Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center site of World War II Memorial Dedication Ceremony simulcast
The National Air and Space Museum, which houses many famous aircraft and artifacts associated with World War II, expects to welcome multitudes of veterans who are in town for the activities taking place May 27-30. Many are former pilots of the vintage military aircraft on display at the Museum, some of which are newly restored and on view for the first time ever.
Several nationally recognized Museum experts in World War II aircraft will be available to the media on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, May 26-28 for interviews on this subject.
- Don Lopez, deputy director, served in China during the war, flying Curtiss P-40s and North American P-51s under Gen. Claire Chennault. During that time, Lopez earned the title, "flying ace." After the war, Lopez attended the Air Force Test Pilot School, spent almost six years testing fighters, and completed a short combat tour flying North American F-86s in Korea. In 1995, the National Aeronautic Association named him an Elder Statesman of Aviation. Lopez wrote his memoir, Into the Teeth of the Tiger, and followed that success with Fighter Pilot's Heaven: Flight Testing the Early Jets.
- Dik Daso, curator of modern military aircraft, received his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1996 in military history, and is a retired USAF fighter pilot. During his military career, he flew more than 2,700 hours in military jets, taught history at the USAF Academy, and was the Chief of Air Force doctrine at the Pentagon. He has published three books examining American Airpower history, his most recent a biography of General Jimmy Doolittle, and has served as expert spokesperson on military aircraft on numerous occasions both on- and off-camera. He has worked at the Air and Space Museum since his military retirement in 2001.
- Russ Lee, Aeronautics curator, worked for the Commemorative (then Confederate) Air Force, restoring and maintaining World War II aircraft during his undergraduate college days, before joining the Museum in 1982. He earned a master's degree in American History from the George Mason University and he is a private pilot with 700 hours in 19 different aircraft. Lee was the supervising curator during the preservation of the Museum's Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
- Tom Dietz, Aeronautics Museum Specialist, is an expert in aircraft armament and ordnance and World War II German aircraft and is also responsible for the museum's collection of model aircraft. After serving in the U.S. Navy as an aviation electronics technician he received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Virginia in 1987. He joined the staff of the Aeronautics Division later that year. In 1995 he wrote On Miniature Wings: Model Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum. Dietz is currently curating the restoration of the museum's Heinkel He 219, a German nightfighter that is the sole surviving example of its type.
Aircraft on display in the "World War II Aviation" gallery in the National Mall building include:
- A Spitfire, the British plane that successfully defended England during the Battle of Britain
- A P-51 Mustang, which was used in all major theaters of the war
- A Mitsubishi Zero, the Japanese fighter used during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The "Sea-Air Operations" gallery provides an introduction to the history of ship-based flight. Aircraft on display include:
- A Grumman F4F Wildcat, the Navy's most widely used carrier-based fighter in World War II
- A Douglas SBD Dauntless, which played a major role in the Pacific theater, including the Battle of Midway.
The National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, located in Chantilly, Va., also has many World War II artifacts on view. Aircraft on display include:
- The Curtiss P-40, a plane used by the United States both at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines
- The Republic P-47, a rugged fighter used in both the escort and ground attack role;
- A P-38 Lightning, which downed more aircraft in the Pacific than any other plane
- The Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb used in combat.
Other artifacts at the museum include several World War II leather jackets decorated with traditional artwork; the desk of General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, the first and only officer to ever achieve a five-star rank in both the U.S. Army and Air Force; and arming plugs from the "Little Boy" atomic bomb. Also on display is the altitude indicator from the B-24 Lady Be Good, which disappeared in April 1943 following a bombing mission to Naples, Italy. The plane was found, 15 years later, in the Libyan desert.
The National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall will extend its hours over the Memorial Day weekend. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., May 27 - 31. Normal hours are from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is also open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There is a $12 fee for daily parking. Visitors may also be dropped off and picked up at the center's entrance at no charge. A round-trip shuttle bus has been established between the museum's flagship building on the National Mall and the Udvar-Hazy Center, with a $7 charge per passenger, $5 per passenger for groups of 10 or more.
Veterans and other visitors to the Udvar-Hazy Center on May 29 will be able to watch a simulcast of the World War II Dedication Ceremony and other events on giant TV screens. Limited seating will be available. The broadcast schedule is:
10 am -11 am Simulcast of the services at the National Cathedral
Noon -1 pm Simulcast of MCI Center entertainment
1 pm -1:40 pm The Sneely Sisters, a tribute to the "Andrew Sisters"
2 pm -3 pm Live Simulcast: WWII Memorial Dedication ceremony