Honoring the Mighty Eighth

 Story and photos
by Kathleen Walls

As Memorial Day approaches, I'm thinking of the men and women who lost their lives in WWII. I just visited the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Pooler Georgia and witnessed the Flags for the Fallen event.

There is a fascinating story of valor behind both the Flags Ceremony and the museum. The 8th Air Force played a major part in the U.S. Army Air Force in Europe during WWII. Its strategic bombing campaigns against Nazi Germany and the occupied territories and weakening of Germany's war machine helped to shorten the war. Of course, that came at a heavy price. Casualties were more than 26,000. Another 28,000 airmen became prisoners of war. The museum honors the entire eighth and there is a flag on the grounds for each fallen hero.

Col. Sheldon Wilson, commander of the 165th Airlift Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, Col. (Ret.) Ken Beckman, Congressman Buddy Carter, CMSAF Eric Rideaux, and Elton "Don" Brooks whose father was a WWII B-17 Tail Gunner, honor flags at the ceremony of the Flags for the Fallen at the National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force.

Over the course of the war, the Eighth Air Force became the largest air armada in the world, capable of sending more than 2,000 heavy bombers and over 1,000 fighter planes on a single mission.

The museum is filled with exhibits that tell the Mighty Eighth's story. The Prelude to World War II exhibit tells the story of post-World War I Germany and how Hitler rose to power.

The Battle of Britain exhibit tells of the British people's staunch fight to keep themselves and the world out of Hitler's grasp until the Mighty Eighth came into the picture. The Eights began in January 1942 just after the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan, Germany's ally. It began in Savannah, Georgia when the United States Army Air Corps assigned seven men, without a single aircraft, to a newly formed Eighth Air Force. During the war, the Eighth Air Force grew to become the largest air armada in the world. It could employ more than 2,000 heavy bombers and over 1,000 fighter planes on a single mission.

The Day of Infamy exhibit tells the story of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor with no declaration of war. This forced the United States into World War II. As soon as President Roosvelt declared war on Japan in his famous speech stating, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." The Germans and the Italians declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941.

Airman Down exhibit begins under an unfurled parachute, honoring the airmen who bailed out over enemy territory. Although no longer fighting, they were still a part of the war.

There's a recreated "safe house" and a POW camp that houses artifacts donated by former POWS. One exhibit shows Sargent Thomas J. McGory creating an embroidered handkerchief to pass the time in the POW camp.

Women are not neglected here. The Fly Girls of WWII exhibit showcases the WASPs, just over a thousand women who ferried planes across the country, took part in some dangerous flights, and showed their male counterparts women knew a thing or two about flying.

Behind the Museum in the Memorial Gardens is a B-47 Stratojet, a key aircraft used by the United States during the Cold War years that could fly at high altitudes to avoid detection. This aircraft was pivotal as a nuclear deterrent in the Cold War. The B-47 was America's first swept-wing jet bomber and helped lead to the modern jet airliner. This aircraft is on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

The most striking feature in the Memorial Garden is the Chapel of the Fallen Eagles. This magnificent gothic-style English chapel was built in 2002 in the style of the sixteenth century. Chapel of the Fallen Eagles has an east-west orientation, with the front door facing west and the centerpiece window facing east.

The fourteen pews circa the late nineteenth century came from Jones County, Pennsylvania. Many other chapel features came from antique shops in Tennessee and Georgia. The stained-glass windows, provided by Eighth Air Force veteran groups or family members, and created by artist Jon Erickson at Aurora Glass studios of Savannah, are stunning works of art.

Many young fighters fell in love with young women from overseas and in the chapel there's an exhibit dedicated to these war brides.

There is so much more in this museum, I recommend everyone go visit and see in person the sacrifices many young people made to keep American free. Let it be a warning to today's generation to never let us fall prey to a new Hitler.

Public Disclosure Please Read FTC has a law requiring web sites to let their readers know if any of the stories are  'sponsored' or compensated. We also are to let readers know if any of our links are ads. Most are not. They are just a way to direct you  to more information about the article where the link is placed. We have several ads on our pages.  They are clearly marked as ads. I think readers are smart enough to know an ad when they see one but to obey the letter of the law, I am putting this statement here to make sure everyone understands. American Roads and Global Highways may contain affiliate links or ads. Further, as their bios show, most of the feature writers are professional travel writers. As such we are frequently invited on press trips, also called fam trips. On these trips most of our lodging, dining, admissions fees and often plane fare are covered by the city or firm hosting the trip. It is an opportunity to visit places we might not otherwise be able to visit. However, no one tells us what to write about those places. All opinions are 100% those of the author of that feature column.