CAF RISE ABOVE® Inspiring young people to RISE ABOVE adversity using the lessons and stories of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). All good things must come to an end. The RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit has been crewed from its inception by the Jeanette and Terry Hollis. They have been the faces of this amazing effort and have worked hard to make it successful for nearly 10 years. Photo courtesy James Reeder Well the Hollis’s have decided to retire. Nothing we can say In This Issue - September 2020 here will adequately express our thanks and our well wishes as • Leaders View they move on to the next phase • Arsenal of Democracy of their lives. • New P-51C Mustang photos • Educational resources We’re very excited to announce • Tour schedule at a glance that the “RISE ABOVE: WASP” film won the Audience Choice • Greetings from the Award at last week’s Topaz Film Ambassador team & Silver Festival. Join us in congratulating lining spotlight the brilliant filmmakers of Hemlock • Our mission in action Films on this big win! The film is • Join the Top Flight Club! directed by Kara White, and written • Shop with a purpose and produced by Kara White and Adam White of Hemlock Films. • Tuskegee Airmen: Did This educational film tells the story you know & quote of the of the WASP with a documentary/ month narrative story as they rise above • Tuskegee Airmen Profiles: the challenges they faced, while Fred Brewer, Jr. excelling at their dream of flying airplanes. • And then there where women! Beatrice E. Hill We can’t wait for the film to start it’s tour so children and adults can see the film in • Tuskegee Airmen: Virtual it’s intended venue, a big format, wrap-around screen. You can watch the trailer here! Museum artifact spotlight One of the few flying events that will happen this year is the Arsenal of Democracy • Tuskegee Airmen: Archive Flyover in Washington D.C. Originally scheduled for May 8th 2020, the 75th photos anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, Covid-19 has delayed it until • WASP Profile: Ethel September 25th. Read more about this historic event on page 2. (Meyer) Finley • WASP: Did you know RISE ABOVE! • WASP: Archive photos • Thank you supporters • For more information Doug Rozendaal CAF RISE ABOVE Leader On Sept. 25, 2020, approximately 70 vintage aircraft will take to the skies over Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Arsenal of Democracy (AOD) Flyover will feature historically sequenced formations representing the war’s major battles – from the Battle of Britain through the final air assault on Japan. More than 20 different types of vintage military aircraft are scheduled to fly in formations beginning over the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The airshow is scheduled to begin at 11:30 EST with planes flying in two-minute intervals over the skies of the nation’s capital. The commemoration is expected to last approximately 70 minutes and will be live- streamed on the AOD’s Facebook page. As a principle organizer of this historic event, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) – the world’s largest flying museum – will send 18 warbirds from 13 units across seven states to participate in the World War II Victory Commemoration Flyover. The CAF aircraft include a range of bombers, fighters and vital transport and support aircraft, all of which played crucial roles in World War II. Participating CAF aircraft include some of the war’s most iconic warbirds, such as the: B-29 Superfortress *FIFI*: One of only two B-29 Heavy Bombers still flying. C-47 *That’s All, Brother*: Led the formation of 800 aircraft from which 13,000 U.S. paratroopers jumped during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. P-51 Mustang *Tuskegee Airmen*: Long range fighter-bomber made famous by the inspirational stories of the African- American pilots who flew them. B-17 Flying Fortress *Sentimental Journey*: Flew bombing missions over Europe throughout the war. One of only five B-17s around the world still actively flying. T-6 Texan *Nella*: Flown by the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) – America’s first female military aviators and the “spiritual grandmothers” to today’s female pilots. “The CAF is dedicated to educating, inspiring and honoring through flight and living history experiences,” said Hank Coates, president, Commemorative Air Force. “We’re proud to serve as a principle organizer of the Arsenal of Democracy Flyover to help ensure we recognize and remember the enormous sacrifices of our nation’s heroes.” Founded in 1957, the Commemorative Air Force has amassed 175 World War II aircraft – the largest collection of vintage military warbirds in the world. Through the work of more than 11,000 volunteers across 83 units, the CAF’s educational outreach programs reach an estimated 20 million Americans each year, providing unique, compelling hands-on access to history. For more information about the Commemorative Air Force, please visit www.commemorativeairforce.org Page 2 With the 2020 tour-season mostly cancelled due to COVID we thought you would enjoy some new photos of the P-51C Mustang Tuskegee Airmen taken in August by photographer Max Haynes! Page 2 EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Our Inspiration Packs are perfect for the parent, teacher, youth leader or community group looking for a tangible reminder of the lessons of the Tuskegee Airmen or the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP)! Cost is $95 each pack, inlcudes s/h The Inspiration Pack: WASP pack includes: 50 each CAF RISE ABOVE: WASP dog tags featuring the Six Guiding Principles and the “Triumph Over Adversity – RISE ABOVE: The Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots” booklets. The Inspiration Pack: Red Tail pack includes: 50 each CAF Red Tail Squadron dog tags featuring the Six Guiding Principles and the “Triumph Over Adversity – RISE ABOVE: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen” booklets. The RISE ABOVE Back-to-School Campaign provides free electronic resources to support and inspire educators and students to Triumph Over Adversity and work together to persevere through their challenges. School kick-off resources and “flight plans will be available for PreK, primary, elementary, middle, and high schools. Inspiring short videos about WWII Tuskegee Airmen and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) are also included to help educators and students “rise above” crisis challenges. Teachers can use these resources to provide help to students setting personal achievement goals for the year. *** Penda Learning *** We are pleased to announce that we have secured another great resource to support your back to school efforts in this challenging time. Penda Science’s game-based, standards-aligned, online intervention platform helps students in grades 3 through 10 develop mastery and excel in science. We are excited to offer complimentary access to the Penda Science platform for one semester, with a significant discount on the purchase of the product once the trial period ends. Contact Penda Learning at (888) 919-0404 and mention code CAF for complimentary access. Since the content will need to be fully aligned and customized for your school district, and your specific students need to be loaded into the system, there is a nominal set-up fee. Check the free RISE ABOVE Resource Kits! Our free, downloadable RISE ABOVE Resource Kits provides users access to posters featuring the Six Guiding Principles, PowerPoint’s, classroom activities and a wealth of material about the Tuskegee Airmen or the WA SP. Want to go a step further? Check out all the affordable supporting educational materials available! Page 4 RISE ABOVE tour schedule at a glance PLEASE CHECK OUR SCHEDULE ONLINE FOR UPDATES! As we all know, this has been a tough year for events due to the pandemic, but there is always a silver lining! First, there has been a rise in “virtual airshows”, and we are thrilled to be included in the Canadian International Airshow that will be streamed on September 5. Additionally, we have had numerous events move from 2020 to 2021, as well as many events that were already planned for 2021 being finalized on our schedule. We will be covering a lot of ground next year with stops from Florida to Oregon, and everywhere in between! If you are interested in hosting us for an event next year, please reach out soon – our schedule is quickly filing up! DATE EVENT LOCATION September 25 Arsenal of Democracy Fly-Over Washington D.C. P-51C Mustang October 7-11 Tri-State Warbird Museum Batavia, OH RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit and P-51C Mustang October 24-25 Thunder Over the Rock Little Rock AFB, AR RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit and P-51C Mustang Oct 28-Nov 1 BFTS Flight Museum Terrell, TX RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit November 7-8 Stuart Airshow Stuart, FL RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit and P-51C Mustang To book RISE ABOVE for your event contact Kristi Younkin, Senior Logistics Coordinator, at [email protected] or call (479) 228-4520 Page 5 GREETINGS FROM THE AMBASSADOR TEAM! Though most of the events have cancelled this year, we still have two confirmed and ready to-go. Given our current environment, safety is our number one priority. We will be taking several measures to ensure our ambassadors and patrons are protected. We will eliminate the need to sign everyone in on the kiosks, masks will be mandatory inside the exhibit, and the capacity will be limited to 20 people. Additionally, we will have disinfectant to spray the handrails and exhibit down after each showing. In keeping with the theme for 2020 in this ever-changing climate, we are temporarily changing our Volunteer Spotlight up a bit to focus on finding rays of light amongst the grey clouds.