Our Namesake
Our Inspiration
Some Stories Should Never Be Forgotten
The name 2 the SEA exists in honor of the courageous crew of the World War II B-24 Liberator Lady Be Good.
One of those nine young airmen was my uncle, Staff Sergeant Guy E. Shelley — my mother's brother.
I think about his story almost every day.
It is a story of courage, endurance, sacrifice, and above all, brotherhood.
Their story deserves to be remembered.
Staff Sergeant Guy E. Shelley, waist gunner, seventh from the front.
The Final Mission
On April 4, 1943, the Lady Be Good departed Soluch Army Air Field in North Africa as part of a bomber formation assigned to strike military targets in Naples Harbor, Italy.
A severe sandstorm separated the aircraft from the formation. Rather than abandon the mission, the crew continued alone.
After completing the bombing run, the aircraft turned toward home. Unknown to the crew, they passed their airfield without seeing it. Believing they were still over the Mediterranean Sea and dangerously low on fuel, the pilot ordered the crew to bail out.
They believed they were jumping into the sea.
They were not.
Into the Sea
Instead of water, they descended into an endless sea of sand.
They had indeed gone "to the sea" — not a sea of water, but a sea of dunes.
Discovered in the Libyan Sand Sea, seventeen years after she disappeared.
A Walk No One Should Survive
Eight of the nine crew members survived the bailout and gathered together. Believing they were close to their base, they began walking.
They were actually more than 400 miles from safety.
With almost no water, temperatures exceeding 130°F by day and near freezing at night, they accomplished what experts believed impossible. They walked 78 miles together.
When five could go no farther, three continued.
My uncle, Guy E. Shelley, walked another 37 miles beyond that point — 115 miles in total from the place he first touched the sand.
When his remains were recovered, investigators found he was carrying not only his own belongings but also another crew member's wallet and personal papers. Even at the end, he was still carrying something of his brothers with him.
Staff Sergeant Guy E. Shelley was found 115 miles from the point where he bailed out.
Endurance Beyond Measure
The wreck of the Lady Be Good was found in 1958 — seventeen years after she vanished. The crew's remains were recovered in 1960, along with journals and personal effects that told one of aviation history's most remarkable survival stories.
Yet perhaps the greatest lesson is not endurance alone.
It is brotherhood.
Even in their final days, they never stopped looking after one another.
Why We Remember
The name 2 the SEA is a quiet and enduring tribute to the crew of the Lady Be Good.
Their story represents every man and woman who has ever ventured into the unknown, accepted extraordinary risk, and placed duty — and each other — before themselves.
This page is dedicated to the memory of the nine airmen of the B-24 Liberator Lady Be Good.
They served together.
They endured together.
They sacrificed together.
To my uncle, Staff Sergeant Guy E. Shelley, and to the eight men who stood beside him: may your courage never be forgotten, and may your legacy continue to guide everything this name represents.
Continue the Journey
Books
- Lady's Men — Mario Martinez
- The Lady Be Good — Dennis E. McClendon
- No Way Out — Steven R. Whitby
- Last Flight of the Lady Be Good — Jim Redman
Magazine Articles
- LIFE — March 7, 1960
- Air & Space Forces Magazine — February 2014
Documentaries
- PBS Wisconsin — The Mysterious Story of the Lady Be Good
- Armstrong Circle Theatre — Ghost Bomber (1960)