Mighty Eighth Museum, Pooler, Georgia

reddfoxx · February 25, 2017, 02:58:59 PM

When we decided to go to Savannah I searched for nearby aviation sites and found the Mighty Eighth Museum in Pooler, a suburb. My mom had been there years ago and brought me back a shirt; now I had a chance to go.

It is a very impressive, small to medium size museum. Out front are an F-4 and a MiG-17. Inside you'll find an entryway with a ceiling modeled on a parachute. You then go along a narrow hall with displays on the background to war, and the founding of the 8th AF. Entering the main hall there is a B-17, P-51, Stearman, Bf-109, and the nose of a B-24. Out back is a memorial garden with monuments to the various squadrons and groups, a chapel, and a B-47. Back inside, more displays delve into the lives of POWs and those who escaped capture, including many stories of Europeans who helped them get away. Other displays touch on the Poles and Norwegians who flew alongside the 8th, the Tuskegee Airmen, WASPs, etc. All in all a very cool place, and worth a trip if you are anywhere nearby.

I also visited a few gate guards in the area.

Outside NAS Jacksonville. Don't do as I do and stop right here for a picture; I got yelled at by the actual gate guards.

Golden Isles airport, Brunswick, GA:

Savannah State University, Savannah, GA. Painted as mount of first Black Blue Angel.

Captain Canada · February 25, 2017, 04:50:31 PM

Cool stuff ! Defo looks like a neat museum. Pretty cool to see the B-47 out back I bet !Love the look of the Starfighter. And as for getting yelled at...." ha ha ! " lol but thanks for the tip

Rick Lowe · February 25, 2017, 07:01:30 PM

A -104 sure looks strange without the Wingtip Tanks.

reddfoxx · February 25, 2017, 07:10:31 PM

Captain Canada: I almost missed the 47. You can see it from the highway but I didn't come in that way. It is in the far corner of the memorial garden, not visible from inside the museum. I actually left and was walking to my car, saw the tail poking up and spun right around to go back through the museum...

Thought of you today: passed a small artillery piece in front of a building in Worthington, Ohio. Not far away, so I can swing by again sometime. I'm guessing a 75mm or so WW2 piece.

scooter · February 26, 2017, 04:14:38 AM

All the times I'd been down to Savannah for ANG TACP Support conferences, I *never* got to the 8AF Museum. But then, time was never really on our side.

NARSES2 · February 26, 2017, 05:00:32 AM

Glad to see how well looked after thing are

The two stained glass windows are interesting. Very English country side and church in one and then two interesting aircraft in the other

reddfoxx · February 26, 2017, 06:28:29 AM

Narses- note the B-17 above the shield. I will see if I have more- the chapel was beautiful, and most of the windows had planes on them.

TheChronicOne · February 26, 2017, 09:02:27 AM

Looks like a place I need to go. Great pics. I love the B-17 stained glass.

Nick · February 26, 2017, 11:09:44 AM

Now that looks like a great little museum! The website has this to say about their 'traditional English Gothic chapel' http://www.mightyeighth.org/chapel/
There are plenty of churches over here with memorials to the men and women of the Mighty 8th USAAF.

They also have an English Pub theme to their restaurant

http://www.mightyeighth.org/pub/

KiwiZac · February 26, 2017, 12:11:16 PM

Very nice. It looks like a real hidden treasure!

PR19_Kit · February 26, 2017, 12:20:42 PM

Quote from: Nick on February 26, 2017, 11:09:44 AM

They also have an English Pub theme to their restaurant http://www.mightyeighth.org/pub/

Blimey, that's pretty darn smart for an 'English pub'!

Logan Hartke · February 26, 2017, 07:01:15 PM

That's right in my neck of the woods, I've been there a couple of times. I'm in Jacksonville, FL, so pretty familiar with a lot of what you visited. Did you get a chance to check out all the tanks and the F-106 out at Camp Blanding or the gate guards at the FANG base at JAX?

Cheers,

Logan

reddfoxx · February 26, 2017, 09:05:40 PM

The pub was closed when I went, but it looked very nice.

I had hoped to visit Camp Blanding and Cecil Field, but the timing just didn't work. I was shooed away from the F-18 at NAS Jacksonville, so I was leery of trying to see the ANG display at JAX.

reddfoxx · February 26, 2017, 09:08:41 PM

A little more stained glass:

NARSES2 · February 27, 2017, 07:18:37 AM

Cheers for that stained glass and the shot of the chapel

There are plenty of churches over here with memorials to the men and women of the Mighty 8th USAAF.

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Yup seen a few on my travels, tucked away inside some lovely country churches which in some cases are over 1,000 years old, back to Saxon let alone Norman times.