Walk through the streets of war-torn Normandy and see a glider delivering
a jeep into battle, hear troopers exiting a helicopter in Vietnam, watch
the rooftops as soldiers and an MH‐6 "Little Bird" rescue Kurt Muse in
Panama, witness troops defending freedom in Iraq and fighting the war on
terror in Afghanistan.
The Airborne & Special Operations Museum recounts the actions of
heroic soldiers from the early days of the Parachute Test Platoon to the
ongoing Global War on Terrorism. The museum preserves the extraordinary
feats performed by the United States Army's Airborne and the Special
Operations Forces, all who jump from the sky, into battle. Come see what
brings out the best in America's sons and daughters. Our museum is a
source of pride to all those who served, or now serve, in the U.S. Army
Airborne and Special Operations units.
Early Airborne
The excitement and uncertainty of the first U.S. soldiers to jump is felt
as the Test Platoon forges a new weapon of war, the American paratrooper.
Lieutenant Bill Ryder, leader of the Test Platoon, on August 16th, 1940
became the first American fighting man to stand in the door and jump. He
was followed by Private William King, the first U.S. enlisted
paratrooper. The work that followed in the next four years was amazing.
Developing full-scale airborne operations while engaged in a world war
required the passion and dedication of many great leaders. The names are
legendary; John Ward, Bud Miley, Bill Yarborough, Red King and Bill
Donovan only begin the distinguished list. North Carolina native Major
General William C. Lee would come to be known as "the Father of the
Airborne."
World War II
World War II saw the most concentrated use of airborne operations, with
five Army divisions dedicated to using this new method of putting men and
equipment on the battlefield. The 11th, 13th, 17th, 82d and 101st
Airborne Divisions spearheaded many operations, and were joined by early
special operations soldiers from units such as the Rangers, OSS, and the
1st Special Service Force. Conventional American airborne forces from WWII
until 1948 were composed roughly of equal parts paratroopers and glider
troops. Gliders were used to bring soldiers and equipment including
jeeps, engineering and artillery pieces, to the battlefield. Places such
as Sicily, Normandy, and Corregidor became legendary proving grounds for
the paratroopers, glider troops, and special operations soldiers, and
were the building blocks of victory in Europe and the Pacific. On display
at the U.S. Army Airborne and Special Operations Museum is a replica of
part of a French village from the Normandy Invasion of June 1944. As
visitors walk the streets of the village, they are surrounded by images
of war. From the bullet holes in the stucco walls to the C-47 "Skytrain"
flying low overhead with jumper in the door, the museum transports the
visitor to war torn occupied France at the dawn of Europe's liberation.
The visitor is then transported to the Pacific-Asiatic Theater of
Operations, immersed in excitement and uncertainty as they prepare for
combat in the thick jungle. Multimedia displays here and throughout the
gallery show original newsreel footage and other scenes of American
troops in action. One of the most rare and impressive displays is that of
a completely restored WACO CG-4A glider. Gliders were used extensively in
the war, and the largest operations used them by the thousands. The
gliders were very fragile, had little peacetime use, and have not been
used by the military since 1950-51. For these reasons there are only a
handful of gliders left in the world, and few of these have been properly
restored. The museum's glider is one of the finest examples in existence.
Korea and Cold War
In the years following WWII, the air was thick with the new, invisible
threats of the Cold War. American airborne and special operations units
were kept busy in the Korean War, with combat jumps by the 187th Airborne
Regimental Combat Team (ARCT) and the use of Airborne Ranger Companies.
PSYWAR Radio Broadcast and Leaflet teams added pressure by fighting for
the hearts and minds of the combatants. United Nations partisan forces
fought deep behind enemy lines in a little remembered special operations
effort. In the early 1950s the power of special and unconventional
warfare became increasingly clear. A natural progression of the special
operations units of the OSS that had proven themselves during World War II
was the establishment of the 10th Special Forces group at Fort Bragg in
1952, the first of the Army's Special Forces units. It was also during
this time that the United States began to feel internal unrest at such
levels that airborne units would be called upon to help support the
civilian authorities. The museum explores the 101st and 82d Airborne
Divisions and the XVIII Airborne Corps' presence in some of our nation's
hot spots from Miami to New Haven and Detroit to Washington, D.C. to
quell the civil unrest. In 1965, airborne and special operations troops
were called to the Dominican Republic. The 7th Special Forces Group and
the 82d Airborne Division were joined by South American countries to set
up a peacekeeping force. It was the 82d Airborne's largest overseas
deployment since WWII, and it shared the nation's attention with another
war that was raging, this one in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam
The U.S. Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum takes a close look
at the soldiers, equipment, and campaigns of the war in Vietnam. The
"Screaming Eagles" of the 101st Airborne Division, the 3d Brigade of the
82d, and the legendary "Sky Soldiers" of the 173d Airborne Brigade fought
valiantly in Southeast Asia, and the Special Forces proved themselves
time and again by working with the indigenous people in their fight for
freedom. On exhibit at the museum is a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter. The pilot
is at the controls, the door gunner is at the ready, and two paratroopers
are on the ground ready for action. Hidden in the bush is the point man
for a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, silently surveying the action.
Nearby is a Viet Cong prisoner of war (POW) camp in South Vietnam's U
Minh Forest, also known as the "Forest of Darkness," due to its dense
jungle. Here the visitor will see Green Beret, first lieutenant James
"Nick" Rowe held in a bamboo cage plotting his escape. After five years
of captivity Rowe escaped his Vietnamese captors in December 1968. Because
of his experience as a POW, Rowe was charged by the U.S. Army to design
its Survival, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training program, which is
now part of the Special Forces Qualification Course.
Contingency Operations & Training
Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the United States has been
involved in many peacekeeping and contingency operations. The Army has
used this time to further develop the mission, use, and training of
airborne and special operations soldiers. With successful operations in
places from Grenada and Panama to the war in the Persian Gulf, U.S.
airborne and special operations soldiers have continued to spearhead the
nation's fighting power. The M551 Sheridan armored reconnaissance vehicle
on exhibit, was heavy enough to be considered a tank by many, but light
enough to be dropped into combat by parachute. Veteran of many airborne
operations, this Sheridan on display in the museum's Operation Just Cause
exhibit, with a member of "America's Guard of Honor," the 82d Airborne
Division, ready for combat alongside, is an example of those used against
dictator, General Manuel Noriega's Panamanian Defense Forces in December
1989. Overhead is an AH-6 "Little Bird." This small but deadly helicopter
represents the use of special operations airpower. From the early
airplanes that dropped paratroopers and towed gliders to the blistering
modern gun-ships like the AC-130H Specter, aircraft have always been an
intrinsic part of airborne and special operations. In 1989, a "Little
Bird," like the one in the museum, was used by U.S. Army Special
Operations soldiers in the daring rescue of Kurt Muse, an American
citizen held in Panama's infamous Carcel Modelo, a prison in Panama City.
A diorama at the museum depicts a Special Forces hide-site during the
Persian Gulf War. The front of the site is nearly invisible against the
backdrop of the desert. The rear of the site has been cut away to show
the soldiers carefully watching the movements of an Iraqi convoy. These
"silent professionals" will then relay what they are seeing through
secure radio methods, providing a "real-time" view of enemy movement.
Global War on Terrorism
Almost immediately after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the
U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), and other U.S. military units, began planning a response. One of
the several Joint U.S. Military Special Forces components established, for
what was dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom (2001-2014), was designated
Task Force DAGGER. Sit-down with our Special Forces soldiers in an Afghan
hut and learn how a handful of these well-trained warriors, working with
local warlords, defeated the Taliban during the early stages of the war.
Deploy with elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps to Afghanistan and Iraq
to see how they fought and continue to fight alongside our country's
international partners to triumph over terrorism.