Featuring War Planes And Exhibits That Tell The Story Of World War 2 And The Korean War And Their Effects On American Society
"World War 2 is called the peoples war and we celebrate that here," says Dawn Schaible, Director of Planning and Government Affairs at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York. The National Warplane Museum has "about a dozen planes, 8 of which are functional," says Craig Wadsworth, director of Aircraft Maintenance at the museum. It also has several exhibits that tell the story of World War 2 and the Korean War and their effects on American society.
"Veterans of these wars are typically very humble and quiet about their experiences," Schiable says, "so they are very grateful and appreciative of what we do." Schiable explains that both the humility and what is now known as PTSD contribute to the hesitancy on sharing stories. "Most men and women from these wars will just say 'Oh, thank you, but I was just doing my job'," Schiable explains, "however when we ask to share stories for their children and grandchildren, the veterans tend to open up more." She goes on to say that the stories of honor and pride are what make the museum become vital to our society.
The nebulous for the museum began in the 1980s with a group of local men and women who enjoyed flying old planes and started having an airshow. It grew to include more planes, more people, and more historical information, resulting in the museum forming in 1994, with an initial band of 250 aviation enthusiasts, as it is today. The airshow still survives and grows every year. "This will be our 36th year," Schiable says, "We typically get 70-100 planes." The show is a "family friendly event that has a homey feel to it." The slogan, "greatest show on turf," comes from a "European magazine who came to show and saw our 5000 feet grass runway and loved it," Schiable explains.
Beyond the airshow, ranked by USA Today as the 6th best show in America, they have a lot of hands-on and interesting exhibits. One of the newest is a reenactment of a D-Day briefing room with a fascinating history. "We have a c47a plane. Her name is Whiskey 7," Schiable explains. Interesting fact about planes - "they are always female and they are all personified," Schiable says.
Whiskey 7 was one of the planes that dropped paratroopers on June 6, 1944 in Normandy - better known as D-Day. One of the paratroopers on that day, Leslie Palmer Cruz Jr., is still alive and he lends his story to the museum every year he is able at the airshows. In June of 2014, Whiskey 7 trekked back to Europe and Mr. Cruz "pointed out the spots the soldiers deployed on D-Day from the air," Schiable recalls, "it was an amazing experience." Together with Cruz, the museum recreates what it was like to be a paratrooper in the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment the day before D-Day. "Groups sit in the briefing room and we have a living history interpreter act as commander." After the group gets briefed, they walk and board Whiskey 7. "The groups get to feel, smell, and experience what it was like to be apart of the 505th PIR," Schiable says.
Schiable says this technique is especially good with school children as it gives them a chance to have a hands-on experience. She recalls when she felt the museum was succeeding in spreading its message when “a middle school group came in and one of the students was Face Timing on her phone. Her teacher told her to turn that off and listen, but the student said she was Face Timing with a student who couldn’t come because she was sick but really wanted to be there.” For anyone who works with middle school age children, they know this is an impressive anecdote as getting that age interested in just about anything is a challenge.
"Once they board the plane, they sit on helmets like the soldiers did," Schiable explains. The soldiers on a c47 would sit on their helmets because c47 was not made to withstand fire and it was a way to protect their bottoms from gunfire. Though the c47 was not made for combat, it became the workhorse of WW2. Wadsworth says, "Churchill and Eisenhower used to say that victory was guaranteed because of the c47 and b17."
Of course there are more exhibits, many of which are related to WW2 being “the people’s war.” There is “America at Home” which reenacts what home life was like when so many men were off at war. There are exhibits that show robots of WASPs – Women Airforce Service Pilots - building the planes. “Many people don’t realize how big of a role women played in the war. They were the mechanics and the reason why we had a supply of planes to carry us through the war.”
Schiable says there is always interesting things going on at the museum and the 2017 airshow is especially exciting. “One of the WASPs, right after celebrating her 100th birthday, will be with us in July to talk about her experiences, “ Schiable enthusiastically says. The National Warplane Museum is here for the people to never forget the sacrifices everyone made to make America the great country it is today.
Andrew Malo
A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Education, Andrew has taught for the past decade in Chicago, New Mexico, and Japan. He enjoys tinkering with trucks and motorcycles, woodworking, reading and computer programming.
Make Sure To Stay At:
Genesee Country Campground, with hiking trails, a great local stream and many places nearby for visiting! For geology lovers, there's lots of interesting places to check out. Also features a camp store for all your camping needs