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October 2009 Mission Update! News from the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum |
Vol 10, 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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Upcoming Events at the Mighty Eighth |
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Veteran's Day
Come remember those who served our country. All military veterans will be recognized. Military veterans along with their families will receive half off of admission to the Museum.
November is Community Appreciation Month
The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum is continuing their initiative to encourage local citizens to take advantage of what is right here at home. The museum has dedicated November as Community Appreciation Month to the Coastal Empire and Low Country, and has reduced its regular admission rate of $10 for adults and $6 for kids to only $5 for adults and $3 for kids.
November 1 - 8
Pooler Residents
November 8 - 15
Liberty & Tatnall County Residents
November 15 - 22
Bulloch, Effingham, McIntosh & Long County Residents
November 22 - 29
Chatham, Jasper, Beaufort, & Bryan County Residents
In addition to the reduced admission rate, guests will also receive a 10% discount in the Museum Gift Store. This is the perfect time to visit the Museum and see our B-17 "City of Savannah."
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Model Airplane Building Class
Free children's model airplane building class & child's admission with the purchase of their model airplane; model airplanes will be on sale in the Museum Gift Store for $10. Unique models from the Museum's Archive Collection will be be on display. Classes will be held at 10 am, 1 pm, & 3 pm. Spaces are limited in each class, please call Heather at 912-748-8888 for reservations. |
Museum Update
by H enry Skipper |
We are actively working on two very significant projects simultaneously and are within weeks of completing the first of these, the 2nd Air Division Exhibit. This exhibit will highlight the remarkable story of the men and women who served in the Eighth Air Force - 2nd Air Division. This exhibit will occupy a very prominent location in the Museum's Combat Gallery and will feature narrative, three dimensional artifacts, photographs and video monitors designed to chronicle the history of the 2nd Air Division. The B-17 "City of Savannah" project is progressing smoothly. The project team, lead by Jerry McLaughlin is currently working 4 shifts. The initial cleaning of the aircraft, both the inside and the outside, is a very time consuming process and requires many man hours to complete. Jerry and his team, with the Museum's oversight, have developed a comprehensive strategic plan which will guide the restoration process from start to finish. We have invited the participation of restoration experts from all over the United States to review the plan and be a part of this process. The input we have received has been invaluable and has helped guide the volunteers as we go forward through the restoration. I will keep you up to date as we continue. If you would like to contribute to this significant restoration effort you will find information on the process below. Restoring this B-17 Flying Fortress to its original combat configuration is a lengthy and very expansive undertaking and all financial assistance is appreciated. In addition to these two projects we have plans to begin work on several other significant projects in the near future. We are in the process of negotiating a co-op arrangement with Savannah College of Art and Design to assist with design and construction of these projects. An arrangement like this would benefit both the Museum and the college. This would also allow more flexibility and the on site expertise to help us complete projects in less time and with less expense. |
"City of Savannah" |
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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Night at the Museum |
Bunking In!
Experience a Night at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum
Friday October 23 - Saturday, October 24, 2009
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 Biggest Little Christmas Party |
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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The Mighty Eighth Store |
The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum Gift Store has a new on line store. Thank you to all our loyal customers who have been so patient while we made our improvements. To show our appreciation we are offering FREE GROUND SHIPPING on all orders placed in the month of October!
Don't forget it's not too early to start your Christmas shopping.

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Call for Volunteers |
 Do you have a few spare hours? Need something to fun and exciting to do?
Do you enjoy meeting people from all over the country and World? If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum is the perfect place for you to volunteer your time.

To be a volunteer or for more information, please call Heather Thies, 912.748.8888 ext 106 or email her education@mightyeighth.org |
Colonel Albert J. Shower, CO 467th Bomb Group
by Vivian Rogers-Price |
Albert Joseph Shower (1910 - 2001) was the only group commander in the Eighth AF to move his group, the 467th Bomb Group, to its base in East Anglia, remain in command until after V-E Day, and then return his men to the United States. He assumed command of the 467th Bomb Group on 24 October 1943 prior to the group's detailed training at Wendover Field, Utah for fifteen weeks. He and the air echelon flew the southern route to their base at Rackheath, England, arriving on the 11th and 12th of March 1944. The ground echelon sailed across the Atlantic on the USAT Frederick Lykes. The group became operational on 10 April 1944 with a mission to Bourges. Colonel Shower led his group on this mission. He went on to fly 24 combat missions to Germany and enemy occupied territory. On each mission he flew in a lead position for Squadron, Group, Combat Wing or Division. He insisted on flying tight formation and bombing accuracy. Under his leadership the 467th Bomb Group earned the best overall standing for bombing accuracy in the Eighth Air Force and set an unsurpassed record for accuracy on the 15 April 1945 mission to Royan. The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum recently received the Albert Joseph Shower Collection from his family. Included in this collection are the headphones and Type A-6 flight boots Colonel Shower wore on the missions he flew as well as his leather A-2 jacket with the 467th BG patch and the small medical kit packed specially by his wife, Damaris Elizabeth Snowden Smith Shower, for his use. The 467th Bomb Group (Heavy) Bombing Missions/Records recorded by Colonel Albert J. Shower, C.O. are also included in this collection.
Colonel Albert J. Shower wore both the headphones and A-6 flight boots on missions he led. The medical kit was packed for him by his wife in 1944 before he flew to England. |
Museum Volunteer Judy Roddy
by Heather Thies |
Judy Roddy Judy Roddy began volunteering at the Information Desk at the MightyEighth Air Force Museum seven years ago. She quickly moved upstairs to the library where she helps our librarian input names into our 8thAF Veteran Database and helps visitors locate information about their loved ones and friends in our vast 9,000 volume library located in the Roger E. Freeman Research Center.
WWII has always been present in Judy's life. By the time she was seven Judy could name all beaches the Allies invaded in Normandy on D-Day. Her first cousin was killed on the West Virginia at the attack on Pearl Harbor. She remembers him each year on the anniversary at the Navy League/Fleet Reserve's Pearl Harbor Memorial by reading a poem entitled "Voice From the Arizona." Another first cousin served as a Coast Guardsman in the North Atlantic. Two of Judy's uncles served in the Pacific Theater, one as a pilot and the other as an infantryman. Judy grew up in Nebraska City, Nebraska. While living in Chicago one year it snowed on Easter Sunday and Judy decided she was not going to live there anymore. So her and her husband sold their home and business and moved. They had frequently vacationed in Savannah after Judy read Midnight in the Garden and Good and Evil and had fallen in love with the area. They decided to move here so they could vacation somewhere else for a change. Judy has spent nine years as the Head of the Tour Guide Ministry for the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in the historic downtown area and both she and her husband are active in the Navy League. | |
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