begins. >> and it just went rapidly, rapidly, rapidly up. >> who buys dentures? >> well, a very, very good question. >> and one we'll answer next. what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. ♪ limu emu & doug look limu. a civilian buying a new car. let's go. limu's right. liberty mutual can save you money by customizing your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. oh... yeah, i've been a customer for years. huh... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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>> now back to strange inheritance." >> if the british empire and its commonwealth last for 1,000 years, men will still say this was their finest hour. >> prime minister winston churchill's voice helped save europe. dental technician derek cudlipp helped save that voice. and when he leaves his son, nigel, the teeth that won

world war ii, well, that's one strange inheritance. no surprise that, after nigel puts churchill's chompers up for auction, the story goes viral. in fact, that's the point. how do you think your father would have felt about so many people knowing about the dentures? >> i mean, he would have been secretly proud, but because he was so shy, he needed someone to speak for him, so i'm pleased to have done that. >> as history called derek cudlipp to fashion false teeth that preserved churchill's lisp, nigel calls andrew bullock to sell them. did you think they were immediately something that you would take to auction? >> oh, yes, yes. one felt sort of quite honored to be handling something to do with a great man. >> after andrew examines the dentures, he estimates their value at around £5,000, or $8,000. they were solid gold. >> yes. i did joke that i thought they would actually

fetch more than the scrap price for gold. >> what did the bidding start at? >> i started it at £3,800. >> that's about $5,800. but it didn't stay there long. >> and it just went rapidly, rapidly, rapidly up, until the hammer fell at £15,200. >> or about 24,000 bucks. the buyer? george ridgeon, a retired english fireman willing to pay three times what andrew expected. were you smiling? >> we smiled. [ both laugh ] >> more smiles may come in this toothy tale, courtesy of nigel's 18-year-old daughter, lauren. >> i was going through a few pieces, and this was one of the books that i came across. >> in june of 2015, she discovers yet another set of gold dentures in a box of jewelry which she inherited from nigel's mother. um, ick.

so, there's another mystery. >> they wouldn't have just been left there, and i would like to think that they belonged to somebody that's quite important, but... >> if they do, nigel and his daughter say expect to hear from them again -- a "strange inheritance" story for another day. six months after nigel's auction, a third set of churchill's dentures surfaced and sold for $25,000. so, the fireman who bought the teeth that won world war ii tried to resell nigel's inheritance on a british tv game show. but when the highest offer came in at only about $7,800, the fireman said, "no deal." i'd tell him, "don't give up." as churchill once famously said, "success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."

i'm jamie colby. thanks so much for watching this special edition of "strange inheritance." and remember, you can't take it with you. >> a booze-born idea... >> he said, "i'm thinking i might buy myself a b-17 and put it over a gas station." >> ...to sell burgers and fuel. >> people were lined up for blocks to get in. 30,000 gallons a day. >> decades later, a dad's dying wish. >> art wanted us to restore it to flying condition. >> a family's flight of fancy... >> they're foolish to be trying this. >> ...that's totally the bomb. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ]

>> i'm jamie colby, today driving through salem, oregon, one of the final destinations of settlers on the oregon trail. i'm here to piece together an inheritance story that revolves around a wild bar bet, a crazy roadside attraction, and a sky-high tale of guts and gumption. >> my name is punky scott. when my father passed away, he left me a massive, corroding world war ii bomber that he acquired in a most bizarre adventure. >> i meet punky at this airplane hangar. hi, i'm jamie. >> hi, jamie. thanks for coming today. >> inside isn't a plane, but rusted-out hunks of metal, disheveled stacks of doors and flaps, damaged pieces strewn about. what is all this? >> these are all b-17 parts. >> the b-17 bomber? >> b-17 bomber known as a flying fortress.

>> this is an inheritance? >> this is my inheritance. >> i have got to learn more about who would've left you this. that would be art lacey, punky's father and a character for the ages. during world war ii, the amateur pilot joins the army corps of engineers and worked stateside on military fortifications along the pacific. >> they were looking for someone who was knowledgeable about the coast range, and my dad was very, very helpful. >> in 1944, art opens up a gas station outside portland, oregon, and when the war's over, he wants to rev it up. >> he was very ambitious and intuitive about what customers would really like to have. >> what he thinks they really want to have is not just gas, but an experience. the eureka moment comes when art learns that altus army airfield in oklahoma is selling surplus war planes -- b-17 bombers, to be precise.

>> he said, "you know, i've been kicking around the idea of getting a world war ii bomber and using it as a centerpiece for a gas station." >> jayson scott is art's grandson. >> he thought, "i can end up with a canopy, but i'll also have a roadside attraction that'll draw people to the facility." >> art sets his sights on the right plane, says rob collings, who runs a foundation that organizes living-history events featuring war planes like the b-17. >> it's got a 104-foot wing span, it's 75 feet long, and it has nearly 5,000 horsepower. when this thing was first produced, it was one of the biggest airplanes ever to take to the skies. >> was it very valuable in combat missions? >> yes. heavy bombers, strategic bombers were the most valuable asset that we had. >> so, america builds more than 12,000 b-17s, which drop more than half a million tons of bombs over enemy territory. each plane costs about

200 grand, but the government heavily discounts them in a post-war garage sale. >> once the war was over, these were just obsolete, so they were basically cutting these things up as scrap. >> so anyone, you give them your cash and you walk off with a plane? >> we didn't need them. there was gonna be no more war. world war ii ended it all, right? >> it's at his 34th birthday party in 1947 when art blurts out his cockamamie scheme to buy one of those b-17s. >> he was with all his cronies and they were having a few adult beverages. one of the guys said, "well, art, there's no way in heck you can do that. that's just not gonna happen." >> well, that was definitely the wrong thing to ever tell him, because he was gonna prove you wrong until the day he died, and he said, "i'll bet you $5 i can do it." >> when the alcohol wears off, he doesn't say to himself, "oh, my god, what was i thinking?" >> never. never in his whole career. >> he sounds like he was a

little eccentric. >> he was a wild child, yes. >> the wild child scrapes up 15 grand and hops the first flight to oklahoma. >> my grandmother never actually admitted whether she thought he was nuts or [laughs] had lost it. >> the flight back would not go so smoothly. >> he slid it across the runway... [ crashing ] ...and he crashed it into another parked b-17. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question. which hollywood star filmed the crew of a b-17 through 24 missions during world war ii? the answer after the break.

my twin brother jacob has an autism spectrum disorder i remember one moment after being at school all day and i remember him getting into the car just balling... and saying: "mom, i have no friends" "why don't i have any friends?" it broke my heart. ♪brother let me be your shelter♪ ♪never leave you all alone that was the moment when i realized that i needed to do something about this. i needed to make a difference in his life. go! and i knew that if i could help him find a friend, i could help teach other people that including people with differences is the right thing to do. ♪bring it home

♪brother let me be your shelter♪ that was the inspiration behind my non-profit "score a friend" educating people to include the people with differences is so important because when jacob's included he feels like he can succeed in life and he feels like he actually has a purpose. ♪..home >> so, which hollywood star filmed the crew of a b-17 bomber through 24 missions during world war ii? it's "a" -- clark gable. >> well, how was it? >> you know, cap, i don't think those germans like us. >> he flew with the 351st bombardment, making a documentary called "combat america." >> in march 1947, gas station owner art lacey shows up at altus army airfield in oklahoma, cash in hand, to purchase a surplus world war ii bomber and

fly it back to portland, oregon. >> he said, "i'm thinking i might buy myself a b-17 and put it over a gas station. >> so, what happened when he said, "hey, i'm here to buy a b-17"? >> it was all controlled by the war assets administration officer, and he was able to strike a deal on a plane. it was $13,750. >> but there's a hitch. >> he didn't know how to fly any aircraft that had more than one engine, and a b-17 has four. he also needed to have a co-pilot, and he didn't have one. >> so in art's telling, he just wings it. >> he said it looked like it was about a mile off where the tower was, and nobody could tell what was going on. >> he slid it across the runway. [ crashing ] and he crashed it into another parked b-17. >> art slumps back to the

airfield commander, who art discovers really wants to get rid of these planes. >> he said, "worst case of wind damage i've ever seen," and wrote that plane and the one he crashed into off as wind damage. >> and then the fellow that was in charge said, "can you come up with any more money?" and he said, "i have $1,500 left to my name in the world. that's it." >> deal. a new bill of sale is typed up, and art's given the title and keys to another flying fortress, number 44-85790. this time, art calls in some pilot buddies to help get the thing home. it must've been some trip, says rob collings. turns out the collings foundation owns a b-17, too. rattling around in the noisy

aluminum cockpit, i see that art's 1,800-mile trip from altus to oregon is no easy flight. of course i have perfect flying weather, unlike art's crew. >> they got caught in a terrible snowstorm, and all of a sudden, they see a mountain right in front of them. fortunately, didn't crash. >> sounds like a movie of the week. >> it does. >> did you ever doubt the story your dad told? >> no. he would embellish, but he always was a pretty truthful man. >> this much is indisputable. art does fly the b-17 all the way to oregon.

there he faces another hurdle -- how in the world to get the 100-foot-wide plane the last 20 miles from the airport to his property. can't just drive the beast down the road. or can you? >> he told the trucking company, "no matter what happens, you just keep on going." >> here's another quiz question for you. the answer in a moment. [narrator] meet blue. blue's not feeling well. the prescription? generic medication. blue wonders, "do they really work as well as name brands?" yes, generics and name-brand medications do work the same.

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>> so, which 1960s sitcom was set in a nazi prisoner of war camp?

it's "b" -- "hogan's heroes." the tv classic followed the exploits of a group of allied pows led by colonel robert hogan, played by bob crane. >> in 1947, art lacey lands this recently purchased b-17 bomber in portland, oregon, planning on using the war plane as a canopy over a new set of gas pumps. but first, he has to figure out how to get the massive aircraft to his property. >> he had to take it apart and put it on trucks, but they wouldn't give him any permits 'cause it was still too big. and so he decided he was going to do it anyway. >> in the middle of the night, art sneaks his partially dismantled b-17 out onto the highway. >> he told the trucking company that was moving it, "no matter what happens, you just keep on going, and i'll pay any tickets that you get." made it all the way out there with no problem at all. >> local officials are not

amused. >> he was in trouble, but of course the sentiment right after the war was very patriotic. a woman justice of the peace took sympathy on what was going on, and so she fined him $10. >> four months later, art opens his new bomber gas station with his shiny b-17 canopy. word soon spreads about the unusual attraction. >> his business boomed, and people were lined up for blocks to get in, and in order to keep people in line, we would give them free coke floats and we would wash every windshield, and we pumped a lot of gasoline. >> then art opens a second b-17-themed business right across the lot, the bomber restaurant. he decorates its walls with world war ii photos and memorabilia. >> i was very popular with all my friends. i had an airplane out in front and a cool place to fix meals.

>> did he ever get an offer to sell the plane? >> oh, all the time. >> big numbers? >> million dollars. >> rumors spread that paraguayan rebels and rich collectors are making the seven-figure offers. art says it's not for sale. >> that's a lot more than he paid. >> but it was his sign of his business. >> a business that's making money hand over fist. >> at one time, he was the largest volume single-unit gasoline station in the world -- 30,000 gallons a day. >> for all his nuttiness, he was a smart businessman. >> he very much was so. >> but by the late 1980s, the business of owning an independent gas station is getting tougher. art's mom-and-pop pumps can't compete with the big corporate chains, even with a b-17 overhead. so in 1991, art, now 78 closes down the bomber gas station after 44 years of operation.

>> it broke his heart, but that was part of a business that just had to happen. >> art keeps his bomber up as a symbol of the restaurant, but after four and a half decades exposed to the elements, the war plane is starting to look like she just came out of battle. corroded fuselage, busted parts, even graffiti. maybe it's finally time to send old number 44-85790 to the scrap heap. as he tries to figure out what to do, art learns something that really troubles him. of all those b-17s built to win world war ii -- 12,000 of them -- fewer than 50 have survived. >> we're literally down to a handful of these planes remaining in the world. >> so, battle plans are drawn up to restore the bomber to full flight-worthy condition. >> over the years, i really think it got to his heart.

he loved that aircraft. and he always talked about the veterans and how they valiantly served our nation, and that aircraft stood for that. >> the collings foundation has restored several world war ii bombers. rob collings knows firsthand what art is up against. is it realistic, and what's involved? >> it's monumental. i would say, to a degree, they're foolish to be trying this. >> what are we talking about in terms of time and money? >> i would say about 97,000 man hours. you equate that into one person working, that would be about 54 years of work to do and tens of millions of dollars. >> but art is once again ready to wing it, intent on taking the controls of his flying fortress before he pulls into that big filling station in the sky. to officially kick off the restoration, art finally gives his plane a name, christening

her the lacey lady. >> we were cheering and we were taking pictures and we're playing loud music. it was a lot of fun. >> but this time, art won't see his wild scheme through. in april 2000, he dies of heart failure at age 87, and his family inherits the daunting challenge of restoring the b-17. >> i mean, we are restaurateurs and caterers, not airplane manufacturers. you can't just go down to the store and buy the parts. >> what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com.

i want some more what's he doin? but, he can't look at him! it's just not done! please sir. i want some more more? more? more? more? please sir he has asked for... thank you

what? well he did say please sir yes he did and, thank you yeah. and thank you he's a wonderful boy (laugh) a delightful boy (all boys): thank you, thank you, thank you. >> now back to "strange inheritance." >> the family of art lacey is determined to restore the broken-down world war ii b-17 bomber they've inherited and get her back in the air. >> there were probably a few

people who wondered, you know, maybe we're crazy. but it represents a great era for our country and we need to take care of it. >> did he leave money to do that? >> well, yes and no. at the time, we had to remove all our underground storage tanks from the old gas station, and we had to put almost $600,000 into that. >> the environmental regulations take a big chunk of the money art left behind. the family quickly burns through another 400 grand on costly restorations. at some point, did you realize this was going to cost more than you actually had in your pocket? >> yes, i was somewhat naive. the money that our family had to put into it was just going to not go all that far. >> it was more than we could take on by ourselves. i mean, we are restaurateurs and caterers, not airplane manufacturers. >> so the family creates a nonprofit foundation called the

b-17 alliance. to their amazement, interest in the bomber quickly takes off. >> our volunteers went from 10 volunteers to over 100 volunteers. >> people out of the blue show up and say, "hey, this is a great project and i want to be a part of it. >> those 97,000 man hours suddenly seem possible. donors show up in force, too. >> we just finished a campaign to raise $50,000 in two months, and we were successful. that's really exciting. >> to date, they've raised nearly half a million dollars, enough to move the lacey lady to a restoration facility. but they'll need much more than that to get the plane back in the skies. >> it's a lot of money to restore a b-17 bomber. you can't just go down to the store and buy the parts. >> then another really big break. >> just recently, we had an aerospace manufacturing company that approached us. they said, "we are prepared to donate materials and to build

parts free of charge for the duration of the project." >> a gift potentially worth millions. so what kind of condition is the lacey lady in today? i get a sneak peek at the progress art's heirs have made. >> this is the first section that was restored, and this is the navigator bombardier's compartment. >> how long did this take? >> this took us about three and a half years and about $350,000. >> this ball turret, one of the dozen machine-gun stations, has also been restored. >> this one cost about $25,000, and it's taken a couple of years. >> the current focus -- the bomber's 100-foot wingspan. are these ever gonna be fly-worthy? >> absolutely. they will definitely be flight worthy and reassembled to the fuselage. >> it's a great start, but the family still has a long journey ahead. how many years do you think this will take? >> it's at least a 10-year

project. >> how much money is this gonna cost? >> we estimate the project to be about $6 million on the aircraft itself, and then in order to build a permanent home and museum for the aircraft, about $3 million. >> that's right. the family plans on using the lacey lady as the centerpiece of a museum dedicated to the legacy of world war ii heroes. in fact, they've already created a temporary one here on site. >> we're still a little bit grassroots, but last year we had over 15,000 visitors. >> what is your hope for the restoration? >> i fully expect to see it flying around our country, telling the story of our country and the sacrifices of our veterans. hopefully i'm still around when that is completed. >> a legendary war plane helps preserve freedom, becomes the

icon for a small-town business, and is now inspiring americans once again. what's dad thinking? >> i talk to my dad every day, and it's so important to him and to our whole family that this happen. it was a dream of his, and we've carried it on, and it's coming along beautifully. >> since it may be a while before punky and her family get their b-17 airworthy, we thought we'd leave you with a look at another one of the dozen or so b-17s still flying. in june 2016, a dozen world war ii b-17 veterans, all in their 90s, met at the boeing airfield in seattle to take to the skies. the vets recalled the beating the planes took on combat missions over europe. one vet said, "we brought some back so badly butchered up they never flew again, but they got

us home." i'm jamie colby. thanks for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. terrific night and a terrific weekend.maria: happy weekend. welcome to the program that analyzes the week that was and how to position you for the week ahead i and maria bartiromo. i'll speak with the founder of girls who code and to identify where the jobs are in today's market. job creation grinding almost to a halt in the month of february. yes economy at just 20,000 jobs

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