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 July 2010
Mission Update! News from the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum | Vol 7, Issue 4
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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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| Flying Fortress 5K Run |
 Registration is now open for the "Flying Fortress 5K Run"
Saturday, November 6, 2010
8:30 am
The 5K (3.1 mile) Run is to benefit the restoration of the Museum's B-17 the "City of Savannah". Runners will begin the 5K course at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum and wind their way through the sprawling campus of fellow neighbor JCB, ending back at the Museum.
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| Flying Legends Summer Camp 2010 | Extended Day summer campers holding their P-51 model airplanes. This summer the Mighty Eighth offered an extended day summer camp for children during the week of June 21. During the afternoon, summer campers made glue-together models of the P-51 Mustang. They learned the significance of the P-51 in the air war over Europe and the attributes of the plane.
Flying Legends is a day camp that is PERFECT for kids ages 6 -11 years old. Heather Thies, our Education Director, teaches about children on the home front, airplane navigation, bombardier and pilot training during WWII and much more!
Half Day Camp 9 am - 12 pm
Snack included
July 19 - 23
August 2 - 6
Register today! For more information please call
Heather Thies 912-748-8888 |
| LMI Aerospace, Inc. Donation | |
On Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Museum President Henry Skipper and B-17 Resotration Project Manager Jerry McLaughlin received multiple key items for the B-17 Restoration Prjoect from local LMI Aerospace Inc representatives Phil Lajeunesse & David Pinegar.
Mr. Skipper was presented with the right cheek blister, new skin panels, the navigators dome fairing, two ailerons, new fabric covering of the aircrafts control surfaces, two elevators, a Bombay door, and a rutter.
LMI Aerospace's local branch is contributing many thousands of dollars worth of materials and services to the Museum's B-17 restoration project. Additionally LMI associates have donated well over 300 hours of manual labor to the manufacturing and restoration of these items for this project as they are not current manufactured items.
The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum would like to thank LMI Aerospace for being the B-17 Restoration Project's largest corporate sponsor! |
| Miles Foundation Contribution | |
On Friday June 18, 2010, The Miles Foundation, an educational foundation in North Texas, donated their collection of letters and papers from WWII to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum. The collection was that of Ellison Miles, an oilman from Liberty, TX, who was a B-17 pilot in the 92nd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force, flying the Fortress "Woolaroc" in 25 missions over Occupied Europe.
In cataloguing the collection prior to donating it to the museum, the Foundation made contact with the last surviving member of the "Woolaroc's" crew. Glenn Phillippe of Big Spring, TX. He was the ball turret gunner for the aircraft, eventually flying 29 missions. In all, he served this country in the USAF for 20 years. Mr. Phillippe, his wife Laura, and their family made the trip from West Texas to Pooler and were present for the dedication of the Miles Collection. The Miles Foundation is grateful to Mr. Phillippe for his memories of his service with Mr. Miles and his service in WWII and beyond. |
| Colonial Group Inc., Art Gallery | |
The "Permanent Collection Exhibit" selected by guest Curator, Keith Ferris.
This exhibit features 64 paintings by artists from around the world who specialize in aerospace subjects. |
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Join Today!
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If you are passionate about America, if you believe that preserving traditions, loyalty, democracy, and freedom are more important than ever, and if you appreciate the sacrifice of the men and women who continue to defend our freedom today, then you need to become a member of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum today!
For more information and to join, please click on the link below
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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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View past Newsletters!
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Oral History
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Lt. Col. F.C. "Hap" Chandler
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As a LEAD navigator of a B24, Hap takes us through his WWII experience in the skies over war ravaged Europe. From mercy missions delivering sacks of flour for the bakers of Paris, to Operation Market Garden and the Allied bombing of
German cities, Hap's vivid recollection puts you right there amongst the flak, German Fighters and bitter cold. An
incredible short story from a
remarkable veteran of the
Mighty Eighth Air Force.
To purchase this remarkable Oral History follow the link below
Available now for $14.99
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Museum Gift 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.
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Fred Gretsch Visits Namesake Display at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum
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Gretsch Victory Guitar  | Fred Gretsch, president of Fred W. Gretsch Enterprises Ltd., recently visited a special Gretsch guitar at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, Ga. The museum, which is devoted to the history of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, is two blocks from Gretsch headquarters and counts Fred Gretsch as a lifetime member and enthusiastic supporter.
While at the museum, Fred Gretsch made it a point to revisit a display with which he had significant personal involvement. At a musical instrument show in Nashville in 2004, he'd seen a highly unusual Gretsch 6120 guitar custom made by craftsman Chris Fleming and painted by noted California artist and World War II history buff Sara Ray. This distinctive instrument was named the Gretsch 6120 Victory Guitar, and as soon as Fred Gretsch saw it, he knew he had to bring it to Georgia for display in the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum.
The 6120's shape reminded Ray of the bombers she'd become so familiar with from studying the history of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. She thought it looked "as though it should have wings on it" and was inspired to create a graphic work honoring those who served during the war. She chose the guitar as her canvas, saying, "The Gretsch gives my art a voice."
The front of the guitar depicts an airborne eagle holding the shield of freedom, and a winged number eight that honors the unit's numeric designation. The back depicts a B-17 Flying Fortress and a rivet gun-wielding pin-up girl who represents U.S. women who served during World War II. The guitar's volume knobs are made from Air Force coat buttons donated by a friend of Ray who flew many missions during the war.
Fred Gretsch bought the guitar shortly after Ray finished it on June 6, 2004 the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Later that year he donated it to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, where it has been proudly displayed in the building's rotunda ever since.
"I'm proud to have the Gretsch family name associated with such a beautiful tribute to those who served so valiantly in the Mighty Eighth Air Force," Gretsch said.
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Restoration Project Update |
The B-17 Restoration crews have successfully completed Phase 1 of the Restoration Project: removal of preservative coatings and materials applied to the aircraft, as well as 30 years of operational debris residue that accumulated on the aircraft.
 The crew members are focusing on the interior of the B-17 with all team members applying paint stripper throughout the fuselage. 60 years of layered paint is being removed.
All of the parts and equipment from the B-17 have been removed from the aircraft and have been meticulously catalogued. This is a major step in beginning to re-equip the aircraft with her operational equipment which would have been on the original "City of Savannah".
The goal of our restoration is to have the B-17, "City of Savannah" restored to its original factory condition. 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 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 make a donation by credit card, please call Tameka Ford at
912-748-8888 ext. 101. |
An Encounter Remembered
by Vivian Rogers-Price
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Adolph Carbone and Royce Colby attended the dedication on 20 May 2010. On 17 June 2010 Carbone visited the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum and recorded his story in an oral history interview.  | On the 26 November 1944 mission to
bomb the
Hanover/Misberg oil refinery the 491st BG was attacked by numerous
enemy fighters. During the fierce air
battle in which about half of their B-24s were lost, the 491st successfully
fought off their attackers and bombed the target. For this action the group received the Distinguished
Unit Citation and Gunner Adolph V. Carbone was awarded the Silver Star. After the battle, Carbone and his crew were
flying a damaged aircraft with only two engines, and he and Gunner Lee A.
Taylor were seriously wounded. The Pilot
Harold E. Lanning managed to fly the stricken Liberator to Belgium. Near the town of Leefdaal, he ordered the crew to bail out. They had made it to Allied lines! Carbone was treated at a local hospital and
recovered. Taylor died from his wounds.
Sixty-six years later the three remaining
crewmembers, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Henry J. Latimore, Jr., the
bombardier; Royce V. Colby, the radio operator; and Adolph V. Carbone, one of
the waist gunners, returned to Leefdaal, Belgium for the 20 May 2010 dedication
of a monument honoring their crew.
This Memorial was erected to commemorate the 26 November 1944 B-24 Liberator crash and the crew who lost a comrade in arms, S/Sgt. Lee A. Taylor that day.  |
Dirk
Vander Hulst who uncovered the history of this crashed B-24 and members of the
Patton Drivers - Leuven Centraal, a World War II re-enactors' group planned this
ceremony attended by several hundred townspeople, Belgian political and
military officials, American and Belgian veterans, and U.S. Ambassador to the
Kingdom of Belgium, Howard Gutman. The
monument to this B-24 crew stands at their Liberator's crash site and uses
bricks from the house their B-24 destroyed when it crashed.
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Museum Volunteer Jim Mulder
by Heather Thies
|  Jim Mulder was born in Brooklyn, New
York. After
the death of his mother when he was four, Jim lived with his Uncle Wilhelm
DeWolf's family in Holland and returned to New York in 1934. His sister Alice lived in Rotterdam with their grandmother until 1946. During the war she harvested tulip bulbs for
food. Jim enlisted in the Army Air Corps
in 1942 after attending Queens
College for two
years. Jim trained as a
bombardier/navigator and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. The Army Air Corps assigned him to the 8thAF,
549th Squadron, 385th Bombardment Group at Great
Ashfield, England.
 On October 6, 1944 Jim's unit flew
a bombing mission to a ball bearing factory outside Berlin. It would be his twelfth and last mission. The 385thBG was the last group
over the target and the 549th was the last squadron in the
group. Jim's plane Back in the Sack was the
last plane in the formation, "tail end Charlie." All eleven B-17G's from Jim's squadron flying
that day were lost. Of the one hundred crewmen
in those aircraft, fifty-five were killed in action, seven were reported
missing in action and presumed dead and thirty eight were captured.
Read further
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Feature Exhibit
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Children Garden
The Museum's Memorial
Garden lies outside the
rear of the museum to remember those who have served in the Eighth Air Force as
well as those who love and respect them.
Inside the Memorial garden is The Children Garden. The Children Garden is a reminder that
unfortunate tragedies can occur in war. During
a routine test flight a devastating accident occurred. A plaque in the garden
explains:
"BAD
2 Warton, England, (Base Air Depot Number 2
Station 582 USAAF) was established under the 8th Air Force Service
Command, September 5, 1942. Its mission:
the modification and repair of military aircraft. War planes coming from the United States
would be adapted to meet special requirements of the European Theater of
Operations. Battle damaged aircraft would have to be
repaired, perhaps whole sections rebuilt.
A ferrying squadron was needed to get planes to Warton (from fields
where they originally landed) and later delivered to combat units. By summer, 1944, there were 10,000 Americans
at Warton, working around the clock.
Twenty
nine "Wartoneers" gave their lives for their Country.
On
August 23, 1944, two recently repaired B-24 (Liberator) bombers were on test
flights. Word came from Brig. Gen. Isaac
Ott's headquarters of an impending storm.
All planes were ordered to land immediately. The pilots attempted to, but the storm was of
such intensity, it was impossible.
Witnesses saw the plane piloted by Lt. John Bloemendal struck by
lightning. It crashed into a school in
the Village of Freckleton. Sixty one persons died, including 38
five-year-old children, trapped in the nursery classroom. The second plane was driven almost to the
ground and flew ten miles at tree top level before getting out of the
storm. Five children were pulled out of
the burning classroom. Two died in the Base Hospital.
At
that time, this was the second worst crash in aviation history."
The Children Garden was created by the Base Air Depot 2
Association as a beautiful lush memorial to the children, teachers, air crew
and base personnel lost in the accident.
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