Saturday, February 24, 2024, at 11:00 a.m –
The American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, NY celebrates Black History Month with Living History Presentations honoring the memory of Tuskegee Airmen and the men of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, America’s first Black Paratrooper Battalion of WWII in the then segregated U.S. Army.
Beginning at 11:00 a.m. AAM volunteer and WWII Airborne Living Historian Nick Casseus, will give an educational presentation about 555th and their establishment in 1943 as an airborne battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division as well as their integral part of the Homefront mission “Operation Firefly” where they trained as airborne “Smoke Jumpers” to combat forest fires in the Pacific Northwest started by Japanese Incendierary Balloon bombs in the last year of WWII. Nick will curate the unveiling the Museum’s newest display honoring the “Triple Nickles” and their earned title of “Smoke Jumpers” for their part in Operation Firefly in 1945.
Following the 555th PIB presentation, Mr.Reynard Burns, PR Officer for the Claude B. Govan Tri-State Tuskegee Airmen Chapter, will give an educational presentation honoring the famed “Red Tails” and then open it up to a Q & A session for our attending visitors. On January 11, 2001, AAM dedicated one of the first ever permanent exhibits honoring the Tuskegee Airmen’s 332nd Fighter Group. Former NYS Governor George Pataki and a dozen surviving Tuskegee Airmen, including Roscoe Brown, Lee Archer and William Wheeler, gathered under a full-size replica of Archer’s P-51D Mustang Fighter for the dedication. This replica is still suspended from AAM’s Hangar 3 and will be part of the days presentation.
During the course of the Day following the Living History Presentations we will have two free screenings of the 2012 movie “Red Tails” with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrance Howard in our Briefing room Theater.
Admission to the days events includes reserved seating for the screening.
The First screening begins at 12:00, and the second will begin at 2:00 p.m.
Refreshments and snacks will be available. We look forward to having you join us for the educational and inspiring event!
