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 October 2010
Mission Update! News from the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum |
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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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| Premiere Event | |
The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum,
The History Channel & Lou Reda Productions
Present a World Premiere
"Air War"
8:00 pm on Saturday, October 23, 2010
at the Lucas Theater in Historic Downtown Savannah
for more information call the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum 912.748.8888
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| Modeling at the Mighty Eighth
Intermediate to Advanced Model Building |
On Saturday, October 16, 2010 from 9 am to 3 pm the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum will be hosting "Modeling at the Mighty Eighth", an intermediate to advanced model building seminar.
Master modelers Floyd S. Werner Jr., Dave Powell and Savannah native Rafe Morrissey will reveal all of the tricks and techniques needed to build top quality replicas of your favorite aircrafts.
Over three sessions the master modelers will discuss: Modeling Basics, Painting Basics and Advanced Techniques. Modelers can attend this full day seminar for $25. Spaces are limited so to save your spot in the building class, please contact Heather at 912-748-8888 or at education@mightyeighth.org. Intermediate to advanced modelers can all benefit from this special one day seminar.
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| The B-17 Flying Fortress 5K | |
The 5K run/walk is to benefit the restoration of the Museum's B-17 the "City of Savannah". Runners will begin the 5K course at the Museum and wind their way through the sprawling campus of fellow neighbor JCB, ending back at the Museum. Registration is $25!
Register Online! |
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2nd Annual "Biggest Little Christmas Party"
Friday, December 17, 2010
|  You might consider this a bit early to start your Christmas plans, but the Events Department is already full of activity with December bookings. And what a super event they have lined up for anyone who wishes to join us! After last year's success, the "Biggest Little Christmas Party" is in high demand by our local businesses. It is a fun, economical and effortless solution to celebrate with co-workers and mingle with other area businesses. Tables of ten (10) include DJ, dinner in our magnificently decorated Rotunda and a cash bar. Come rock around our Christmas tree - - last year, over 250 people did! For more information call the events department 912.748.8888
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Would You Like To Become A Volunteer???
| I WANT YOU TO BE A MIGHTY EIGHTH AIR
FORCE MUSEUM VOLUNTEER!!!
 We are looking for a
few good men and women. Do you like to
meet new people from all over the world?
Positions are open for greeters, tour guides, library aids, mission
experience guides and more. Be a Mighty Eighth Air
Force Museum
Volunteer. Contact the Education
department today!
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Join Today!
| Become a member of one of the world's most powerful Museums.
If you are passionate about America, if you believe that preserving traditions, loyalty, democracy, and freedom is 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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Follow us!
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View past Newsletters!
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| Museum Gift Store | Are you looking for unusual desk top items? We have a wonderful selection of globes, paper weights, compasses, lamps and clocks. Check out our great new merchandise selection and of course don't forget the old. Our propellers are still a great item to decorate your office or your den. What office wouldn't be complete without an extensive selection of books? Choose from "Masters of the Air" to "Jimmy Stewart Bomber" Pilot or "W.O.W."
If you're looking for that hard to buy for friend or relative, think about one of our many baseball caps or t-shirts. For our coffee lovers we have custom mugs filled with coffee and a chocolate spoon. If you're a tea lover try one of our mugs filled with tea from the Charleston, SC Tea Plantation. This is the only tea grown in the USA.
Browse our web site and if you have questions, e-mail or call Tameka. She is our expert on e-commerce. Tameka's e-mail is shopping@mightyeighth.org or you can reach her by phone at 912-748-8888 ext 101.
 
2011 B-24 & B-17 Calendars have arrived!!! $12.99
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Restoration Project Update |
A major milestone in the City of Savannah's restoration took place this September! Employees from Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation donated their time and expertise to paint the interior of the B-17's fuselage back to its original color.
Danny Harden. | On September 22, 2010, the restoration project's day crew arrived to find most of the shop area filled with state of the art aircraft painting equipment that had been delivered the day before by Gulfstream Aerospace. The equipment was delivered by Gulfstream Employee Jim Argo, who is the restoration project's Special Projects Supervisor. Jim, along with fellow co-workers Tony Hall and Frank Quirk, advised Wednesday's crew on what needed to be done outside the airplane before painting could begin. Several hours later the tail of the aircraft was covered in a large plastic tent from which three tubes led to the outside of the Museum. A fourth tube ran out of the left waist gun window.
Frank Quirk & Tony Hall | In this maze was a refrigerator sized filter which renders the overspray of paint from inside the airplane to an environmental safe level as it is sucked from the fuselage and out the shop door of the Museum. Another group of hoses entered the Museum for the compressor which powered all this equipment from the Memorial Gardens area. All this equipment, and the professional services of Frank and Tony, would not have been available to us were it not for Jim. A special "Thank You" needs to be sent to these three gentlemen for working on their days off to get our airplane painted.
Plans call for Jim, Frank and Tony to return to the Museum in October and complete the interior painting in the bomb bay, cockpit and nose of the aircraft.
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.
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Museum Volunteer Harry Katzman
by Heather Thies | Harry Katzman
Harry Katzman | Harry Katzman enlisted in the USAAF on November 14, 1942. He completed basic training, three months of flight training on a B-17, and was then transferred to B-29 training. After training, he was one of sixty men sent to the Accelerating Service Testing Branch to help make the B-29 battle ready. Lt. Col. Paul Tibbets was the test pilot assigned to ASTB. ASTB lasted two months and then Harry was sent to twelve weeks of B-24 Liberator training in Salina, KS. He was now assigned for combat duty and left Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah, Georgia to fly the southern route from Savannah to Brazil to North Africa then to England. Harry and his crew arrived in England and home station at Horsham St. Faith, Norwich on January 29, 1944. They were assigned to the 458th Bombardment group, 753rd Bombardment squadron.
After stowing their belongings in their Nissen Huts, they began three weeks of formation flying training to practice the five different formations they would use against the Luftwaffe for different bombing missions. All bomb groups had a different formation plane they learned to identify upon arrival to their airfield. The formation plane flew in the sky ahead of them to indicate where they belonged in the formation. The 458th BG's formation plane had the nose and wings painted white with red and black circles and the remainder of the fuselage was olive drab with yellow and red circles. During practice training missions they also were used as diversions to draw the Luftwaffe away from the real mission to the target of the day. By doing this, the crews were getting the experience of what they would be up against. Harry says it was a sobering thing to learn what the future missions would be like and what it would take to make it through the war. After this, crews were cleared to proceed for daylight precision bombing missions. 
Harry and his crew were awakened on February 24 at 3 a.m. for their first mission. After their powdered eggs and coffee they were briefed for a mission to the Saarbrucken Industrial area. After a ground check of the aircraft they started their engines about 7a.m., took off at 30 second intervals, formed up and checked their guns over the English Channel. Over the Netherlands the formation hit German anti-aircraft gun FLAK but the P-51's intercepted much of the Luftwaffe attack. They passed over Eindhoven, Holland into Germany west of Dusseldorf and then further down between Cologne and Aachen avoiding FLAK installations. They continued between the Rhein and Belgium and later over Luxembourg until they reached the western side of Neunkirchen. Neunkirchen was the initial point so the planes turned southwest and the B-24 was turned over to the bombardier. Their bomb results were good considering the amount of FLAK. They returned to Horsham St. Faith west over France and Belgium. Although they had several bullet holes from the German fighters all the crew was safe. Theirs was a good first mission.
Read Further
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Feature Exhibit
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2nd Air Division
 The newest exhibit in the museum, Second to None- The Remarkable Story of the Men and Women of the Mighty
Eighth Air Force Second Air Division, is dedicated to telling the history
of the Second Air Division of the Eighth Air Force during WWII. The Second Air
Division was the only Eighth AF air division to fly the Consolidated B-24
Liberator for the entire war. The 2ndAD flew almost 94,000 sorties or over 400 operational missions dropping over
195,000 tons of bombs from their first bombing mission on November 7, 1942 to their
last mission on April
25, 1945. At maximum strength the 2nd AD had 9,000
officers and 45,000 enlisted men with a total of 150,000 men serving during the
war. Almost 6,700 men lost their lives. The exhibit is located in the Combat Gallery
close to the doors exiting out into the Memorial Gardens
and features descriptively worded panels, photos, video, art work and
artifacts.The "Fightin' Sam" B-24 nose
section is sitting near the exhibit so visitors can view a portion of the type of plane flown by the 2ndAD bombardment groups. The beginning of the exhibit features the painting In Das Hornissen Nest by Randy Green. The exhibit panels open with the design and
construction of the B-24 in 1939 then move into the formation of the Second Air
Division and a description of its combat wings and formation planes. The missions of the air division are detailed
from their earliest missions with a smaller number of planes into their larger
scale missions in the war with planes by the hundreds. Several panels highlight the role of the
bombers and fighters assigned to the 2nd AD in Big Week, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge and
other missions. The Second Air Division was funded by the generous donations of
veterans of the Second Air Division, their families, friends and loyal
supporters of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum.
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Harvey J. Dominick; One of the 512 Americans Rescued by Operation Haylard
by Dr. Vivian Rogers-Price | |
Harvey J. Dominick wearing his A-2 jacket and scarf during World War II  | Harvey J. Dominick flew his first mission with the 461st Bomb Group on 26 August 1944. As the formation of B-24s left the target in Bucharest, Rumania, the Liberator with Dominick flying as nose gunner was hit by flak and began to lose speed and altitude. As they neared the Adriatic Sea, the entire crew bailed out over Yugoslavia landing in mountainous terrain. Dominick landed in a tree and then managed to get out of his parachute harness and climb down to the ground. He found a hiding place farther down the mountain and hid in a small cave. He heard Germans searching the area, but he was well hidden. Once darkness fell, the Germans left. That night in the moonlight, Dominick saw someone with a flock of sheep on the road below his hiding place. He decided to wait until the next night to climb down to the road. The next night the person with the sheep was again visible. Dominick climbed down and met the Yugoslavian girl who was guarding the sheep. To identify himself as an American he pointed to his flight jacket and name. She showed him a hiding place near the road and left. A short time later she returned with three Partisans who took him to their camp. He stayed with the Partisans for about a month and then was airlifted out of Yugoslavia by a C-47 and flown to Bari, Italy. This airlift was part of Operation Halyard organized by the OSS that rescued over 500 downed American airmen from behind enemy lines in Yugoslaviabetween 9 August 1944 and 27 December 1944. From Bari, Italy, Dominick returned to his Bomb Group and flew an additional 35 missions to complete his tour of duty.
Harvey J. Dominick's service is honored by his great granddaughter's salute while
visiting the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum | |
EOA Volunteer Luncheon
|  The Economic Opportunity Authority of Savannah held its annual Volunteer Appreciation luncheon. The Mighty 8th volunteers involved in this program were honored for having nearly 2,000 hours.
Pictured: Al and Louise Pela, Daisy Davis, Del Lamb, and Jack Marvin.
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| Tiger Den Cub Scouts Pack 7
| Tiger Den Cub Scouts in Pack 7 from the Georgetown area of
Savannah presented the museum with a thank you card after
their tour on September 19.
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| Tell Us What You Think! |
You are very important to us. Your comments and suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
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