Yorktown Volunteer Trip National Infantry Museum, Ft. Benning, GA

The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center opened in 2009 with one guiding mission: to honor the legacy and valor of the U.S. Army Infantryman.

Fort Benning is a United States Army base located on the Alabama-Georgia border next to Columbus, Georgia. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees, and civilian employees. Since 1918, Fort Benning has served as the Home of the Infantry. It provides Basic and Advanced training for Career Officers, Officer Candidate School, Special Forces and Ranger training. It houses elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment (United States), 3rd Brigade – 3rd Infantry Division, and Armor School. It is named after Henry L. Benning, a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

The Last 100 Yards Ramp I Am the Infantry, Follow Me! The gallery traces the history from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WW I and WW II, Korean, Vietnam and the desert wars.   

The Battle of Yorktown campaign proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War.   General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops captured British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.  

The Battle of Antietam was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland and Antietam Creek as part of the Maryland Campaign. It was the first field army–level engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil and is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing.

The Battle of Soissons was a World War I battle, waged from July 18-22 1918, between the French (with American assistance) and German armies. Ferdinand Foch, the Allied Supreme Commander, launched the offensive with 24 French divisions and 2 U.S. divisions under French command, supported by approximately 478 tanks, sought to eliminate the salient that was aimed at Paris. The Allies suffered 107,000 casualties (95,000 French and 12,000 American), while the Germans suffered 168,000 casualties.  The battle ended with the French recapturing most of the ground lost to the German Spring Offensive in May 1918.  Adolf Hitler, the future Führer of Nazi Germany, earned and was awarded the Iron Cross First Class at Soissons.

Omaha Beach was one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II. 'Omaha' refers to a section of the coast of Normandy, France, facing the English Channel 5 miles long.  On D-Day, the untested 29th Infantry Division, along with nine companies of U.S. Army Rangers redirected from Pointe du Hoc, were to assault the western half of the beach. The battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division was given the eastern half. The initial assault waves, consisting of tanks, infantry, and combat engineer forces, were carefully planned to reduce the coastal defenses and allow the larger ships of the follow-up waves to land.

The American airborne landings in Normandy were the first American combat operations during Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944, during World War II.  13,100 American paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions made night parachute drops early on D-Day, June 6, followed by 3,937 glider troops flown in by day.  As the opening maneuver of Operation Neptune (the assault operation for Overlord) the two American airborne divisions were delivered to the continent in two parachute and six glider missions.

On February 7, 1951, CPT Millett led his soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division atop Hill 180 near Soam-Ni, Korea. With only bayonets and hand grenades, the company fought a hand-to-hand assault against heavy opposing fire. Millett and his Soldiers used their bayonets with such lethality that the enemy fled in disbelief.  Even after he was wounded by grenade fragments, CPT Millett refused to be evacuated until the mission was secure. President Harry Truman later presented CPT Millett with the Congressional Medal of Honor in July 1951. Millett, a WWII, Korean and Vietnam Veteran rose to the rank of Colonel. He died in November 2009.

The Vietnam War occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies and the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies.  The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam. They viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U.S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. This was part of the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes. In the course of the war, the U.S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam.

Despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U.S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture. The war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations.   Direct U.S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973.  The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year.  Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict, and a further 1,626 remain missing in action.

M2 Bradley is an American infantry fighting vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments, which was formerly United Defense. The Bradley is designed for reconnaissance and to transport a squad of infantry, providing them protection from small arms fire, while also providing firepower to both suppress and eliminate most threats to friendly infantry. It is designed to be highly maneuverable and to be fast enough to keep up with heavy armor during an advance. The M2 holds a crew of three: a commander, a gunner and a driver, as well as six fully equipped soldiers.  The M2's primary armament is a 25 mm cannon, which fires up to 200 rounds per minute. It is also armed with two BGM-71 TOW wire-guided missiles. 

During the Gulf War, M2 Bradleys destroyed more Iraqi armored vehicles than the M1 Abrams.  A total of 20 Bradleys was lost—three by enemy fire and 17 due to friendly fire incidents; another 12 were damaged. The gunner of one Bradley was killed when his vehicle was hit by Iraqi fire.  To remedy some problems that were identified as contributing factors in the friendly fire incidents, infrared identification panels and other identification measures were added to the Bradleys.

In the Iraq War, the Bradley proved vulnerable to improvised explosive device and rocket-propelled grenade attacks, but casualties were light with the crew able to escape. In 2006, total losses included 55 Bradleys destroyed and some 700 others damaged.  By 2007, the Army had stopped using the M2 Bradley in combat.  About 150 Bradleys had been destroyed.  In 2010, the Army started the Ground Combat Vehicle program to replace the Bradley with the  next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) which is planned to test "at least two" prototypes by 2022 in order to field a new armored vehicle by 2035.

The International Stage Exhibit: 1898-1920 Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection.

The Spanish-American War (1898) was a conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America. The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain, which began in February 1895. With the growing popular demand for U.S. intervention and an unexplained sinking in Havana harbor of the battleship USS Maine (Feb. 15, 1898) the U.S. Congress issued resolutions that declared Cuba’s right to independence, demanded the withdrawal of Spain’s armed forces from the island, and authorized President McKinley’s use of force to secure that withdrawal while renouncing any U.S. design for annexing Cuba.

Spain declared war on the United States on April 21, 1898. The ensuing war was easily won by the U.S.  The Spanish Caribbean fleet under Adm. Pascual Cervera was located in Santiago de Cuba harbor by U.S. reconnaissance. An army of regular troops and volunteers under Gen. William Shafter (including Theodore Roosevelt and his 1st Volunteer Cavalry, the “Rough Riders”) landed on the coast east of Santiago and slowly advanced on the city and forced Cervera’s fleet out of the harbor and under heavy fire from U.S. guns and were beached in a burning or sinking condition. Santiago surrendered to Shafter on July 17, thus effectively ending the war.

After its defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain ceded its longstanding colony of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. On February 4, 1899, just two days before the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo who sought independence rather than a change in colonial rulers. The ensuing Philippine-American War lasted three years and resulted in the death of over 4,200 American and over 20,000 Filipino combatants. As many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine, and disease.

World at War: 1920-1947 Rise of Fascism, European and Pacific Theaters, Holocaust Liberation Containing the largest collection of artifacts on display in the museum, the World at War gallery tells the story of World War II.

Entrance to the Exhibit of the End of the Cold War 1947-1989

The Sole Superpower Exhibit: 1989-Present Since the late 1980s American troops have been involved in conflicts including Desert Storm, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Global War on Terrorism against ISIS.  After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the world’s sole superpower.

The National Infantry Museum’s new national memorial to the Global War on Terrorism honors all who have served and continue to serve since 911. The memorial, dedicated two weeks prior to our arrival, includes eight granite panels etched with the names of nearly 7,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who have died in service since 9/11. 

The memorial also features nine bronze figures representing an Infantry squad

A 13-foot steel beam taken from the wreckage of the World Trade Center and donated to the museum by New York City firefighters sits atop concrete columns representing the Twin Towers. 

Yorktown Volunteer Trip to Aviation Museum, Macon, GA

Museum of Aviation opened to the public on Friday, 9 November 1984 with 20 aircraft on display in an open field and another 20 were in various stages of restoration. The Museum of Aviation has grown to become the second largest museum in the United States Air Force and the fourth most visited museum in the Department of Defense. The museum is a place that honors our veterans and their families and reminds our Airmen of their legendary Air Force heritage.

The complex includes three buildings housing various aircraft including restoration projects and one designated for the period of the Viet Nam war.

Photo of Yorktown Volunteers in front of the MD F-15 Eagle 

The McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle is a multirole strike fighter was designed to replace the F-4 Phantom in the 1980s for long-range, high speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic-warfare aircraft. The Strike Eagle has been deployed for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya, among others. During these operations the F-15E has carried out deep strikes against high-value targets, combat air patrols, and provided close air support for coalition troops. It has also been exported to several countries.

The American Volunteer Group (AVG) was largely the creation of Claire L. Chennault, a retired U.S. Army Air Corps officer who had worked in China since August 1937, first as military aviation advisor to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the early months of the Sino-Japanese War, then as director of a Chinese Air Force flight school centered in Kunming. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union supplied fighter and bomber squadrons to China, but these units were mostly withdrawn by the summer of 1940. Chiang then asked for American combat aircraft and pilots, sending Chennault to Washington as adviser to China's ambassador and Chiang's brother-in-law, T. V. Soong.

The First AVG of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), Navy (USN), and Marine Corps (USMC), recruited under presidential authority and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The shark-faced nose art of the Flying Tigers remains among the most recognizable image of any individual combat aircraft or combat unit of World War II.

AVG fighter aircraft were painted with a large shark face on the front of the aircraft. This was done after pilots saw a photograph of a P-40 of No. 112 Squadron RAF in North Africa, which in turn had adopted the shark face from German pilots of the Luftwaffe's ZG 76 heavy fighter wing, flying Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters in Crete.  About the same time, the AVG was dubbed "The Flying Tigers" by its Washington support group, called China Defense Supplies. The P-40's included pilot armor, self-sealing fuel tanks, sturdy construction, heavy armament, and a higher diving speed than most Japanese aircraft.  Chennault created an early warning network of spotters that would give his fighters time to take off and climb to a superior altitude where this tactic could be executed.

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is a single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission.  From late 1943, P-51s were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, for roles in which the Mustang helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944.   The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft.

A reminder of the many airfields in England beginning in 1943 where pilots were trained and aircraft like the P-51 Mustang began their missions.

Cessna AT 8 Bobcat was a twin-engined advanced trainer aircraft designed and made in the United States, and used during World War II to bridge the gap between single-engined trainers and twin-engined combat aircraft. Thirty-three AT-8s were built for the U.S. Army Air Corps, and production continued under the designation AT-17 reflecting a change in equipment and engine types

 In 1942, the U.S Army Air Force (the successor to the Air Corps from June 1941) adopted the Bobcat as a light personnel transport and those delivered after January 1, 1943 were designated UC-78s. By the end of World War II, Cessna had produced more than 4,600 Bobcats.

Overhead photos of the results of a bombing run for German factories.

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,500 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976.  The F-16 is being used by the active duty USAF, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard units, the USAF aerial demonstration team, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and as an adversary-aggressor aircraft by the United States Navy at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center. The U.S. Air Force, including the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, flew the F-16 in combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and in the Balkans later in the 1990s. F-16s also patrolled the no-fly zones in Iraq and served during the wars in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) from 2001 and 2003 respectively. In 2011, Air Force F-16s took part in the intervention in Libya.  The F-16 had been scheduled to remain in service with the U.S. Air Force until 2025.  Its replacement was planned to be the F-35A variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which is expected gradually begin replacing several multi-role aircraft among the program's member nations. However, due to delays in the F-35 program, all USAF F-16s will receive service life extension upgrades.  

The F-16's first air-to-air combat success was achieved by the Israeli Air Force over the Bekaa Valley on 28 April 1981, against a Syrian Mi-8 helicopter, which was downed with cannon fire.  In January 2000, Israel completed a purchase of 102 new F-16 aircraft in a deal totaling $4.5 billion.  In addition to the Israeli Air Force the Pakistan, Turkish and Egyptian Air Forces all have F-16s.  
 

The SR-71 served with the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents but none were lost to enemy action.  In 1976 it held the world record for the fastest absolute speed of 2,193.2 mph.



The Mark 6 was an American nuclear bomb in production from 1951 to 1955 and saw service until 1962.  It was also the first atomic weapon to offer the delivery aircraft's bombardier the option of changing the detonation altitude while the bomber was in flight to the target.  The B-52 Stratofortress aircraft loaded with the Mark 6 was based at Robins AFB.



The Chartres airfield was liberated by Allied ground forces in August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. American forces cleared the airport of mines and destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft, and repaired operational facilities for use by American aircraft.  Subsequently, Chartres Airport became a USAAF Ninth Air Force combat airfield, designated as "A-40.  Most hangars and support buildings were destroyed and subsequently, tents had to be used for billeting and also for support facilities along with a drinkable water supply.  Under American control, Chartres initially became the home of the 368th Fighter Group, which flew P-47 Thunderbolts from the field and later the B-26 Marauder-equipped 323d Bombardment Group flying combat missions.  The combat units moved out at the end of October 1944, and until the end of the war, Chartres became a resupply and combat casualty evacuation airfield, and performing other support roles for the Allies. It was returned to French civil control in June 1945

The Normandy landings took place on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 (termed D-Day) and marked the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The amphibious landings on the coast of Normandy were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault.  The landings included 24,000 American, British, and Canadian armored and airborne divisions.  The target was a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

Operation Fortitude was the code name for a World War II military deception employed by the Allied nations as part of an overall deception strategy (code named Bodyguard) during the build-up to the 1944 Normandy landings. Fortitude was divided into two sub-plans, North and South, with the aim of misleading the German high command as to the location of the invasion. Both Fortitude plans involved the creation of phantom field armies (based in Edinburgh and the south of England) which threatened Norway (Fortitude North) and Pas de Calais (Fortitude South). The operation was intended to divert Axis attention away from Normandy and, after the invasion on June 6, 1944, to delay reinforcement by convincing the Germans that the landings were purely a diversionary attack.

The forward air controller (FAC) played a significant part in the Vietnam War.  Using makeshift propeller-driven aircraft and inadequate radio nets, they became so essential to air operations that the overall need for FACs would not be completely satisfied until 1969. The FAC's expertise as an air strike controller also made him an intelligence source, munitions expert, communication specialist, and above all, the on-scene commander of the strike forces and the start of any subsequent combat search and rescue if necessary.  The FACs would be essential participants in close air support in South Vietnam, interdiction efforts against the Ho Chi Minh Trail, supporting a guerrilla war on the Plain of Jars in Laos, and probing home defenses in North Vietnam.

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft.[2] It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was also adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force, and by the mid-1960s had become a major part of their air wings.  

The Phantom has a top speed of over Mach 2.2 (1,688 mph). It can carry more than 18,000 pounds of weapons, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records for in-flight performance, including an absolute speed record, and an absolute altitude record.  The F-4 was used extensively during the Vietnam War. It served as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, and became important in the ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance roles late in the war. The Phantom has the distinction of being the last U.S. fighter flown by pilots who attained ace status in the 20th century.

The U.S. Air Force developed the Sikorsky HH-3E helicopter, nicknamed the "Jolly Green Giant," to perform combat search and rescue (CSAR) to recover downed Airmen during the Southeast Asia War. A highly modified version of Sikorsky's CH-3 transport helicopter, the HH-3E carried both armor plating and armament to protect it from hostile forces during rescues of aircrews in combat.  The first USAF HH-3Es arrived in Vietnam in 1967, and they operated out of Udorn Air Base, Thailand, and Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, HH-3 crewmen were awarded one Medal of Honor, twenty-four Air Force Crosses, and over 190 Silver Stars. A quarter of a century later, HH-3Es participated in OPERATION DESERT STORM, and provided rescue support in the early years of the Space Shuttle program. The last HH-3Es were retired in  1995.

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine, with two-blade main and tail rotors. The first member of the prolific Huey family, it was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet a United States Army's 1952 requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter, and first flew in 1956. The UH-1 was the first turbine-powered helicopter to enter production in 1960 for the United States military, and more than 16,000 have been built since.  The UH-1 first saw service in combat operations during the Vietnam War, with around 7,000 helicopters deployed.

Yorktown Volunteer Trip to 8th AF Base, Savanah (Pooler), GA

The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air is located in Pooler, Georgia, near Savannah.  It is dedicated to the history of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Corps that served in the European Theatre from England during World War II.  Among the many World War II exhibits are aircraft including a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber a model of a Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighter, and a 3/4-scale model of a P-51 Mustang fighter. Aircraft on display outside include the B-47 Stratojet, MiG-17, and F-4 Phantom II from the post-WW II Cold War era.The Mighty Eighth Air Force opened their own museum on May 15, 1996. 

Volunteer group photo with our tour guide Paul Grassey, aged 94, who was a B-24 pilot during WW II with the Mighty Eighth Air Force.  Grassey has served as a volunteer for 18 years and is now a board trustee. You Tube of Grassey at the museum can be seen at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1iYbIS2gmo.  He also published a book "It's Character  That Counts"  about his experiences during WW II.  

General James Harold “Jimmy” Doolittle (1896-1993) was a pioneering pilot, aeronautical engineer, combat leader and military strategist whose career stretched from World War I to the  Cold War. He is most famous for leading a daring bombing raid over Tokyo in 1942, the first American attack on the Japanese mainland. Doolittle’s 16 planes dropped their bombs and then, lacking fuel to return to their carrier, flew on to crash-land in China and the Soviet Union.

Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997).  Having learned to fly in 1935, he was drafted into the United States Army in 1940 as a private (after twice failing the medical for being underweight). During the course of World War II he rose to the rank of colonel, first as an instructor at home in the United States, and later on combat missions in Europe. He remained involved with the United States Air Force Reserve after the war and retired in 1959 as a brigadier general.

The Boeing B-17, nicknamed the “Flying Fortress”, was a long range heavy bomber that was given the task of destroying enemy war facilities through precision strategic bombardment.

Tail Gun on the B-17.  The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun emplacement in the tail end of the aircraft with an unobstructed view toward the rear of the aircraft.

The "tora" of the title is the two-syllable Japanese codeword used to indicate that complete surprise had been achieved. It is a coincidence that "tora" means "tiger" in Japanese. “Tora! Tora! Tora!” is a 1970 Japanese-American war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku and stars Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotten, Sō Yamamura, E. G. Marshall, James Whitmore, and Jason Robards. 

 The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission.  The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 two-stage two-speed supercharged engine and was armed with six .50 caliber Browning machine guns.  From late 1943 Mustangs were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Mustangs as fighter-bombers, which helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944.  The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter-bomber. 

The Boeing Stearman designated by the Army as the PT-17, was used as the primary trainer for  60,000 pilots in all branches of the U.S. military services during the war.  

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-borne scout plane and dive bomber from mid-1940 through mid-1944. The SBD was also flown by the United States Marine Corps, both from land air bases and aircraft carriers. The SBD is best remembered as the bomber that delivered the fatal blows to the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The type earned its nickname "Slow But Deadly" (with the SBD initials) during this period.

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the United States Air Force Military Airlift Command.  The strategic role demanded that the aircraft be capable of missions with a radius of at least 3,500 nautical miles (4,000 miles) with a 60,000 pound load. The tactical role required it to be able to perform low-altitude air drops of supplies, and carry and drop paratroops in combat.  The aircraft remained in service for almost 40 years until the USAF withdrew the C-141 from service on May 5, 2006, replacing the aircraft with the C-17. 

The B-25 became the most widely used medium bomber of WWII because of its adaptability and durability.  It flew a great variety of missions in all climates against all enemies and is one of the most widely recognized bombers of that era.  It flew the first high profile mission of the war, Jimmy Doolittle's daring daylight raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942.    The B-25 was in service for the entire war and served in all theaters of the War.   The movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" starring Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert Walker and Robert Mitchum recreates the bombing runs and subsequent forced landings in China  

Airman Down exhibit by walking under an unfurled parachute representing the airmen who bailed out over enemy territory. This exhibit includes a recreated “safe house” and a POW camp which houses artifacts donated by former POWS.