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Home > Fact Sheets > Story Ideas
STORY IDEAS
Posted 3/5/2012
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Vintage B-25 Mitchell bombers fly over the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, during a memorial flight honoring the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders on April 18, 2010. The 68th Doolittle Raiders' reunion commemorates the anniversary of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid. On April 18, 1942, U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle's squad of 16 B-25 Mitchell aircraft bombed Japanese targets in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey)
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The National Museum of the United States Air Force offers the media a wide range of interesting and unique topics that can serve as the basis for an attractive feature story. Particular possibilities include:
Doolittle Raiders 70th Anniversary Reunion
From April 17-20, celebrate the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders as the World War II aviation heroes commemorate the 70th anniversary of the raid on Japan during their reunion at the museum. These 80 men, led by Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, achieved the unimaginable when they took off from an aircraft carrier on April 18, 1942, on a top secret mission to bomb Japan. All five of the living Raiders - Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole; Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite; Lt. Col. Edward J. Saylor; Maj. Thomas C. Griffin and Master Sgt. David J. Thatcher - plan to attend reunion activities, which include free public events such as autograph sessions, a memorial service, a B-25 flyover, and the showing of the film "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo." The public also can purchase tickets to attend two lunches and an evening banquet. As a special tribute to the Raiders during the reunion, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Association, Inc. is working to secure enough sponsorship funding to fly in and land 25 B-25 Mitchell bombers on the runway behind the museum. If their efforts are successful, this aviation event would be the largest gathering of B-25s since World War II. More information about the reunion is available at http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/doolittle.asp.
NASA Crew Compartment Trainer arrival
The NASA Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT) will arrive at the museum in 2012. This high-fidelity representation of a Space Shuttle Orbiter crew station was used primarily for on-orbit crew training and engineering evaluations. Here, astronauts learned how to operate many of the orbiter sub-systems in more than 20 different classes, and all U.S. Air Force astronauts in NASA's Shuttle Program trained in the CCT. After its arrival, the CCT will be displayed in the Cold War Gallery. Eventually, it will be exhibited in the new Space Gallery, which will be part of the museum's planned fourth building.
Virtual Tour
The museum's interactive 360-degree virtual tour gives online visitors a chance to explore the museum at their leisure, plan future visits and share their experiences with friends and family. The tour includes 92 high-definition panoramic "nodes," and within each node, aircraft and artifacts are hyperlinked to factsheets, supplemental information and educational tools. The tour is located at www.nmusafvirtualtour.com.
Southeast Asia War 50th Anniversary Commemoration
The museum is in the midst of the complete renovation of its Southeast Asia War Gallery. Started in the fall of 2010 and continuing over four phases, the gallery renovation is being completed in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first official U.S. Air Force campaign in Southeast Asia. The gallery features more than 25 aircraft, including the recently restored HH-3E helicopter, B-57 bomber and C-7 transport, and the Southeast Asia story is explained in 12 chapters, including themes such as Operation Rolling Thunder, the Tet Offensive and Operation Linebacker. More information about the renovation is available at http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/sea.asp.
Dynamic outdoor aviation events
Children and adults of all ages will have an "out-of-this-world" experience during Space Fest this spring. The exciting after-hours gathering on May 11 will include a 5K fun ran and a Star-Gaze with telescopes (weather permitting). Day-time activities on May 12 will feature space-related demonstration stations and many more activities.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base invites the public to celebrate independence during the eighth annual Freedom's Call Military Tattoo on June 29. The free event features aircraft flyovers, live music by the U.S. Air Force Band of Flight and a fireworks show.
The Giant Scale Radio-Controlled Model Aircraft Air Show, held over Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 2), features daring acrobatics performed by model jets, helicopters and warbirds. Daily shows and candy drops delight visitors, and the admission cost doesn't hurt either - this three-day event is free!
Go Behind the Scenes
So much more takes place away from the day-to-day public view to enable the museum to tell the Air Force and military air power story to its more than one million annual visitors. Go behind the scenes to see how the museum restores aircraft, builds sensory exhibits, manages its massive artifact collection and cares for its valuable historical document and photo collection. Current restoration projects include the B-17F Memphis Belle and many others.
Rare, one-of-a-kind and historic attractions
The museum is home to rare, one-of-a-kind and historic aircraft and exhibits and significant aircraft are added to the collection each year. Popular attractions include the world's only permanent public displays of a B-2 stealth bomber and F-22A Raptor; President Kennedy's Air Force One and other presidential aircraft; the world's only remaining XB-70 Valkyrie; the B-29 Bockscar that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, in World War II; sections of the Berlin Wall; a Bob Hope exhibit; and much more.
Fun for all ages
The museum has something for the entire family! From monthly Family Day activities to summer Aerospace Camps to biannual home school programs, the museum's Education Division has more than 154,000 contacts with adults and students each year, teaching them U.S. Air Force history and the science of aviation.
Point of Contact
National Museum of the United States Air Force, Public Affairs Division, 1100 Spaatz St., Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, 45433-7102; (937) 255-4704.
Revised February 2012
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