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 September 2009
Mission Update! News from the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum |
Vol 9, Issue 1 |
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175 Bourne Ave
Pooler, GA 31322
912.748.8888
Open daily 9:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m.
(Closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving & Christmas) |
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| Thank you
from Henry Skipper |
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have joined the Museum, renewed your membership, made a special gift for special projects or operations, or supported the Museum in other ways. We made the difficult but necessary decisions early on and have taken many positive steps to help us move forward. 
There are many positives to report. Admissions and Store sales are up 15% and 8% respectively over 2008. The 2nd Air Division exhibit is scheduled to be completed mid-October. The 8th Air Force Historical Society agreed at their recent reunion in Cincinnati to conduct a fundraiser to help with the B-17 restoration, which is progressing smoothly. We have completed a re-do of the Roll of Honor exhibit, pictures of which are in this newsletter, and we will begin shortly a total renovation of the Colonial Group Art Gallery. This restoration is being funded by the Colonial Group Foundation.
Our real challenge is fundraising. Revenues from Admissions, Store sales, and Event Rentals cover only about half of our operating expenses. The balance has to come from Membership, Donations, and Grants. During these difficult economic times raising funds becomes a daunting task but one we are tackling daily.
Again, thank you for your support. We appreciate gifts of any size. Your support ensures that this vital institution will continue its mission of preserving stories of courage, character, and patriotism displayed by the men and women of the Eighth Air Force in WWII and providing inspiration for the people who visit us from all over the world. |
| Model Airplane Building Class |
 If you have a love of airplanes then The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum is the place you should have been on August 22.  The Museum's second Model Airplane building class this year drew over 100 people during the three classes. Heather Thies, education director at the museum, was dressed as Rosie the Riveter; lead the class of children ranging in age from 2-15. Parents as well as kids were learning the ins and outs of model airplane building. |
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"City of Savannah" |
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Contribute to the B-17 Project!
The B-17 "City of Savannah" restoration process is moving along nicely at its six month mark. It is currently graduating from maual labor and lots of sweat to actual restoration and re-equipping the aircraft. Volunteers sweat has gotten us through the first seven months of the project - now we are going to need significant financial backing to keep the project moving.
You can be a part of history and the
Museum's B-17 Project.
The Museum appreciates all financial gifts, and for $100 or more you will receive a certificate of participation, suitable for framing, which recognizes your part in this historic Museum event.
Please make all checks payable to
"B-17 Project" and mail to:
Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum
P. O. Box 1992
Savannah, GA 31402.
If you would like to pay by credit card, please call Tameka Ford at
912-748-8888 ext 101. |
| Home School Days!!! |
 Have your home school students come to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum for an amazing educational experience which includes a tour of the museum and hands on activities designed to help students understand the sacrifices of WWII by the men and women who fought and the Americans left behind on the Home Front.
Total cost: $5 per student - if your student brings a bag lunch a room will be available to eat in after the class
October 13 10:00am - 12:00pm
AGES 4-7 includes a Legends of Air tour with a focus on the planes and uniforms of the Eighth and hands-on activities.
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| The Biggest Little Christmas Party |
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Friday December 18, 2009; 6:30 - 11: 00 PM
The Mighty Eighth Events Department Presents the Biggest Little Christmas Party. Are you a small but fun business seeking an effortless, economical solution to your Christmas Party budget blues? Come Rock Around our Christmas Tree & join us for a Jingle Bell Rock!
For more information contact Holly Kirkpatrick 912.748.8888 x 160 | |
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| Night at the Museum |
Bunking In!
Experience a Night at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum
Experience the Museum at night with a unique tour by Rosie the Riveter, learn the techniques of a bombing mission, explore the combat gallery by flashlight and relax while watching a movie before bedtime. For more information |
Museum Staff
Brenda Elmgren
Director of Development
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Upcoming Features!
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Be sure to see our next edition of the "Mission Update!" online newsletter for the latest news, "What's New in the Archives", "World War II Memorial Updates", and much more.
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| Make your Donation Count! |
Would you like to make your donation to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum work harder? If your company has a matching gift program, you can double the impact of your contribution. Matching your gift is simple; ask your human resources department if your company has a matching gift program. Most companies have a short for you need to complete and send in with your donation. That's all there is to it! The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum will do the rest.
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| The Mighty Eighth Store |
The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum Gift Store is a unique shopping experience. In it you will find everything from clothing, jewelry, and books to models, patches and pins, and collectibles found nowhere else in this area.
Click on the link below to begin shopping today.
Uniquely crafted with inspired brush strokes and colorful glitter accents, this charming 3" glass ornament makes a wonderful gift the hero in your life! Handpainted with the U.S. Military Branch emblem, this ornament is made in the USA.   
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Joe Walters of the 381st Bomb Group By Mandy Livingston |
On August 27, 2009 the 381st Bomb Group visited the Museum as part of their reunion festivities. Joseph James Walters shared his experience as a ball turret gunner aboard the B-17 "Chug-A-Lug Lulu" during World War II.
 Mr. Walters' most memorable mission was his15th on August 17 1943, to Schweinfurt, Germany. Walters said, "It was a very important raid because, Schweinfurt was a source of ball bearings, which were very essential to the War and because of this it was very heavily defended." He recollects on their way back from bombing the target they were hit with anti-aircraft bullets which greatly damaged their plane and injured several of their crew members. Their B-17 could not continue flying in their formation and they had to fall back as the plane caught on fire. Being in the ball turret Mr. Walters had to manually operate it to get inside the aircraft to his parachute pack. "I was able to put it on but when I bailed out I failed to tighten my harness tight and as a result I pulled the ripcord too soon. The plane was going down so fast it was like hitting a brick wall. We were at about 20,000 feet and I lost consciousness," said Walters. When he regained conciousness he was floating down and had no idea where he would land. He landed in an apple tree. |
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Valor as a POW
by Vivian Rogers-Price |
 Colonel Henry Russell Spicer (later Major General) assumed command of the 357th Fighter Group on 17 February 1944. He flew a P-51 Mustang for the first time on the 19th of February and then flew a long mission to Leipzig the next day. From then on he led every group mission until he was shot down by flak on 5 March 1944. He bailed out into the English Channel and then drifted for two days in a one-man dinghy. Air Sea rescue boats and aircraft failed to find him. He finally drifted ashore near Cherbourg, France where German soldiers found him lying on the beach suffering from exposure and frostbitten hands and feet. The Nazis took him first to Oberursel, Germany for interrogation and medical treatment and then sent him to Stalag Luft I on 24 March 1944. At Stalag Luft I, Spicer became the Commanding Officer of North 2 Compound. He inspired his fellow POWs by challenging the German guards at every opportunity. Read full story  While a POW Henry Russell Spicer embroidered this view of a garden in England using several different stitches including the backstitch, split and stem stitches, chain and satin stitches, and French knots.
 1st Prize Needlecraft awarded Spicer's
English Garden in a 1944 POW Art Show
at Stalag Luft I
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| 8th Air Force Roll of Honor |
 The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum Roll of Honor book lists the individual names of each Eighth Air Force crewman known to have died while based on British soil between the years of 1943-1945. Each day a page in the open book is turned so that over the period of a year all names are shown, paying homage to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom and liberty. When all pages have been turned, the process begins again.
The Eighth Air Force Roll of Honor Book is available for viewing as a part of your
Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum tour experience.
The panel bookmark was designed and stitched by Betty Holck. The ground is Belgian linen and the threads are from England, France and the United States. She completed it on the week-end of the 65th Anniversary of D-Day and therefore on the back she dated it June 6, 2009.
The stone is white Georgia marble. |
| Museum Feature Story |
| Several months ago a 91-year-old gentleman and his son from Oregon came to the Mighty 8th Museum Library. He had been a pilot with the 8th and wondered if his name was in our data base. He told us which bomb group and squadron he had been in, so we got out the unit history books and found some information on his many missions.
He then told us about his childhood friend who had also been a pilot in the 8th, but in a different bomb group. He said the friend had not returned from his last mission, and no one could determine what had happened to him, his crew, or his plane. He knew the date his friend had gone missing, so by looking in the Missing Air Crew Report book we found his friend's name along with the crew, listed as MIA. We then searched the unit history books for that bomb group and found not only the friend's mission history, but also his picture. His plane had been shot down and exploded over the English Channel, with no survivors or parts of the plane ever found.
Upon seeing this, the gentleman started to cry, actually sobbed. His son cried too, as we all did. A very touching experience. The old pilot finally composed himself and said "Now I can go back to Oregon and tell my friend's family what happened to him. They have not known all these years". The friend had been married before he went to war, and had two children. These children and several grandchildren lived on the West Coast.
As an afterthought, we checked the American Battlefield Commission website and found the friend's name memorialized on a plaque at Cambridge. We printed out that information, and copied the relevant pages from the unit history books for the gentleman. He went away as happy as possible, considering the emotional experience he had just had.
By Judy Roddy |
| Museum Volunteer Tom Kiernan
by Heather Thies |
Tom Kiernan was born and raised in New York City. He grew up attending Catholic school and graduated from Fordham University with a B.A. in History. After graduation the Army commissioned him as a Second Lieutenant in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. With the escalation in Vietnam he joined the Special Forces and served all over Asia with two tours in Vietnam. On his third tour he served with the MACV in the Cords program and helped monitor the border.
During the Tet Offensive his unit was sent to retake a hill. He was in a trench talking with his commander who asked him if the VC were still in the area. Tom looked up out of the trench and was shot in the face. The bullet hit at an angle, hit his cheek and broke his glasses. He immediately reached up to check on his eye but was relieved when he poked himself in the eye which caused his lieutenant to break out in laughter. The broken glasses had done further damage to his face but he was able to bandage himself and finish the mission to recapture the hill. He credits his injury to temporarily forgetting his mother's advice when he joined the Army. She told Tom to stay close to the General and keep his head down. Tom's father had served in WWII so his mother had learned a thing or two from his experiences. Tom served nine years as an infantry officer, three years in Military Intelligence. He resigned as a Major having received the Combat Infantry Badge, Senior Parachute Badge, Airborne Tab, Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab, Silver Star, Purple Heart, Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.
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| Loss of a Dear Friend |
 Edward Watson Robarts - SYLVANIA - Edward Watson Robarts, of Sylvania died Saturday, August 22, at Ogeechee Area Hospice in Statesboro. He and his wife Betty volunteered for 14 years at the 8th Air Force Museum, beginning a year before it opened in 1996, and was a member of the Birthplace Chapter. He will be missed by us all. |
| Columbarium |
| The Garden of Folded Wings
 This magnificent Columbarium is located directly behind the Museum Chapel and incorporates beautiful granite surfaces, memorial towers, and natural areas, all in a beautiful setting. This is one of the worlds most important Columbaria, in the United States and we are proud to honor those who serve our country. For more information please call Peggy Harden at 912.748.8888 ext 103. or via e-mail at finance@mightyeighth.org | |
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| Tell Us What You Think! |
You are very important to us. We have created a short survey to help us improve membership privileges and encourage others to join. Please take a moment to answer the questions and offer suggestions. We are open to ideas and want to hear from you. Click here to begin the survey.
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