Museum of Flight also gets Aces collections

Air Classics, Mar 2001

The American Fighter Aces and the Flying Tigers have recently agreed to donate their respective collections of personal memorabilia to the Museum of Flight. Museum president Ralph Bufano commented, "These unique artifacts from individual Aces and Flying Tigers are so important to the museum. They will really bring the fighter aircraft of our recently acquired Champlin Collection alive."

The collections of the two groups include personal items such as uniforms, medals, diaries, and weapons, plus documentary materials like logbooks, letters, and military papers. Dean Laird, president of the American Fighter Aces, commented "We're part of history." The groups want to perpetuate the memory of their wartime actions and make sure that younger generations connect with this history in meaningful ways. The Aces collection had been on display with the Champlin Fighter Museum but is currently housed across from the Alamo in San Antonio. That of the Flying Tigers is on loan to various military museums across the country, but as president Dick Rossi says, "the bulk of our collection is still in people's basements." With the extensive expansion of the Museum of Flight, all these important archival materials can finally be brought together in one place and be properly preserved and displayed for the benefit of scholars, aficionados, and the general public.