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Victory in Europe Day 65th Anniversary
a time to reflect, then and now
You likely have seen the newsreel footage and the famous photos taken on May 8th, 1945, when the Allies officially declared victory in Europe: the war against Germany was won. London erupted in spontaneous celebrations that drew hundreds of thousands of revelers, the crowds made it truly impossible to walk in Paris, and tens of thousands of New Yorkers took to the streets as Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia admonished them via loudspeakers "to behave themselves."
"Yank", the weekly publication of the U. S. Army, enlisted the support of civilian writers across the country to provide perspectives on how other cities celebrated. Perhaps not surprisingly, most other major American cities saw no celebrations. Because Americans knew that the job was half done, warfare was raging in Asia, as we prepared to assault the Japanese homeland if necessary to end the conflict.
But as the World War II generation passes, and their daughters and sons age, too, do succeeding generations know what "VE Day" means? Do they understand the significance of it all? The National Museum of World War II Aviation will add its voice to those of other museums that focus on World War II, but we will bring a unique perspective to the discussion.
 General Carl Spaatz's brilliant insight into the importance of fuel to Germany because a central strategy of the bombing that brought Hitler's Third Reich to its demise in good part by ending the German Luftwaffe's ability to fly at will.
But General Spaatz correctly and very appropriately understood the role that each soldier, seaman and airman played in the war when he said the Allies "could not have won this war alone without the surface forces. It was won by the coordination of land, sea and air forces."
General Spaatz was present when Germany surrendered and also months later when the Japanese surrendered. We can only imagine his sense of accomplishment.
The way we see it, the best tribute that we can pass along to the World War II generation is to promote understanding of the talent, sense of purpose and hard work they brought to the task of building, deploying and continually refining America's airpower during the war. That is the mission, the duty and the proud task ahead as we build the National Museum of World War II Aviation.
More good news!
The National Museum of World War II Aviation is the subject of three excellent news stories in leading aircraft enthusiast publications. Click here to see those stories on our website
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