News

New Museum of Aviation exhibit celebrates 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78th ABW/PA
Robins Air Force Base. Ga --  On the morning of Oct. 17, four buses rolled to a stop in front of the Museum of Aviation, and when the doors opened, men in their 80s and 90s stepped gingerly out into the picture-perfect day.

Many had canes; some were in wheel chairs and most sported hearing aids. After having medallions draped around their necks, they were helped along by family members and volunteers down to the museum's new World War II hangar.

But in the dark, early morning hours of June 6, 1944, these frail men of today made for quite a different sight. Hailing from farms and big cities around the country, they were strapping young Soldiers packed into C-47 planes that roared in the darkness over Normandy, France as part of the D-Day invasion.

Some were laden with heavy equipment. They made their entry into World War II by leaping into the darkness to an unknown fate. Many were mistakenly dropped over water and drowned due to the heavy loads they carried. The drops were in many cases so far off target and scattered that those who survived couldn't reform with their units.

The 43 men who came to the museum last week were members of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which is getting a special place of honor in the museum's new World War II Exhibit Hangar. An Oct. 17 luncheon began a weekend of festivities to mark the grand opening of the hangar, and its feature exhibit, an homage to the vaunted 507th PIR that is unlike any other at the museum.

The 507th PIR members came from around the country to get on the buses in Atlanta and go to museum for the opening.

Gene Sylvester, 84, of Melbourne, Fla., was an 18-year-old living in Massachusetts when he enlisted to become a paratrooper. He landed in water on D-Day but was able to escape only after dropping some of the equipment he was carrying. He was supposed to land together with his unit but it didn't work out that way.

"I wasn't with anybody I knew for two or three days," he said.

He and other members said they were not aware of another museum with an exhibit specifically devoted to the 507th PIR.

"We are honored to have something for the 507th," he said. "We are honored to be here."

When the 507th PIR members were asked to stand at the luncheon, they were given a prolonged ovation. That began a weekend of events that included a black-tie reception and dinner Oct. 17 and a concert by Lee Greenwood and the Band of the Air Force Reserve the following day.

The museum broke ground on the hangar in January and had opened the upper level in the front in June. World War II era planes, including a C-47 mounted on stilts over the 507th PIR exhibit have been moved into the hangar and more are on the way. Last weekend's festivities marked the full opening of the hangar and the 507th PIR exhibit.

If visitors were impressed with the World War II hangar now, they haven't seen anything yet. The museum is just getting started with realizing the full vision. It will eventually house all of the current World War II exhibits at the museum, including the Tuskegee Airmen exhibit. There are also plans for new exhibits, including a World War II classroom, an exhibit for aircraft maintenance performed at Robins, and a World War II Home Front exhibit that will show the efforts at home to support the war effort. Ken Emery, Museum of Aviation director, said the development of the hangar will continue for years.

The driving force behind the 507th PIR exhibit was museum supporter Bud Parker. Mr. Emery said the museum decided to feature the 507th PIR due to Mr. Parker's contacts with the unit, and his offer to secure artifacts.

At the luncheon, the gruff-voiced Mr. Parker fought back tears as he talked about what the opening of the exhibit meant to him.

"This is as an emotional moment for me as it is for you," he told fellow 507th PIR members.

Maj. Gen. Polly Peyer, commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, noted that the 507th PIR has an important connection to Georgia. The unit did its training at Camp Toccoa just outside of Toccoa.

"It's almost like it has come back home to Georgia," she said.