Over Memorial Day weekend the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum held a Flags for the Fallen event, placing 26,000 48-star American flags in remembrance of each airman the unit lost during World War II. The three-day event culminated Monday with a wreath-laying by war veterans and a C130 flyover by the 165th Airlift Wing, based in Savannah.
On Jan. 28, 1942, in what is now the American Legion building on Bull Street in Savannah, the U.S. Army Air Corps created the 8th Air Force. Which, during the war, would become the largest air armada in the world, capable of sending more than 3,000 aircraft on a single mission. By the end of the war in Europe, the Mighty 8th flew more than 600,000 missions and dropped over 670,000 tons of bombs on Nazi forces in France and Germany.
Of the 405,399 U.S. military personnel that died in the war, 26,000 came from the 8th Air Force.
In attendance were World War II veterans Colonel Ken Beckman, Staff Sergeant Bruce Cook, Corporal Leonard Turner. U.S. Rep.Earl L. “Buddy” Carter attended the ceremony as well.
“We are so grateful to everyone who took the time to volunteer this year,” said Dawn Brosnan, Director of Communications and Marketing. “Your dedication ensures that the service and sacrifice of these airmen are never forgotten.”
The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force is located in Pooler. Its mission is to educate visitors about the character, courage, valor, and patriotism of the individuals who fought in the Eighth Air Force using films, exhibits, artifacts, and archival materials to tell their stories.
This story was published in partnership with thecurrentga.org.
