B-17 Flying Fortress Restoration

04/05/2022

May the 8th Air Force Be With You!

https://shop.mightyeighth.org/may-the-force-be-with-you-t-shirt/

12/04/2022

Flags for the Fallen 2022 at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force is happening on May 26th through Memorial Day! Volunteers needed. Sign up here: tinyurl.com/flagsvolunteer

This tribute, located in the museum’s Memorial Gardens, honors the 26,000 Eighth Air Force airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War II. 26,000 48-star American flags, the flag under which these men served, and many are buried, will fill the garden and give visitors a chance to walk through and remember those heroes who didn’t return home.
Any questions, contact [email protected].

02/04/2022

Limited Edition FLAGS FOR THE FALLEN T-shirts are now available online! Commemorate this event by honoring the 26,000 fallen WWII airmen of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.

https://shop.mightyeighth.org/flags-for-the-fallen/

01/02/2022

28/01/2022

Eighty years ago today, the US Army's Eighth Air Force was born in a National Guard armory in Savannah, GA with no airplanes. Within a couple of years it would become the mightiest air force ever committed to battle and make possible the liberation of Europe from N**i tyranny.

07/12/2021

"December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy" 🇺🇸

05/12/2021

Masters of the Air | “Band of Brothers 3” | EXCLUSIVE Interview with its author | DONALD L MILLER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsePDLVyL2w

Ahead of it's release in 2022, "Masters of the Air" author Donald L Miller gives a behind the scenes look at the 'mini series'. In 2001 Tom Hanks and Steven ...

09/10/2021

Shot down on October 6, 1944
Lt James Mulder
385thBG 549thSQ
Bombardier
Stalag Luft I Barth

Jim Mulder was born in Brooklyn. After the death of his mother when he was four, Jim lived with his Uncle Wilhelm DeWolf in Holland and returned to NY in 1934. His sister, Alice lived in Rotterdam with their grandmother until 1946. During the war she harvested tulip bulbs for food.

On October 6, 1944 Jim flew a mission to a ball bearing factory outside Berlin. It would be his 13th and last mission. The 385thBG was the last group over the target, the 549th was the last squadron in the group and Jim’s plane "Back in the Sack" was the last plane, aka “tail end Charlie.” All 11 B-17’s from Jim’s squadron flying that day were lost. Of the 100 crewmen in those aircraft, 55 were killed in action, 7 were reported missing in action and presumed dead and 38 were captured.
Jim’s plane began to spiral after being hit. He managed to escape after being pinned inside by the G-forces when the plane broke apart from the pressure. It threw an unconscious Jim from the plane. Luckily, he regained consciousness and managed to pull his ripcord. Unfortunately, Jim’s ordeal was far from over. He landed in Germany near a group of Hi**er Youth whom beat Jim with their rifle butts. An older one-armed man came along and stopped the beating. Jim believes he was a WWI veteran.
Jim spent the remainder of the war in Stalag Luft I Barth where lost over 50 pounds. Upon liberation, the POWs were held within in gates for safety. Jim's bunkmates nominated him to sneak out beyond "the wire" to find them some food. Jim did so. He came upon a rooster so he chased it down. He proudly brought it back to his bunkmates. They all laughingly jeered and teased him. He always chuckled when recounting the tale. "I was from Brooklyn. How was I to know you don't usually eat roosters- and skinny ones at that!"

Education Collection
National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force