• VISIT

    Plan Your Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Adult Programs, Team Building & Guided Tours
    • Virtual Reality
    • Birthday Parties

    Exhibits

    • Campus Map
    • Aircraft Exhibits
    • Aircraft Lists
    • Aircraft Projects
    • Exhibition Updates
    • Aircraft Restoration

    Events

    • Upcoming Events
    • Event News
    • Event Photos
    • Past Events
    • Event Space Rental
  • LEARN

    Education Center

    • About the National STEM Academy
    • Educator Resource Center
    • Lending Library
    • Education News
    • STEM News
    • STAR Partners
    • Education Donations
    • STARBASE Robins
    • Volunteer Opportunities with the National STEM Academy

    Field Trips & Education Programs

    • Virtual Field Trips
    • ‘On the Go’ Outreach Programs
    • Guided Tours and History Programs (Ages 5 – Adult)
    • Ace & Wonder Wings STEM Program (Pre-K – 5th)
    • Mission Quest Flight Simulators & Space Programs (6th – Adult)
    • Homeschool Programs

    Education Events

    • Summer Camps
    • STEM Labs and Events
    • Educator STEM Conference
    • Space Week
    • Birthday Parties
    • Scout Programs
  • SUPPORT

    Giving

    • Annual Fund
    • Education Donations
    • Memorial and Honor Gifts
    • Endowment Funds
    • B-17 Flying Fortress Fund
    • Playground Remodel Fund
    • Restoration Project Support

    Join Us

    • Membership Friends of the Museum
    • Sustaining Partners
    • Star Partners

    Get Involved

    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Kroger Program
  • SHOP

    Products

    • All Products
    • Armed Forces Gifts
    • Books
    • Clothing
    • Georgia Gifts
    • Lithographs
    • Miscellaneous

    Products

    • Museum Souvenirs
    • Patches
    • Posters
    • Puzzlers
    • Robin Air Force Base
    • SR-71 Blackbird
    • Toys
  • ABOUT

    About the Museum

    • About the Museum
    • Awards Received
    • Foundation Board of Directors
    • Board of Governors
    • National Board of Advisors
    • Museum Staff
    • Board Member Access

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Tell Us How We’re Doing
    • Subscribe for Updates
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Flickr

    In the News

    • All News
    • Blog
    • Connecting with Veterans
    • News Articles
    • Military History
Supporting the U.S. Air Force Museum | Welcome to the Museum of Aviation Foundation Website
(478) 926-6870
Email Us
Connecting with Veterans
Museum of Aviation
  • VISIT

    Plan Your Visit

    • Plan Your Visit
    • Adult Programs, Team Building & Guided Tours
    • Virtual Reality
    • Birthday Parties

    Exhibits

    • Campus Map
    • Aircraft Exhibits
    • Aircraft Lists
    • Aircraft Projects
    • Exhibition Updates
    • Aircraft Restoration

    Events

    • Upcoming Events
    • Event News
    • Event Photos
    • Past Events
    • Event Space Rental
  • LEARN

    Education Center

    • About the National STEM Academy
    • Educator Resource Center
    • Lending Library
    • Education News
    • STEM News
    • STAR Partners
    • Education Donations
    • STARBASE Robins
    • Volunteer Opportunities with the National STEM Academy

    Field Trips & Education Programs

    • Virtual Field Trips
    • ‘On the Go’ Outreach Programs
    • Guided Tours and History Programs (Ages 5 – Adult)
    • Ace & Wonder Wings STEM Program (Pre-K – 5th)
    • Mission Quest Flight Simulators & Space Programs (6th – Adult)
    • Homeschool Programs

    Education Events

    • Summer Camps
    • STEM Labs and Events
    • Educator STEM Conference
    • Space Week
    • Birthday Parties
    • Scout Programs
  • SUPPORT

    Giving

    • Annual Fund
    • Education Donations
    • Memorial and Honor Gifts
    • Endowment Funds
    • B-17 Flying Fortress Fund
    • Playground Remodel Fund
    • Restoration Project Support

    Join Us

    • Membership Friends of the Museum
    • Sustaining Partners
    • Star Partners

    Get Involved

    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Kroger Program
  • SHOP

    Products

    • All Products
    • Armed Forces Gifts
    • Books
    • Clothing
    • Georgia Gifts
    • Lithographs
    • Miscellaneous

    Products

    • Museum Souvenirs
    • Patches
    • Posters
    • Puzzlers
    • Robin Air Force Base
    • SR-71 Blackbird
    • Toys
  • ABOUT

    About the Museum

    • About the Museum
    • Awards Received
    • Foundation Board of Directors
    • Board of Governors
    • National Board of Advisors
    • Museum Staff
    • Board Member Access

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Tell Us How We’re Doing
    • Subscribe for Updates
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Flickr

    In the News

    • All News
    • Blog
    • Connecting with Veterans
    • News Articles
    • Military History

Curator Mike Rowland Re-visits Normandy

  • Home
  • Curator Mike Rowland Re-visits Normandy

Curator Mike Rowland Re-visits Normandy

  • Posted by Museum of Aviation
  • Date June 6, 2011
upcoming events, museum of aviation foundation, nonprofit organization

I thought it would be appropriate today, on the 67th anniversary of D-Day to hear from someone who has actually visited Normandy. Museum of Aviation Curator Mike Rowland was there a few years back, in preparation for working on our Down to Earth exhibit. Here are his thoughts on that trip:

As I consider the 67th anniversary of the 6 June 1944 D-Day invasion of France, my thoughts wander back to the summer of 2005 when I had the opportunity to visit Normandy. I traveled with a group that included six World War II veterans to visit sites related to the invasion. It was an amazing trip and I want to share a few memories in particular that stand out to me today.

The La Cambe German Cemetery is the largest German military cemetery in Normandy, with over 21,000 soldiers buried there. Most of the headstones I saw were for young men, between 20-25 years old. They were kids when Hitler came to power, and I imagine some of them were soldiers just doing their jobs. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder about those buried there who had embraced Nazi ideology and all its shocking cruelty and oppression.

At the cemetery, a group of French school children gathered around retired Colonel Frank Naughton, a veteran paratrooper who had jumped into Normandy as part of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR). One of the kids asked if he ever came close to dying. When he heard the translation, Colonel Naughton said emphatically, “Oh, yes!”

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial has 9,386 graves and is in a beautiful location overlooking Omaha Beach. I really like the inscription on the wall of the chapel in the center of the cemetery: “Their graves are the permanent and visible symbol of their heroic devotion and their sacrifice in the common cause of humanity.” As I walked away from the chapel and passed the long rows of headstones, I distinctly felt and thought “This really was something big.” I was reminded that we must not forget their sacrifice.

After visiting the American Cemetery, I walked down to a German battery overlooking Omaha Beach. The artillery pieces were no longer there and damage from the D-Day fighting was evident, but the positions were still impressive. The guns were designed to fire at an angle down along the beach and water rather than facing straight out toward the English Channel. These positions, working with other emplacements, were able to place a devastating crossfire onto Omaha Beach. In my focus to get pictures and take notes, I didn’t think about the fact that the Germans in those positions killed and wounded many Americans on D-Day. It was only later, on the bus ride back to our hotel in Cherbourg, that I really thought about the desperate life-and-death struggle that took place there.

One of the memorial ceremonies we attended was at Graignes. On 6 June 1944, a group of American paratroopers landed near the village, about 18 miles from their intended drop zone. The citizens of Graignes recovered ammunition containers from the marshes and provided food to the paratroopers, who had decided to defend Graignes in an effort to delay German reinforcements heading towards Carentan. After the Americans beat off two attacks, the German SS troops captured the village and murdered 18 wounded Americans and their doctor and several villagers, including the priests and their two housekeepers. The film Papa Said, “We Should Never Forget”, shot on location in Normandy, tells the story of the invasion through the experiences of a 12-year-old girl and her family. The film can be seen daily at the Museum of Aviation (watch the trailer here).

During the memorial ceremony at Graignes, I didn’t feel any particularly strong emotions until a group of children from Graignes went up and placed a flower arrangement under the plaque with the names of the American soldiers and French civilians who died during and after the battle. Those children, who have grown up in a free country, were living symbols of why the victory in Normandy was worth the price paid for it. It was an honor to be in that place and remember those who died there.

On this anniversary of D-Day, I invite you to visit the Museum of Aviation. Come and see the aircraft and other artifacts that provide a physical record of our nation’s heroes. Come be inspired by the stories of men and women who have given so much.

  • Share:
author avatar
Museum of Aviation

The Museum of Aviation has grown to become the second largest museum in the United States Air Force and the fourth most visited museum in the Department of Defense. The museum is a place that honors our veterans and their families and reminds our Airmen of their legendary Air Force heritage.

Previous post

Eagles in the Storm Exhibit
June 6, 2011

Next post

The Starlifter
June 9, 2011

You may also like

1703bfd0-e5dc-4bba-a7e5-ad2e4f55748c-medium16x9_NIGHTATTHEMUSEUM_0019_frame_516
Warner Robins Night at the Museum Event
10 February, 2020
adffd
Night at the Museum at the Museum of Aviation
10 February, 2020
928a2fa4-60d6-44b3-8ce3-e389a9593ccd_750x422
B-17 Restoration Project at Museum of Aviation
31 January, 2020

Search

SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES

CONNECT ON FACEBOOK

TOPICS

  • Aircraft Restoration
  • Blog
  • Connecting with Veterans
  • Education
  • Events
  • Exhibitions Updates
  • Featured
  • General
  • Korean War
  • Military History
  • News Articles
  • Personnel
  • STEM
  • Vietnam War
  • WWII

Warning: Use of undefined constant taxonomy - assumed 'taxonomy' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /home/museumq1/public_html/wp-content/themes/eduma-child/functions.php on line 93

Warning: Use of undefined constant title_li - assumed 'title_li' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /home/museumq1/public_html/wp-content/themes/eduma-child/functions.php on line 94

TOPICS

  • air force
  • aircraft
  • Artifacts
  • Aviation
  • B-17
  • B-17 Restoration
  • Collections
  • Current Events
  • donation
  • Donors
  • eagle
  • education
  • Events
  • Exhibits
  • f-15
  • General
  • georgia
  • golf
  • History
  • HU-16
  • Macon
  • Meet the Staff
  • MH-53
  • middle georgia
  • Military
  • Museum
  • museum collections
  • museum education
  • museum events
  • Museum of Aviation
  • Museum Studies
  • Public History
  • Restoration
  • Robins Air Force Base
  • Scott Golf
  • United States Air Force
  • vietnam war
  • Warner Robins
  • world war II
Museum of Aviation Foundation, Inc. Logo

(478) 926-6870

information@museumofaviation.org

education@museumofaviation.org

Site Design by Loudmark

VISIT

  • Plan Your Visit
  • Adult Programs & Tours
  • About the Museum
  • In the News
  • Virtual Reality
  • Birthday Parties

ATTEND

  • Upcoming Events
  • Past Events
  • Event Space Rental
  • Birthday Parties

LEARN

  • Education Events
  • Educator Resource Center
  • Education Resources
  • Birthday Parties

CONNECT

  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe for Updates
  • Volunteer

Copyright 2016-Present, Museum of Aviation Foundation, Inc.

The MOA Foundation, Inc is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 58-1451656) which serves to support the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base. The Foundation is not part of the Department of Defense nor any of its components and has no government status. Any acknowledgment of Foundation supporters and donations represents a partnership with the Foundation and our efforts. Nothing implied nor stated on this website represents a relationship between Foundation supporters and the Department of Defense, the United States Air Force, nor Robins Air Force Base.

  • Privacy Policy & Terms
  • Financials

Are you ready to learn?

Check out our youth and adult educational programs today!

Get Started Now