America celebrated Veterans Day this past November 11th, but every day is Veterans Day at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum.  Greeting veterans from all branches of the service and all conflicts from WWII to the present is literally a daily occurrence at the Museum.

Thanking our veterans for their service is important but that alone is not enough.  We believe that it is our responsibility to not only honor our veterans, but to ensure that people (especially young people) have an appreciation and knowledge of history and just how important to our country the sacrifices made by our veterans are. The Museum teaches the lessons of history. Our main focus has always been on WWII but our goal is to eventually bring the history of subsequent conflicts to life in the exhibit space of the Museum.

The Mighty Eighth has never been just an airplane museum.  It is and will always be primarily a "story" museum.  Focusing on the stories of the groups within the 8th Air Force and the individual stories of the men who served are the essence of what we do.  Through thousands of original documents, group histories, oral histories, personal diaries and accounts, we are able to bring the missions of the 8th Air Force in WWII to life to our visitors.  Doing this almost always leaves visitors with a meaningful and emotional experience they will not forget.  I believe this is the best way to teach history, making the subject matter so engaging and important that people want to know more.  It is especially powerful for kids.

I hope you will plan a trip to this great museum and see firsthand all we are doing to preserve and teach history and honor the great men and women of our armed services.  Finally, I hope that you will help support the museum and our mission.

 

Are you looking for a great gift for the children in your life?  We can help!  We have pilot suits or camo suits for your young pilot or soldier.  These great suits are perfect for pretend play.  

Let their imaginations go wild.

 Follow this QR Code for extra savings!

Shop the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum Gift Store Today!

Darrell has been with the City of Savannah project from its early days in 2009.  A lifelong love for airplanes attracted him to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum and then to the City of Savannah project.  Skilled in conducting many household type restoration repairs, Darrell has brought those skills, and more, to his work with the B-17, including metal cleaning, painting, and carpentry.  His most renowned accomplishments, however, have been as a road warrior.  He has taken two trips to the Midwest to bring back parts for the airplane.  Unforeseen problems with corporate bureaucracy and technical issues did not deter Darrell nor have him sit down and call for help.  He completed the missions and got the job done. 

Darrell retired in 2002 as the vice-president of a commercial construction company.  He and his wife moved to Savannah in 2006 after spending 30 years in Colorado, where he was a very busy guy. His hobbies included carpentry, kayaking and snow skiing. He started his volunteer activities very early, working with wild mustang roundups and handicapped children at the Praying Hands Ranch. He also put in 43 seasons officiating high school and college football games. Darrell grew up in Southern California and attended California State University at Northridge.  He has four children, a step-daughter and seven grandchildren.

Congratulations to Darrell for being named to the 100 + hours group on the City of Savannah project for the third consecutive year in 2012.

In 1927, the City of Savannah purchased 900 acres of land just outside the city limits for the area's first airport.  After almost three years of mostly chain-gang labor the land was graded, irrigated and a 4500 feet long runway was constructed, which allowed planes to take off and land in any direction.  On September 20, 1929, a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker named "The City of Savannah" became the first aircraft to land, "inaugurating the Eastern Air Express New York to Miami service"[1]. 

After the stock market crashed one month later, Eastern Air Express went out of business and no regular flights came in or out of Savannah for the next several years.  President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) gave financial contributions to help make improvements to the airfield in the late 1930's.  In May, 1940 the airport would receive its official name, "Hunter Field".  It was named after native Savannahian Frank O'Driscoll Hunter, Georgia's only World War I flying ace. 

In preparation for U.S. involvement in World War II, the Air Corps was bolstered.   Hunter Field was selected as a training base for light bombers and the airfield was shared with civilian aircraft in 1940-1941.  Within 9 months, the military had sent over 3,000 personnel and added over 220 facilities to the base, including a hospital, barracks and hangars.  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941, Hunter Field went through many additions, adding more runways and training facilities.  Between 1941 and 1943, the base was expanded from 900 acres to 3000 acres and had over 10,000 people stationed there.

The USAAF made Hunter Field a staging base for air crews and aircraft to be transferred to combat operations in Europe.  Over the next two years, Hunter Field processed 9000 aircraft and 70,000 crewmen[2] on their way to the European/Mediterranean theatre.  After Germany's surrender in May 1945, returning crews from Europe were processed back through Hunter Field in anticipation of a new deployment to the South Pacific.  Preparations were halted after the atomic bombs were dropped in August 1945, leading to Japan's unconditional surrender.  Once the war was over, Hunter Field was converted back to a municipal airport.

With the cold war looming in the late 1940's and early 1950's, Strategic Air Command (SAC) designated Chatham Field, an airfield just west of Savannah, as a base for bombers.  However, Chatham Field was inadequate in operation facilities and barracks.  To keep SAC in the Savannah Area, the city offered to exchange Hunter Field for Chatham Field and the switch was made in 1950.  Hunter Field became Hunter Air Force Base and Chatham Field became the Savannah Municipal Airport, now known as the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport[3].

Hunter has played a role in every U.S. conflict since World War II. During Vietnam it was a key training base for helicopter pilots and during Operation Iraqi Freedom, soldiers from the 3rd ID were among the first to enter Baghdad.  Today it remains an important rapid deployment and support base in part due to its proximity to the east coast ports and to Fort Stewart.