Confederate Air Force

Midland, Texas

Weather: low 34 degrees, high 62 degrees, clear skies, breezy

We slept a little later than the usual 0600 hour today, which shows that the 100 mile trip we took yesterday must have wore us out. Just kidding about being wore out, but it was quiet here in the RV park, which helped us sleep.

I waited a little while to let the weather warm up some before taking my morning walk. There's plenty of attractions for us to see here, but we don't have the time to see all of them. I chose to go see the Commemorative Air Force Museum, formerly known as the Confederate Air Force until politically correct thinking made them change the name to what it is today. I asked one of the volunteers if the PC police had made them change the name, and he basically said that the cost of maintaining the airplanes and museum had caused the folks that run the museum to change the name after certain sponsors said they wouldn't help underwrite the costs unless the name was changed. That's a shame, because the first time I noticed anything about the museum was several years ago during an air show when some of their airplanes were part of the show, and the name was Confederate Air Force.

The museum has a large building where several exhibits are arranged, primarily consisting of exhibits from World War II. There are some good collections of memorabilia from that time period, which I'm sure would bring back memories for anyone that can remember those times. Uniforms, weapons, newspaper headlines, film clips, and other objects are used to good effect to recreate battlefields, especially the beaches of France on D-Day.

The museum also has a hall of fame section where American airmen and military units who have distinguished themselves are remembered with plaques and pictures. Each year, seven more airmen and another unit are added to the hall of fame.

The museum allows pictures to be taken everywhere except in the nose art area. The nose art area displays nose art recovered from airplanes, and shows the individualism that the aircrews used to create images for their airplanes. This picture of nose art is outside the prohibited area, and is on the B-24 bomber that is flown on a routine basis.

Unfortunately, many of the airplanes that the museum owns are one of a kind, and spare parts are becoming hard to find. The cost of maintaining any airplane is expensive, and these are even more so. If a reader is in the area, a visit to the Commemorative Air Force would be time well spent.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Odessa, Texas: The Right Place In Texas

Not all who wander are lost.