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11/10 Premier of "The Air War"

Posted by Sue Moyer on October 15, 2010 at 1:26pm
Emmy® Award Winning WWII in HD RETURNS TO HISTORY® WITH THE AIR WAR Premieres Wednesday, November 10 at 9-11pm EST THE WAR AS IT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE FOUGHT 25,000 FEET ABOVE THE EARTH NARRATED BY ROB LOWE AND FEATURING THE STORY OF FOUR VETERANS, INCLUDING RENOWNED JOURNALIST ANDY ROONEY New York, NY, October 15, 2010 - HISTORY is announcing today the latest installment of its visually astonishing Emmy® award-winning series. WWII in HD: The Air War premiering on HISTORY on Wednesday, November 10 at 9pm EST presents the untold story of the American 8th Air Force’s bloody battle to defeat the German Luftwaffe in the months leading up to D-Day. Told through the gripping, first person accounts of three American airmen and Stars & Stripes reporter Andy Rooney, The Air War showcases breathtaking aerial combat – original, color footage, never before seen by most Americans – of the B-17s “Flying Fortresses”, P-47 “Thunderbolts” and P-51 “Mustangs” on missions such as Regensburg, Schweinfurt and Berlin. Never-before-seen 8mm footage of the airmen on the bases, the devastation in Germany, and the Luftwaffe perspective is also highlighted. Flying 25,000 feet above the earth in oxygen-devoid air, and temperatures as low as 50 below zero, the 8th Air Force fought a war unlike anything ever before experienced. By the end, they would suffer more than 26,000 combat deaths – more than the US Marines lost in all of World War II. This two-hour special is narrated by Emmy® nominated actor, Rob Lowe. Characters are voiced by: Casey Affleck (as B-17 bombardier Joe Armanini) Sean Astin (as P-47 fighter pilot Steve Pisanos) Chris O’Donnell (as B-17 pilot John Gibbons) Elijah Wood (as Stars & Stripes reporter Andy Rooney) To create this series, HISTORY launched an exhaustive worldwide search for color footage. As a result, WWII in HD: The Air War draws upon footage unearthed from archives and private collections across the globe. HISTORY preserved and restored this footage ― some of which has not been seen since the 1940s ― and converted it to HD for unprecedented clarity. An exceptional Dolby “soundscape” enhances the striking visuals and brings them to life as nev
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8th Air Force Archives at Penn State University

Posted by Sue Moyer on April 20, 2010 at 5:00am

I am posting directions to access the holdings of the 8th Air Force Archives that are housed at Penn State University. Included are the papers of and materials acquired by James Hill during his tenure as editor of the 8th Air Force News. Also included are donations from the PA 8th Air Force Historical Society and many artifacts donated to the archive by individual veterans from Pennsylvania. While unable to view the actual material on-line if you find something of interest I can help you to obtain the additional information. There are a number of folks who have asked me about the collection (knowing I work in the PSU library system). If you ever find yourself in central PA I would urge you to stop by.

Instructions on How to Find the Special Collections Collection Guides and Inventories Webpage

1. Open the Penn State Libraries’ website at:

http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul.html

2. Click on Departments (left side of the screen)

3. Click on Special Collections Library

4. Click on Search Collections (left side of the screen under Special Collections Information)

5. To find particular collection, click on the letter that it begins with

6. Scroll down the collection and click the link to the inventory

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Re: HBO's The Pacific. . .

Posted by Mike Crosman on March 30, 2010 at 8:40am
. . .a little removed from the ETO and Schweinfurt, but have you all been watching Tom Hank's and Steven Spielberg's The Pacific on HBO? I think its' a bit slower than "Band of Brothers" was but I guess we have to let them develop the characters! It is just amazing to me the mentality of the Japanese soldier, even compared to the Germans, who were quite fanatical in their own way. Stay tuned for Part IV!
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Re: New SSMA member. . .

Posted by Mike Crosman on March 19, 2010 at 7:00am
As a member of The Capital Wing of the Airman's Preservation Society, our organization is very pleased to be new members of SSMA. I am suggesting to all our members individually that they join this forum site, and we all look forward to making new friends and to share the passion that is 8th Air Force history, and specifically to honor the memory of all who were there at Schweinfurt during those dark days of 1943-44.
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October 14, 2009 in Schweinfurt

Posted by Sue Moyer on November 22, 2009 at 2:36pm
Below you will find a note to Julee MacDonald from Dieter Schorn sharing the activities of 10/14/2009 at the SSMA memorial in Schweinfurt. These photos will also be published in our next Briefing Letter. On October 14 at 11:00 hrs. a group of about 40 people had gathered at the Memorial in downtown Schweinfurt. 16 of them were "real" Luftwaffen-Helfer. There were 6 widows of friends who had passed away in recent months. Among them, of course, was Ruth Schaefer. We had ordered a permanent bouquet for the winter months which is being pkced at the bottom of the steel slab, and, besides, we had the two wreaths to commemorate Bud Klint and Georg Schaefer. One was made c/o Robert Klint /SSMA and the other one c/o the LWH-group. After two weeks both wreaths are still looking good, and no one has touched them. All flower arrangements were created by the same florist, so this guaranteed a fantastic composition (leading colors being blue and white). I hope the pictures will give you an idea. They also ought to show the immediate "neighborhood": the annual fall color composition at the walls of the Spitalsee Bunker: All varieties of yellow and orange, brick red and violet. Just like the Indian Summer I encountered in Ohio more than 50 years ago. At Wittenberg University in Springfield, just around the corner from Dayton... I hope this mail willl reach you in good health. Give my regards to Bob, please. And may the Lord bless you and keep you. Dieter photos courtesy of Waltraud Fuchs-Mauder, Schweinfurter Tagblatt

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