FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 16, 2001

Contact Patrick Tremblay, ptremblay@asomf.org (910) 483-3003 ext. 229

AIRBORNE HERITAGE DAY  

FAYETTEVILLE, NC.  On Thursday, August 16 the Airborne & Special Operations Museum will mark its first anniversary and the 61^st anniversary of Army airborne.  The event, Airborne Heritage Day, will be an annual day of remembrance and celebration of all units and soldiers who wear the silver parachute and glider wings.  The day’s activities are sponsored by the XVIIIth Airborne Corps and Ft. Bragg, United States Army Special Operations Command, Pope Air Force Base, Coca-Cola, and Peaden’s Seafood & Catering.

EVENTS

Airborne Heritage Day will begin at 9 AM with static displays of airborne and special operations equipment in the museum and on the grounds.  The displays will feature weapons and equipment used by the XVIIIth Airborne Corps and by Army special operations, as well as parachute qualified ground troops stationed at Pope Air Force Base.  A Kiowa Warrior reconnaissance helicopter, artillery, air defense, and parachute rigging equipment are just some of the exciting equipment that will be presentated in this rare public display.  At 9:30 the 82d Airborne Division’s All-American Freefall and the Green Beret Sport Parachute Demonstration Teams will join together for a parachute demonstration.  The jumpers will land at the front of the museum, officially beginning the day of celebration.  The museum gallery doors will open following the demonstration, and visitors can see in vivid detail the legendary history of this unique sector of the military.  The 82d Airborne Division All-American Chorus will perform at 10:30 and 11:00 in the Yarborough-Bank Theater (named for Lieutenant General (LTG) Bill Yarborough, a true hero and pioneer of airborne warfare, and Colonel Aaron Bank, the “Father of the Special Forces”).  The 82d Airborne Division Band will play at 1 PM.  Peaden’s BBQ will be serving up lunch ($5 per plate) on the museum grounds from 11-2.

LEE EXHIBIT

A true highlight of the day will be the opening of the museum’s new special exhibit, From Dunn to D-Day: Remembering Bill Lee.  Major General William C. Lee was a native of Dunn, North Carolina, located 30 miles from Fayetteville.  It was under Lee’s guidance that early airborne units were created and trained, and it was Lee who chose Ft. Bragg as the primary training area for all airborne units during World War II.  As the first commanding general of the 101^st Airborne Division, Lee trained nearly 14,000 paratroopers and glider troops for combat in Europe.  When the men of the division jumped from C-47 airplanes over occupied France during the D-Day invasion of June 1944, they shouted “Bill Lee!” as a tribute to their beloved leader, who was home in Dunn recovering from a heart attack.  LTG McNeill, Commanding General of the XVIIIth Airborne Corps, LTG Brown, Commanding General of the United States Army Special Operation Command, and LTG (Ret) Yarborough will cut the ribbon to open this important exhibit at 11:30. 

BIRTH OF THE AIRBORNE

In the summer of 1940 the U.S. Army, recognizing the awesome potential of airborne warfare, created the Parachute Test Platoon.  On August 16 of that year 48 soldiers jumped, becoming the first American paratroopers.  The sixty-one years that followed have seen American airborne and special operations soldiers spearhead American interests around the world, from the beaches of Normandy and islands of the Pacific to the deserts of Asia and the war torn Balkans.

THE MUSEUM

Located in downtown Fayetteville, the Airborne & Special Operations Museum is part of the U.S. Army Museum System and tells the story of Army airborne and special operations units from 1940 to the present.  Since opening on August 16^th, 2000, the museum has welcomed over 260,000 visitors from all over the world.    

Museum hours: 10am – 5 pm, Tues – Sat, Noon – 5 Sunday. Closed Monday; open Federal holiday Mondays.  Admission is free; there is a charge for the Vistascope Movie and Vista-Dome Motion Simulator. Visit the museum website at www.asomf.org for more information.  

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