OIF aircrews donate to museum

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Carl Norman
  • Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) --  Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans started the OIF page in the Air Force Museum's history book here June 4 by donating items they used on combat missions.

Aircrews presented the items during a ceremony at the museum. The items will be displayed to show one of many Air Force undertakings that are being featured in Operation Tribute to Freedom, an effort to recognize members of the armed forces at home and abroad for their accomplishments and sacrifices in the war on terrorism.

Some of the donated items include: desert flight suits, desert boots, dog tags, squadron patches, squadron coins, American flags flown on combat missions, flight-crew gloves, navigational charts, a map of Iraq and a forward air-control kit used to call in air strikes on Baghdad.

"We feel we're not worthy of donating items," said Lt. Col. Raymond Strasburger, 75th Fighter Squadron operations officer at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., and an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot. "There are countless others whose combat experiences far exceed our own. And though our recent combat exploits pale in comparison to the original all-volunteer group in China and the greatest generation, we trust that in some small way the items we donate will serve to protect the legacy of the United States Air Force."

Strasburger also donated a flashlight he said was “very useful” on OIF missions.

A B-1 Lancer crew from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., also added a pin removed from one of the bombs being dropped on Iraqi targets. The crew struck a “target of opportunity” April 7 in Baghdad believed to be a meeting of senior Iraqi leaders.

The McChord AFB, Wash.-based crew that flew the lead C-17 Globemaster III into northern Iraq on March 25 for the first combat paratrooper drop from a C-17 donated the original flight planning documents and the sheet of paper crew members used to compute descent rates.

"A few years ago people were saying the C-17 will never go into combat," said Lt. Col. Shane Hershman, 7th Airlift Squadron commander who piloted the aircraft. "But we went in for the first combat personnel air drop ever from a C-17 from the largest formation of C-17s ever. The C-17 proved itself through its people."

A KC-135 Stratotanker crew from McConnell AFB, Kan., supported combat search and rescue efforts for a downed F-15E pilot deep into Iraq April 7. They donated the boom operator's checklist.

"As I look around the museum and see all the planes and think of the millions of people who have contributed to the success of the Air Force, I'm glad I (became a navigator),” said Capt. Tricia Paulsen-Howe, navigator on the flight. “I feel very honored and humbled to contribute something that represents all the men and women who are out there flying missions every day."

The items will help the museum staff tell the story of Air Force people's dedication and sacrifice, according to retired Maj. Gen. Charles Metcalf, the museum director.

"The museum is more a story of people and events, and our visitors identify with that," Metcalf said during the ceremony. "The items … will be instrumental in helping us tell that story.

"If you followed the war on television, you saw the wonderful young people who are serving in selfless service to this great nation," he said. "World War II holds nothing above these people. They've done us a great honor."