National Combat History Archives Presentation of 'This is War' at the 8th Air Force Historical Society Quarterly Meeting in Beaverton on August 11, 2007
Gary Mortensen of the National Combat History Archive out of Hillsboro Oregon will be showing selected scenes from his documentary "This is War - Memories of Iraq" followed by a question and answer session at the Oregon 8th Air Force Historical Society at the Beaverton Elks Lodge on August 11, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. till 2 p.m.
(PRWEB) July 15, 2007 -- The August meeting of the Oregon Eight Air Force Historical Society will have a first in that a special video presentation will be given by Gary Mortensen of the National Combat History Archive http://www.combatarchive.com which is based in Hillsboro, Oregon. Gary will be showing selected scenes from his documentary "This is War - Memories of Iraq" followed by a question and answer session. "This is War" focuses on the experiences of the Oregon National Guard's deployment to Iraq in 2004 and 2005. Much of the footage used in the production was taken by the soldiers themselves. Joining Mortensen will be a soldier of the 2/162 Oregon National Guard who starred in the film.
August has many historic "firsts" for the 8th Air Force of World War II. On August 17, 1942, the very first B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber raid into France occurred. On the same day in 1943 a "Double Strike" was launched against Regensburg & Schweinfurt with every B-17 flyable out of England in the air. The Regensburg force led by General LeMay flew to and bombed the Regensburg Bf-109 aircraft plant then flew over the Alps, over Italy, the Mediterranean finally landing in North Africa (losing 27 planes: 24 shot down, 2 ditching, and 1 scrapped); while the Schweinfurt force lead by General Anderson lost 36 B-17s shot down to flak and enemy fighters, 2 to ditching, and 1 written off after landing in the battle to and from the three ball bearing plants which were the targets at Schweinfurt Germany. (All 40 men of the ditched crews were rescued.)
Meetings are free and open to the public. You do not have to be a member to attend any meeting.
Doors open at 10:00 for the August 11, 2007 meeting and the meeting adjourns at 2 p.m. Call to order of the meeting starts at 11:15. Lunch starts at Noon and the presentation starts at 12:45 p.m.
The meeting room in on the North side of the building. Drive past the main entrance to park in the rear and enter through the rear entrance into the meeting room.
Lunch can be purchased at the Elks Lodge and costs $9.50 per person. Lunch consists of sandwiches, rolls, condiments and coffee or tea. Only contact Tom Philo at 503-591-3227 if you plan to eat at the meeting so he can get an accurate headcount. You can also notify him via e-mail at secretary @ 8thafhsoregon.com
The Beaverton Elks Lodge address is:
3500 SW 104th Avenue
Beaverton, Oregon 97005-1941
Elks Lodge web site: http://www.teleport.com/~elks1989
The 8th AFHS main web site is at: http://www.8thafhs.org
The Oregon chapter web site is at: http://www.8thafhsoregon.com/
Meetings are held on the first Saturday of the first full week of February, May, August, & November. (Exception: due to Veterans Day falling on the 11th the November meeting in 2006 will be held on the 4th.)
The "Mighty Eighth" is the United States Army Air Forces Bomber and Fighter Command that flew strategic precision daylight bombing missions against Germany in World War II from July 4, 1942 until May 8, 1945 - VE Day - in Europe.
Meetings are free and anyone can attend. You do not have to be a member to attend any meeting.
People interested in learning more about the 8th Air Force, or to pass on what they know to others concerning the 8th AF contribution and other aviation unit histories that brought victory to the Allies in the European theatre of war (ETO) or other combat theatres, are encouraged to join the Oregon Chapter. Please fill out a membership form at the meeting. The annual dues is $10. In addition, you have to join the national organization whose dues are $25 a year. The national chapter puts out a quarterly magazine while the Oregon chapter puts out a quarterly newsletter.
The Oregon Chapter of the Eighth Air Force Historical Society is a registered non-profit corporation in the State of Oregon. Money contributed above the annual dues is normally tax-deductible.
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