FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 14, 2001
Contact Patrick Tremblay, ptremblay@asomf.org (910) 483-3003 ext. 229
D-DAY
PROGRAM HONORS GLIDER PILOTS
FAYETTEVILLE,
NC. The Airborne &
Special Operations Museum will host a special educational program on June 5,
2001. The program will be in
conjunction with the World War II Glider Pilots Association, and will focus on
the use of cargo gliders in delivering troops and equipment to the battlefield.
Held from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the museum’s Yarborough-Bank Theater,
the event will feature veteran glider pilots discussing their experiences during
the D-Day Normandy invasion and other major airborne operations of the war, and
will include a slide show with rare images of gliders during training in North
Carolina and Europe and during actual combat landings.
Gliders
were used extensively during World War II, and over 17 thousand were built by
the U.S. for the war effort. The
British, Soviets, Germans, Italians and Japanese also employed gliders for
delivering personnel and equipment into battle.
Because of light construction, limited peacetime use and advancements in
aviation technology, only 8 complete WWII era cargo gliders remain worldwide,
and the Airborne & Special Operations Museum’s restored CG-4A glider
stands as the finest of these. Designed
by the Waco Airplane Company of Troy, Ohio and built by the Laister-Kaufman
Aircraft Corporation, the museum’s glider has received international
attention.
The
Fayetteville-Ft. Bragg-Pope Air Force Base area, along with nearby Camp Mackall
and the Laurinburg-Maxton Air Field, was one of the primary training areas for
both glider pilots and glider troops during World War II.
Several existing units on Ft. Bragg trace their lineages directly to
glider infantry and artillery units, and others, such as the 82nd
Aviation Brigade, share a common heritage of military aviation.
For more information on the museum and the museum’s glider, visit www.asomf.org. Media inquiries may be directed to Sandy Klotz, Executive Director, at (910) 483-3003 ext. 226 or sklotz@asomf.org, or Patrick Tremblay, Marketing Manager, at ext. 229 or ptremblay@asomf.org.
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