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Unbroken, A WWII story of survival, resilience and redemption.  

From Laura Hillenbrand, the bestselling author of Seabiscuit, comes Unbroken, the inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini--a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie's plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time. 

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Keep the Legacy Alive, Remember us in your will

Restoration Project Update

Sonny Koski 

Sonny Koski was born in Long Beach, California and raised in both Selma, Alabama and Fort Walton, Florida.  He attended the University of Alabama and earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering.  After graduation, he worked for The Southern Company for thirty seven years in fossil and hydro plants and later in nuclear plants throughout the South.  Sonny retired when his wife, Marlys, got cancer. He started volunteering at the museum four years ago when they were in Savannah for her chemotherapy.  The couple spent a lot of time in the Chapel of the Fallen Eagles in the Memorial Gardens of the museum.  Sonny feels that the people at the museum were there for him and Marlys while she was ill and with him after her passing and it is a debt he can never repay.  Sonny currently volunteers as a greeter, mission experience guide and tour guide twice a week.  

Teri Bell

The cherry tomato plant just outside my back door is heavy with round green balls. Within the next week, I will be able to pick my first fresh tomato. I can't wait!

I have already gone to produce stands and started buying vine-ripened tomatoes from Florida. For a couple of days, my late afternoon snack was a sliced juicy tomato laden with salt and fresh ground pepper.

I'm not prejudiced; whole, raw, cooked, dried or sauced, tomatoes are one of my favorite fruits. Yes, they are a fruit, botanically speaking. For culinary purposes, tomatoes are considered a vegetable. This confusing classification of fruit or vegetable has even been debated by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Tariff Act of 1833 imposed a tariff on vegetables, but not fruit. The debate over whether a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable wound its way through the court system with the Supreme Court declaring in 1887 that for tariff purposes, the tomato is a vegetable because it is consumed with the main meal and not as dessert.

The tomato is the state vegetable of New Jersey and the state fruit and vegetable of Arkansas. Whether you consider it a fruit or a vegetable, there isn't anything sweeter than a fresh, vine-ripened summer tomato.

Read Further

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE

2 pounds of fresh Roma tomatoes, washed and roughly chopped

1 large onion, peeled and diced

1 stick of butter

1 teaspoon salt

Salt and pepper to taste

Basic Tomato Sauce Recipe

On the 11 April 1944 mission, Luftwaffe fighters attacked and seriously damaged 305th Bomb Group Pilot Edward Michael's B-17 Flying Fortress.  Both he and his co-pilot were severely wounded and the cockpit instruments were damaged.  Smoke and hydraulic fluid vapor filled the cockpit, and a fire ignited incendiary munitions in the bomb bay.  Michael ordered his crew to abandon the aircraft, resulting in seven of his men bailing out.  As he and his co-pilot prepared to follow, he discovered that his bombardier was still on board with a parachute shredded by 20mm. shell fragments.  Refusing to abandon his fellow officer, Michael along with his co-pilot, remained with the aircraft.  Enemy fighters chased Michael's B-17 for 45 minutes until he was able to fly into a cloud bank to avoid their attacks.  When he emerged, he found he was flying at treetop level near an enemy antiaircraft tower that fired on and hit the already badly damaged aircraft.  At this point in the battle Michael lost consciousness due to loss of blood, and his co-pilot flew the aircraft until Michael regained consciousness as they approached their base at Chelveston, England.  Michael took over the controls of the aircraft and successfully completed a wheels-up landing without the use of any instruments.  Michael returned to the United States for treatment of his injuries.  He continued as an active duty officer and retired as a lieutenant colonel. 

Recently Mrs. Louise Michael donated Edward Michael's USAF uniform to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum.  Complete with all of Michael's ribbons, it stands as a tribute to his valor.  

The Battle of France

By Museum Volunteer Gary Silver

The German Strategy

The Battle of France began with the German blitzkrieg of France and the Low Countries starting on 10 May 1940, which followed on Hitler's stunning invasion and occupation of Denmark and Norway.  The attack consisted of two carefully coordinated main operations.  In the first (code named Case Yellow), German Army Group B, positioned along Germany's western frontier, overran neutral Luxembourg, Holland, and Belgium despite heroic but unsuccessful resistance by the Dutch and Belgian armies.  An Allied force, comprised of the 40 best divisions of France's 100 division western force and 10 divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and deployed along the Franco-Belgian border, then advanced into central Belgium to stop what they believed was the main German thrust.  This critical movement by the Allies signaled the second phase of the operation (code named Case Red), in which elite panzer and infantry divisions of German Army Group A broke through the lightly guarded Ardennes Forest into France, then made a right turn and advanced to the coast.  After only ten days, Hitler's panzers reached the English Channel at Abbeville, splitting the Allied armies in two.  All the Germans had to do to trap the Allies with no hope of escape was turn north and sweep along the almost undefended channel coast. 

The Maginot Line

Looking back, it is interesting to note that reports received by the French high command of 50 German divisions massing in the Ardennes were ignored - undoubtedly because that section of the border was considered "impenetrable" (particularly to tanks).  In any case, the French commander, General Maurice Gamelin did nothing, preferring to "await events."  Of course, the entire German battle plan had been based upon what everyone knew beforehand - that France's Maginot Line would be outflanked.  This enormous and costly fortification faced towards Germany was a 20th century wonder, complete with living space for 40 divisions of the French Army, including an underground railroad. The French had based their entire defensive strategy on it, but the Maginot Line had a fatal flaw: it ran the entire length of France's eastern border, from Switzerland up to Belgium, but did not did extend along the Franco-Belgian border.  The Ardennes Forest section had been disregarded, and the Line did not run along the remaining border with Belgium because the countries had signed an alliance in 1920, which stated the French Army would operate in Belgium if German forces invaded.  However, when Belgium declared neutrality in 1936 and abrogated the treaty, the French hastily started extending the Line along portions of the Franco-Belgian border, but built it to a considerably inferior standard.  Consequently, the Maginot Line failed as a deterrent against any German thrust into France.  As for its impregnability, the German Army did attack the Maginot Line in a later stage of the battle but from its rear (the French side) - which was indefensible - causing the huge French garrison to quickly surrender. 

Read Further

June 2-5, 1944. Operation Fortitude begins in support of the deception plan for the Normandy invasion. 521 B-17's and 284 B-24's attack targets in the Pas de Calais with 2,506 tons of bombs on June 2. On June 3, 534 bombers dropped 1,580 tons of bombs in two raids. Bombers were escorted by 439 fighters on the second day. On June 4, 509 bombers, escorted by 352 fighters, dropped 1,462 tons of bombs on Pas de Calais. 214 B-24's with 412 escorts also hit targets near Paris. On June 5, 626 bombers, escorted by 372 fighters, attacked Cherbourg and Pas de Calais. Six bombers and two fighters were lost.

June 6, 1944. D-Day! Big day for the 8^th Air Force in support of the invasion. Mission 394 saw 1,114 bombers attack invasion beaches with 3,205 tons of bombs. Mission 395 sent 508 B-17's and B-24's to Caen and the beach-heads. 555 P-38's 414 P-47's and 750 P-51's from the VIII and IX Fighter Commands were on continuous escort and sweep duty.

June 21-22, 1944. Operation Frantic: 114 B-17's and 71 fighters land in Russia after attacking oil targets but were detected. The Germans dropped 110 tons of bombs on the US aircraft that night, destroying 43 B-17's 15 Mustangs and 450,000 gallons of gas. The Russians refused to let fighters engage the Germans.

On June 10, 2011 you and your family could learn what it would have been like to be a member of the Eighth Air Force during World War II. A mission briefing and dinner will kick off the night.... Click here for more information Family Night Info

For more information please contact Peggy Harden