FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 17, 2000
Contact
Patrick Tremblay, ptremblay@asomf.org
(910) 483-3003 ext. 229
The Grand
Opening
The events
began at 7:00 am, with a small reception and dedication ceremony for the
museum’s Yarborough-Bank Vistascope Theater.
Ross Perot, a generous contributor to the museum, had the honor of naming
the theater, and chose to name it for Lieutenant General William Yarborough and
Colonel Aaron Bank, pioneers in
early airborne and special operations.
The 82d
Airborne Band played as guests took their seats in front of the museum, among
them over 30 general officers both active and retired.
Veterans from World War Two, Korea, Vietnam and all campaigns in between
and since stood at attention as a color guard of Ft. Bragg soldiers presented
the National Flag. The U.S.
Army Parachute Team, the “Golden Knights” then dropped from the sky bringing
with them the POW/MIA Flag, the ceremonial baton, and a proclamation from the
President declaring August 16th to be “National Airborne Day” as
the 60th anniversary of the first U.S. Army parachute jump.
General (Retired) James Lindsay, the president of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation, took the stage. General Lindsay introduced the first of two keynote speakers, General Hugh Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Following General Shelton, General Lindsay introduced Mr. Ross Perot. Mr. Perot, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, has long been a supporter of the military, with strong personal ties to Army special operations.
An Historic Day To Remember
The
rest of the day was much like a grand airborne and special operations reunion as
a sea of veterans, active duty soldiers and the public wandered through museum.
The main gallery was alive with the sound effects and seven video
displays that accompany the exhibits of the various time periods that are
represented. Fortunately these
sounds couldn’t drown out the war stories being exchanged among visitors as
friendships were made and renewed, and a sixty-year generation gap between WWII
veterans and the active duty soldiers was filled by the common bond of the
parachute.
The
lobby of the museum was awash with amazed visitors, coming to Fayetteville from
all over the world to pay tribute to the soldiers who have jumped and fought for
freedom. Greeted at the front of
the museum by granite memorials to flag bearing airborne and special operations
units, the visitors enter the lobby and are immediately drawn to a World-War Two
era T-5 parachute suspended from the ceiling, fully deployed with an 82d “All
American” paratrooper prepared to land. One
wall is decorated with seventy plaques, each with the name of a soldier assigned
to an airborne, glider, or special operations unit who has been awarded the
highest of military honors, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Outside the lobby in the memorial garden visitors walk across granite
paver stones engraved with the names of soldiers, family members and supporters
of the museum.
As the
day came to a close and the last lingering visitors left the museum grounds, the
air was thick with the excitement of a new dawn for downtown Fayetteville and a
new place of honor for American paratroopers and special operations soldiers.
The museum is now prepared to start focusing on its real mission, serving
the soldiers that it honors and the local communities through educational
programming.