In support of an official event 

The Museum will be closed Sunday, May 25
In addition, the Fourth Hangar will be closed Saturday, May 24

Guided tours of the 4th building, normally scheduled at 3:00 p.m. daily, are canceled through May 28.

Effective immediately, the William E. Boeing Presidential Gallery will have limited guest access due to scheduled event preparations. The only accessible exhibits during this time include: Douglas VC-54 Sacred Cow, Flying the President Exhibit, USAF Established Artifact. We anticipate full gallery access will resume by June 5, 2025.

1st Lt. Bryce Poe II

Before the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in June 1950, 1st Lt. Bryce Poe II flew the first Cold War reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union. In May 1949 he overflew the Kurile Islands in a specially-equipped RF-80A, and in March 1950 he flew over Vladivostock. Poe briefed the results of his flight directly to Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the USAF theater commander, Lt. Gen. George Stratemeyer.

On June 28, 1950, Poe flew the first jet reconnaissance mission of the Korean War. In addition to his 90 combat flights over North Korea, he flew a total of 19 top secret reconnaissance missions near or over communist China and the Soviet Union. In January 1951 Poe returned to the United States for assignment to a Strategic Air Command fighter escort squadron at Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas.

After 35 years of service, General Poe retired from his last post as commander of the Air Force Logistics Command in 1981.

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