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Why I Support The
Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum

Zodiak Double-Trouble A beautiful painting of 8th Air Force B-24 flying over Europe at sunset.

Legendary soldier and World War I Commander of the American Expeditionary Force in France, General John J Pershing's "most enduring legacy was the creation of the American Battle Monuments Commission in 1923."

Pershing did not relish the role of the esteemed old soldier. He felt that he had one last task to perform, to repay a debt he deeply felt. He wanted to immortalize the achievements of the American Expeditionary Force that fought in France and Flanders; to make sure that the AEF dead were rendered the honors they deserved. "When the last bugle is sounded, I want to stand up with my soldiers." Why do I support the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum above all other World War II Memorials? General Pershing's statement provides a clue.

Major General Lew Lyle made it his mission in retirement to locate and build a monument to those who served and flew in the 8th's air campaigns from England. I doubt that even Lew knows how many miles he traveled from coast to coast and border to border. It was a long but ultimately successful venture.

The location issue was finally settled in Chatham County Georgia, appropriately a few miles from the site of the 'birth' of the Eighth Air Force. The "Mighty 8th" was activated at the National Guard Armory on Ball Street in Savannah, GA, a few miles from the museum site. The Commissioners of Chatham County provided a 90,000 square foot museum in view from heavily traveled Interstate 95 and only a quarter mile from exit 109. The Mighty 8th Air Force Museum has come to be regarded as one of the most attractive in the United States.

As a veteran of 35 missions from September 1944 to March 1945, I came to share General Lyle's passion. The story of the 8th Air Force in World War II has faded beside the interests of today. In time its missions and operations will rank with those other legendary American military units and campaigns.

The museum will celebrate the ninth anniversary of its opening in May 2005. Its progress, acceptance and stature have grown remarkably. It was recently named a Smithsonian affiliate, a signal honor for such a young museum. Its oral history project has gathered the stories of numerous 8th Air Force veterans. The research library contains over 7,000 volumes and internet links to the numerous 8th Air Force archives worldwide. The Fallen Eagles Memorial Chapel, recently completed, was the first major project after the dedication of the museum. It has been the scene of numerous memorial services, christenings and a recent wedding.

Many interested organizations raise funds for projects of particular interest. Of note is the recent arrival of the "Fightin' Sam" forward fuselage of a B-24 Liberator which flew with the 389th Bomb Group. B-24 veterans are working with the museum staff to produce an interactive exhibit highlighting this legendary bomber.

There are a number of other sites in the United States and overseas with 8th Air Force ties. They include space in libraries, space in airport hangars, 8th AF exhibits in air and space museums, exhibits at headquarters of many aircraft companies who have been or are connected with the 8th, parks and memorial gardens in American cities and occasional foreign sites and a few with restored aircraft. None of these sites are wholly dedicated to the story of the Mighty Eighth. For this reason, we who appreciate their contributions and interest, feel strongly that we owe our first allegiance to a museum dedicated solely to the preservation of our legacy. A heritage and legacy that was earned by the sacrifices of our fellow crewmembers and the legions of technicians who supported the aerial effort.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention the gigantic industrial effort of industry to supply the 'tools' that won the war. An example, the Willow Run facility in Michigan. At peak production this factory produced a B-24 each hour. Without this massive effort, prosecution of the air war in Europe and throughout the world would have been impossible. Why do I support the Mighty Eighth Museum above all others? IT TELLS MY STORY!

F C 'Hap' Chandler. Why I Support The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum. 389th Bomb Group Newsletter. Vol., 18 #1 Winter, 2005.

Be Proud!

That you were a member of the 8th Air Force

The year 1944 was a significant one for those of us in the 8th Air Force who devoted ourselves to the cause of freedom and justice.

On December 24, 1944, we sent over Germany 2,034 heavy bombers and 936 fighters, the greatest single force of airplanes detached in history! During the year we hit the enemy with more than 430,000 tons of bombs! We flew 1,700,000 operational hours, and our planes consumed 522,000,000 gallons of gasoline to release those tons of destruction.

Our first task was to make sure that when the combined Allied ground forces invaded `Fortress Europe', we would have superiority in the air. Our second great mission was performed during the invasion phase. On June 6th we flew a record breaking 4,700 sorties! Before D-Day we flew thousands of tons of munitions and equipment to resistance movements on the continent, and cooperated in the development of psychological warfare by dropping almost 900,000,000 leaflets in enemy controlled territory by night, and additional millions during daylight missions.

In air battles during 1944, fighter pilots and bomber crews destroyed over 6,000 enemy aircraft ... strafing attacks by our fighters accounted for 1,900 more! In precision attacks on enemy airfields and factories, our heavies damaged or destroyed an additional 2,630 Nazi aircraft. Fighters also knocked out 3,652 locomotives, 5,702 freight cars, 3,436 trucks, and significant numbers of tank cars, ammunition dumps and similar ground targets.

Ground crews equaled the fliers in their devotion to duty. Men have frequently worked for 72 hours without rest to but their ships back into the air. Just before D-Day, their number of planes to be serviced rose sharply; the job was done with no increase in the number of ground crews.

The story of the Eighth is the story of all of us. It belongs neither to any individual not to any part of less than the whole. Every member of this command has contributed some element to it; without all these contributions, the story would not have been.

Ordinance and Chemical workers, for example, during 1944 loaded more than 3,000,000 bombs and incendiaries - most of them during the long hours of the night - and hand linked, repositioned and loaded, 58,000,000 rounds of 50 caliber ammunition in the course of their duties! The sweat of thousands went into the driving, servicing and repair of the 8ths 25,000 motor vehicles! At one headquarters alone the telephone operators handled 14,000 calls each day!

If you are one of these, or if you are one of those who kept us, by all standards, in good health; if you are one of those who built and maintained our airstrips and station facilities, or one of those who can proudly say that over 1,000 road convoys were escorted during 1944 without an accident; if you are one of those who performed the un-heroic but indispensable functions of guaranteeing our supplied of food, adequate clothing and organizational equipment, or one of those whose attention to administrative assignments contributed as substantially to effectiveness - then you are a part of the team.

Second to None: the Legendary Liberator

The B-24 Liberator, a four-engine bomber most widely recognized for its split-tail configuration, flew with 21 bombardment groups of the 8th Air Force during World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, the production of B-24s in the factories of Consolidated Vultee, Ford Motor Company, Douglas Aircraft, and North American Aircraft resulted in over 19,200 of these planes. According to historian Robert Dorr, "The strength and durability of the Liberator, and its ability to carry a huge bomb load and to shoot back, were all pluses in the campaign waged by the Eighth Air Force."

In an effort to articulate the importance of this war bird, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum is planning a dynamic exhibition that will emphasize the 2nd Air Division and the B-24 and their place in history. The nose section Fightin' Sam, already on loan to the museum from the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, will serve as a focal point in this exhibition to be prominently placed within the museum's Combat Rotunda. Highlights of the proposed design include a simulated Type T2 hangar surrounding the nose section, a large format screen displaying original B-24 combat footage, and the placement of a human figure outfitted as a bombardier inside the nose. Casework located within the hangar will contain painted A-2 and B-15 jackets from B-24 crewmen and a patch from the 2nd Air Division's 467th BG Witchcraft crew. In keeping with the use of new technologies in museum design, interactive components include an educational touch-screen program and a B-24 flight simulator that will educate and engage visitors of all ages. Photo enlargements and text panels will provide supplemental information and graphics in addition to those appearing on the touch screen. Together, these elements will present visitors with an interactive-based experience that enlivens the Combat Gallery with the complete story of the B-24 - a war bird SECOND to NONE.

Never knew there could be so much to one machine as this B-24. - Ralph H. Elliott, 467th Bomb Group

The original Fightin' Sam flew its missions with the 389th Bomb Group, one of the pioneer Second Air Division Groups. The 389th flew the famous Ploesti low-level mission in 1943. One of its pilots, Lloyd Hughes, was a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest decoration for valor, for his bravery on this mission.

Weapons of the Eighth Air Force Flying at 25,000 feet, loaded with 6000 pounds of bombs, bristling with thirteen .50 caliber machine guns, and with a highly trained and motivated flight crew, the B-17 Flying Fortress became the physical symbol of America's Mighty Eighth Air Force. Arrayed against the Eighth Air Force was Nazi Germany's veteran, battle tested air armada the Luftwaffa. But the B-17 didn't go to war alone. The Eighth Air Force also deployed some of the most famous aircraft: the rugged B-24 Liberator, the nimble P-38 Lightning, the P-47 Thunderbolt with its four pairs of deadly wing mounted .50 caliber machine guns, and the quick and high flying P-51 Mustang.

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