• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Hangar Digest THE AIR MOBILITY COMMAND MUSEUM Page 1 Hangar digest VOLUME 17, NO. 3 JUL—SEPT 2017 THE AMCM HANGAR DIGEST IS A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE AMC MUSEUM FOUNDATION INC. Page 2 Volume 17, Issue 3 Air Mobility Command Museum Mission Statement The mission of the Air Mobility Command Museum is twofold: ● To present the history and development of military airlift and tanker operations. ● In a goal closely aligned with the first, to portray the rich history of Dover Air Force Base and its predecessor, Dover Army Airfield. The AMC Museum Hangar AMC Museum Staff AMC Museum Foundation Digest is published quar- Director Board of Directors terly and is dedicated to John Taylor President the preservation of our Deputy Director Col. Don Sloan, USAFR (Ret.) airlift and tanker herit- Kristopher Hickok Vice President age. All articles, unless Senior Archivist Lt. Col. Paul Gillis, USAFR (Ret.) otherwise noted, are writ- Lt. Col. Harry E. Heist, USAF (Ret.) Secretary ten by the editor. Photo Archivist Lt. Col. Phil White, USAF (Ret.) Viewpoints in this publica- SMSgt. Larry Koewing, USAF (Ret.) Treasurer tion are those of the contrib- Collections Manager Ms. Carol Pearson uting authors and do not nec- Deborah Sellars Members essarily reflect the opinions of Educator Mr. Robert Berglund Tricia Upchurch The AMC Museum Founda- Mr. David J. Bever, Esq. Museum Store Manager Mr. Carleton E. Carey Sr. tion or of the Museum’s staff. Kelly Hurlburt Subscriptions are free and Lt. Gen. Bob Dierker, USAF (Ret.) Volunteer Coordinator/Scheduler Mr. Mike Frebert are mailed via nonprofit Paul George Ms. Stephanie Garber standard mail to paid-up Librarian Ms. Chris Godek members of The AMC Muse- MSgt. Bob Wikso, USAF (Ret.) Mr. Bob Mench um Foundation Inc. Membership Manager CMSgt. Ed Perkowski, USAF (Ret.) Contributions. Reader com- Deborah Sellars ments, articles and ideas are Website (www.amcmuseum.org) Chaplain solicited for future issues. Hal Sellars Chaplain (Lt. Col.) John Groth, USAFR (Ret.) Mail to The Hangar Digest, Social Media Manager 1301 Heritage Road, Dover Guy Gola AFB DE 19902-5301; fax 302- 677-5940; or email piff- brown1898@ gmail.com. Contact Editor Master Sgt. Jeff Brown, USAF (Ret.) via email at What is the Air Mobility Command Museum? [email protected]. Located in Hangar 1301 on Dover Air Force Base, Kent County, Delaware, the AMC Museum is Photos are by Jeff Brown, part of the National Museum of the United States Air Force’s field museum system. unless otherwise noted. One of the reasons your AMC Museum continues to provide a great educational experience is that we stick very closely to our reason for being. ON THE COVER: Another day So exactly what is our “mission”? Broken down by numbers our mission is 70 percent airlift and air-refueling, 20 percent Dover AFB history and 10 percent Air Force general history. Our aircraft ends at the Air Mobility Command and artifact collection sticks very closely to that breakdown. But we work hard to be much more Museum, as the sun sets on than numbers. We tell the stories of the people who have served in our nation’s Air Force, and we some of the more than 30 aircraft offer the only opportunity for many visitors to see the actual aircraft and meet the people who have on static display. AMC Museum served our country. photo Hangar 1301 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. Although located on Dover AFB proper, entrance to the Museum may be made from Delaware Route 9, south of the base. Admission to and parking at the Museum is free and military identifica- tion is not required. The Air Mobility Command Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday Photo credits for this issue: through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. For more - Pages 5-7: 384thbombgroup.com information, call 302-677-5938 or 302-677-5991. - Pages 10-11: 384thbombgroup. We like to say we are a window to your Air Force. Let us know how we can continue to improve our com and AMCM outreach and family friendly experience. - Pages 4, 8, 9, 12: AMCM - Page 12: NMUSAF The Hangar Digest is printed and mailed by Associates International, Wilmington, Del. Hangar Digest Page 3 Learn about Delaware’s military history at the AMCM For a small state, Delaware has a mighty military history and many stories to be told. These three books, part of the Images in America series, contain hundreds of rare photographs, many researched from archives and collections across the state. All are written by Brig. Gen. Kennard R. Wiggins Jr., who retired after a 37-year career with the Delaware Air National Guard.. Dover Air Force Base Delaware Army National Guard Delaware Air National Guard Dover Air Force Base is home to the The Delaware National Guard traces The Delaware Air National Guard got largest aerial port in the United States and its history back to 1655 when the colo- its start when a group of World War II has been home to a fleet of increasingly nial Swedish government in what now is veterans formed a new National Guard larger cargo aircraft, from the C-47 to the the First State formed a militia to defend unit composed of surplus airplanes, C-124, C-141, C-5, and most recently the itself from nearby Dutch, and later Eng- combat experience, hard work and ca- C-17. These aircraft often have been lish, settlements. maraderie. called the lifeline of the modern military. That tradition continued after the col- Some called them a “gentleman’s fly- Dover AFB started as a small munici- ony eventually passed to the Dutch ing club,” but in a few short years it pal airfield that has grown and expanded through its New Amsterdam colony, and was tested for the first time during the nearly continuously since opening one then to the English when the Dutch set- Korean War. week after the Pearl Harbor attack in De- tlement became New York. The militia Since then, the Delaware Air National cember 1941. served during the French and Indian Guard has flown and fought in almost It’s story is the saga of the evolution of Wars between 1689 and 1763 and dis- every corner of the world. It answered the United States Air Force from World tinguished itself during the Revolution- the call in Vietnam, the Middle East, War II to the present day. ary War as the First Delaware Regiment the Balkans and most recently in Iraq The photos in this book represent the of the Continental Army. The soldiers and Afghanistan. thousands of people who have called Do- earned the nickname “Blue Hen Regi- Celebrating more than 60 years of ver Air Force Base their home, the hun- ment” after its mascot, the blue hen service, it has become a well-known dreds of aircraft that have been assigned chicken. The soldiers were known to be local institution. there and the dozens of missions assigned fierce in battle and their bravery was The “Blue Hen Air Force” has evolved to it over the past seven decades. unquestioned. into a professional organization that More than 200 vintage photographs, The Delaware militia continued to shoulders a significant operational role including the Air Mobility Command serve in every major war and currently it for the U.S. Air Force and serves as a Museum and other sources provide a remains in the forefront of service to versatile emergency response resource sampling of life at Dover Air Force Base both the military and to Delaware’s ci- for the state of Delaware. over the years. vilian population. Published in 2006; 128 pages; $21.99 Published in 2011; 128 pages; $21.99. Published in 2010; 128 pages, $21.99 Page 4 Volume 17, Issue 3 Collections A Delawarean’s war diary lands at the AMCM It looks so innocuous: a small notebook also was a German prisoner of war, Sellars worn with age, some of its pages loose, said. scraps of brittle newspaper sticking out from Farrow’s son not only donated his father’s between its leaves. diary, but other memorabilia, to include the In fact, this kind of notebook probably British dress uniform jacket Farrow was was owned by thousands of American fliers given when liberated, his medals, a swastika during World War II: it was a journal of -engraved spoon from the infamous Stalag their lives. They were lives lived during a Luft IV and even a piece of dark bread sup- vicious air war over the European continent, plied to the prisoners. where neither side gave quarter to the other, In keeping with the Nazis’ practice of where death could come in a white-hot burst providing barely enough sustenance for Al- of flak, or from bullets ripping through alu- lied prisoners, the bread is mostly made of minum aircraft skin and human flesh and sawdust, Sellars said. bone, or in a long, agonizing spiral down to However, it’s the diary Sellars cherishes an inevitable impact with the earth. over the other items. This notebook in particular, however, “I was most happy to have it because it documents the experiences of U.S. Army Air contained his story,” she said. “It had every- Forces Technical Sgt. Thomas C. Farrow thing that he’d written before he was shot Sr., a Delaware native who fought the war down. He just seemed a typical young sol- and lived to tell of being shot down, incar- dier; he took photos, he kept the names and ceration as a prisoner of the Third Reich and addresses of his buddies, he cut out pictures of making a forced march of 600 miles as of pretty girls and put them in his diary.

Load more

  20

Copy Link