Story highlights After World War II, it was common for the armed forces to sell aircraft it no longer needed or even sink them in the ocean

And after a donor put up the money to buy the plane, a nonprofit ran a crowdfunding campaign and raised $350,000 for its restoration

Oshkosh, Wisconsin (CNN) The plane with an ominous message for Adolf Hitler painted on its nose sat vacant in a boneyard, mere weeks from being torn apart.

The yellow letters read "That's All Brother" -- brother as in Hitler -- a statement of confidence that the reign of the Third Reich was about to end. The young men who flew it knew they'd be the first plane in formation, leading 800 behind them, inbound to Normandy on D-Day

The Douglas C-47 transport plane passed through 15 hands after World War II before being purchased by Basler Turbo Conversions, a company that breaks down old planes and turns them into modern ones. After the war, it was common for the armed forces to sell aircraft it no longer needed or even sink them in the ocean.

"It was right there on the production line," said Stephan Brown, president of the Commemorative Air Force, a nonprofit group based in Dallas that preserves old military planes and runs educational programs around the country. "This is a modern miracle."

The CAF has preserved at least one example of each type of aircraft flown by U.S. forces in World War II. And after a donor put up the money to buy the plane from Basler, the CAF ran a crowdfunding campaign and raised $350,000 for the restoration.

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