Airborne and Special Operations Museum
Celebrates Airborne Heritage Day
Patrick Trembley, Marketing Chief
Airborne and Special Operations Foundation
Fayetteville, NC

 

The Army's Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville, NC, celebrated its fifth anniversary, and the sixty-fifth of the Army airborne on 20 August 2005 with its annual Airborne Heritage Day. Over two thousand people were treated to parachute demonstrations, equipment displays and entertainment from the XVIII Airborne Corps and U.S. Army Special Operations Command. The museum has seen nearly a million visitors since opening in the summer of 2000. For more information on the event and the museum, visit www.asomf.org.

A member of the 82d Airborne Division Freefall Team lands during Airborne Heritage Day at the museum.

Rock Island Arsenal Museum Receives
2005 Illinois State Historical Society’s
Centennial Award

Members of the Rock Island Arsenal Museum staff at the award ceremony. Left to right: Jennifer Malone, Museum Specialist,;Jodean Rousey Murdock, Museum Specialist; William E. Johnson, Museum Curator; Jodie Creen Wessemann, Museum Technician; and Director Kris Leinicke. Photo courtesy of Sam Leinicke.

The left side of the aircraft with remaining engine. All photos courtesy of the museum staff.

B25C Liberator Rescued from Lake Murray
Tim Taylor, Museum Technician
U.S. Army Chaplain Museum
Fort Jackson, SC

A crew has recovered a B25C Liberator from the depths of Lake Murray, here in South Carolina. It was resting in 150 feet of water for the last sixty-two years. It crashed during a training flight, after losing an engine. All five crewmen survived. The plane is going to be dismantled and transported to the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Al, for restoration and eventual display.

Jodean Rousey Murdock
Rock Island Arsenal Museum
Rock Island Arsenal, Il

An awards banquet was held for honorees on 30 September at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, where the Rock Island Arsenal Museum was a recipient of the Illinois State Historical Society’s Centennial Award. The award recognizes businesses and not-for-profit organizations that have conducted business in the state of Illinois for one hundred years or more. The Rock Island Arsenal Museum is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

During the award banquet, Director Kris Leinicke accepted the award inscribed by the Governor of Illinois, Rob Blagojevich. The museum staff, (see above photo), is very proud of the award and shared the spotlight with Kris. Congratulations to everyone at the museum.

Artifacts recovered from inside the aircraft.

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The right side of the aircraft showing the rear of the wing and the engine mount.

Damage behind the cockpit caused when the engine fell off.

Captain Lewis and Seaman. All photos courtesy of Synthia Santos, Fort Lewis Museum.

Fort Lewis Dedicates
Captain Lewis and Seaman Monument
Synthia Santos, Museum Specialist
Fort Lewis Military Museum
Fort Lewis, WA

After eighty-eight years, Fort Lewis finally has a statue of its namesake, Captain Meriwether Lewis of the Corps of Discovery, along with his Newfoundland companion, Seaman. The rain held off during the 30 September dedication to the leader of the U.S. Army venture that opened the door to the Pacific Northwest. The Fort Lewis Military Museum Director, Alan Archambault, drew the concept drawing and advised the sculptor, Dr. John Jewell, with accurately portraying Lewis. The Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Fort Lewis Chapter, formed a statue committee to lead the campaign to create the memorial and the Seattle District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed the plaza. The statues stand in a new memorial park next to the post’s visitors center, before the Main Gate. This will allow people to visit the park, without obtaining a pass to enter the post.

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The rest of the plaza will eventually feature a large 1803 map of America with the route of the Corps of Discovery expedition, educational plaques and another bronze statue of Sgt. John Ordway. Information on the Ordway statue can be found at http://www.sergeantordway.com/ .

The Fort Lewis Color Guard and a Newfoundland dog pose with the new Captain Lewis and Seaman statues, 30 September 2005.

Cooperative Venture Results in New
Brochure at Fort Hood.
Ceilia Stratton, Director
4th Infantry Division Museum
Fort Hood, TX

There is a new brochure available at the Fort Hood Visitor Center, the Killeen Convention and Visitor Bureau, and at a the Texas State Welcome Centers. The brochure is titled Fort Hood Heritage, and was developed by Steve Draper, 1st Cavalry Museum Director, Connie Kuehl, Killeen Convention and Visitor Bureau, Dr. Cheryl Huckerby, Cultural Resource Management Office, and myself.

The project was funded with a grant from the Texas Historical Commission. The Fort Hood/Killeen group wrote the grant proposal, put together the information for the brochure, and worked with the printer on the final product. With the assistance of the Texas Historical Commission, we were able to produce 15,000 copies of the brochure.

The purpose of the brochure was to provide the public with information about the historical venues on the installation along with a map of their locations. It also includes post access information, hours of operation and a brief description of each activity. Featured activities include both museums, the Camp Hood Historic District, Fort Hood Memorial Park, Cultural Resource Management Office, and two historic homes in the main cantonment.

Dignitaries dedicating the Captain Lewis and Seaman statues on 30 September. Left to right: Alan Archambault, Director, Fort Lewis Museum;, Brig. Gen. John W. Morgan III, I Corps and FL Deputy Commanding General; Maj. Gen. (Ret.) John Hemphill (AUSA); Col. Debra Lewis, Comdr., Seattle District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and the sculptor, Dr. John Jewell.

New Fort Hood Visitor Center brochure

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leather, to today’s manufacturing methods. The examples range from the “Jefferson bootee” of the Civil War to today’s Army Combat Boot, used by the U.S. Army today in Iraq. The exhibit also relates the different types of footwear the Army has used ranging from boots intended for use in the field and in combat, to “low quarter” dress shoes. Specialized footwear such as boots and shoes designed for skiing, climbing, riding, and jumping, as well as for use in the arctic and the tropics, are also featured. Designing and providing shoes and boots specifically for women, the Women’s Army Corps and Army Nurse Corps, was a major part of the Quartermaster Corps’ mission and the exhibit contains numerous examples of both women’s field and dress shoes.

Shortly before the Civil War, a sewing machine was invented that perfected the sewing of soles to the bottoms of shoes. Later, the demand to equip an army during the Civil War, coupled with improved shoemaking methods, led to the immergence of the American shoe industry and the mass-production of footwear. Not only did the quantity of footwear improve, but the quality as well as the importance of proper fit became recognized as crucial to the well being, and effectiveness of Soldiers.

While throughout most of history Soldiers were provided with boots and shoes in a “one style for all occasions” fashion, World War I saw the first attempt to design shoes for a specific function, to withstand the rigors of trench warfare and by World War II, footwear design included boots for use in jungles and severe winter fighting. Today’s Soldiers are equipped with boots carefully designed for maximum comfort in desert environments.

Visitors of all ages who view the exhibit will have the opportunity to try on a variety of boots and shoes including combat boots, “Mickey Mouse” boots (insulated combat boots), and reproduction Civil War brogans.

From Shoe Leather to Gore-Tex™ will run through Spring 2006. For further information call (804) 734-4203. The U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 1000 to 1700, and weekends 1100 to 1700. There is no admission charge.

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Shoe fitting ca. 1958

Visitors of all ages will have the opportunity to try on different boots, including desert combat boots, "Mickey Mouse" insulated boots, and reproduction Civil War Brogans

The exhibit contains over 150 samples of Army footwear including three varieties of jungle boots beginning with World War II to the present. All photos by Tim O’Gorman.

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The Bata Shoe Company was a prime contractor for the making of cold weather insulated boots in the
1970's. This display board was used at their Belcamp, MD, factory to show the components that went
into making the boot.

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