A Flight Back in Time

‘The Forgotten 500’ honored at Mesa museum

BY BILL QUEHRN

Airbase Arizona Flying Museum Docent

Astory that was classified for political reasons for more than 50 years is now the heart of a major display at Airbase Arizona Flying Museum at Mesa’s Falcon Field.

The C-47 Skytrain is one of the airplanes that played a part in this dramatic story of loyalty, self-sacrifice and valor. And guests can book a ride on the Skytrain that can take them through this story in a way you will not find anywhere else.

The story is the Halyard Mission of 1944. It recalls one of the greatest escapes of World War II. The mission is detailed in the Gregory A. Freeman book “The Forgotten 500,” which is available in the Airbase Arizona Flying Museum gift shop. Here is a quick summary of the mission.

Hundreds of American airmen during WWII were shot down in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia during years of relentless bombing runs against a crucial target: the Romanian oil fields that supplied the Ger-

AIRMAN & FAMILY READINESS CENTER “We’re never the wrong place to go!”

MILITARY MEMBERS, DOD CIVILIANS*, RESERVE, GUARD, MILITARY RETIREES & ELIGIBLE FAMILY MEMBERS

SERVICES AVAILABLE:

• Transition Services (Active Duty to Civilian) - Mandatory Separation\Retirement\Preseperation Counseling - Employment Assistance - SBA quarterly Boots to Business Workshop - Higher Education Training - Resume Writing and Federal Employment Workshops • Discovery Center - Resources for relocation, transition, employment, housing, schools, and more! • AMVETS – Provides medical records screening and assistance with VA disability claims • Personal Development Information & Resources - Like us on Facebook: Luke A&FRC • Military & Family Life Counselor Assistance

• Financial Counseling Education • Relocation & Sponsorship Services • School Liaison Officer

- Addresses educational issues involving military children and youth in the local school community

Annual Career Fair Monthly Dept. of Labor TAP Employment Workshop

Contact us for further information: (623) 856-6550 Email: 56fss.fsfr@luke.af.mil 7282 N. 137th Ave. Bldg.1113 Luke AFB, AZ. 85309

Arizona State Tax Credit

$400 Credit Single or Head of Household

$800 Credit Married, Filing Jointly

Make your donation online or by mail www.Dogs4Vets.org

American Service Animal Society P.O. Box 13525, Chandler, AZ 85248

Please mail my receipt to: Name

Address

City, State, Zip Email mans with nearly a third of their fuel supplies. Serbian farmers and peasants risked their lives to give refuge to our downed soldiers while they waited for rescue, and in 1944, Operation Halyard was born.

The risks were incredible. The starving Americans in Yugoslavia had to carve out landing strips large enough for C-47 cargo planes — without tools, without alerting the Germans, and without endangering the villagers. And, those unarmed C-47s had to make it through enemy airspace, land and take off on those rugged runways, and fly back without getting shot down themselves.

The museum’s exhibit includes a panel display that tells the mission story and photographs of people involved. It was prepared by the Halyard Mission Foundation, which makes periodic presentations in the museum’s Mission Briefing Room.

The mission was conducted by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Developed during WWII, the OSS was the intelligence agency created to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branches of the armed forces including the use of propaganda, subversion and post-war planning.

The agency’s top-secret and clandestine nature led to the classification of details regarding Halyard. What can be told today is that mission rescued 500 airmen considered lost and returned 500 veterans home.

The C-47 Skytrain, known to our British allies as Dakotas, was a treasured asset of WWII. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower once prepared a list of the most valuable tools to win the war. Skytrains came in at No. 2.

Skytrains served as cargo carriers, troop transports, med-evac carriers, and planes that towed gliders behind enemy lines in every theater of the war. It was developed from the Douglas DC-3 passenger liner of the 1930s, which is regarded in aviation history as one of the most versatile and reliable aircraft ever produced.

While the museum’s C-47 had an admirable military service record, the very nonmilitary look of the passenger cabin reflects its use after the war as a corporate plane for Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Co.

The museum’s Halyard Mission exhibit is particularly special because the father of one of my fellow docents was among those rescued. For visitors, it is an amazing display by itself.

Paired with a ride on our C-47 that participated in that mission, it offers a flight back in time experience you can’t duplicate anywhere else.

Airbase Arizona at Falcon Field

2017 N. Green eld Road, Mesa azcaf.org For museum/PX store: 480-924-1940 For rides/ ights: 480-462-2992 For admission details, visit the website Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays