Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio
Up from idyllic little towns. Strange place of various temples - of technology, history, valor, death, and oddly in WWII displays, sex and life.
Technology - obviously - hundreds of planes, gear and devices from all eras. Earlier planes more engaging, personal - irregular skin - equipment whose function, operation could he divined. Modern planes, especially B-2 bomber more impersonal. Digital, like video games. Death not quite so personal.
History - planes grouped by eras - with lots of dioramas, text explaining what had happened. I was touched by WWII displays - war of my father and uncles and Vietnam displays - my war (although I wasn't there). Two ways to do museum - concentrate on history or technology or come back another day and do both. Bob did former; I did latter - his was better approach. Not much irony on display except irony of WWII boys inadvertently revealed. Nothing from Catch 22, Apocalypse Now.
Valor - a lot of that here - I was awed by paratroopers who jumped out of C47s. Could I have done that?
Death - place is a monument to death - that is the work product. The way it is. I was not bothered until I saw plane that dropped atomic bomb on Nagasaki and ICBM's. They were obscene.
Sex and Life - The WWII boys had images of naked, half naked women everywhere - where they lived and worked - on the planes. I think the girls were there to remind the boys that there was life after all this. That they were fighting for something worthwhile. Voluptuous fecund women to grab onto, children - life. Not much worthwhile in the wars since then.
Technology - obviously - hundreds of planes, gear and devices from all eras. Earlier planes more engaging, personal - irregular skin - equipment whose function, operation could he divined. Modern planes, especially B-2 bomber more impersonal. Digital, like video games. Death not quite so personal.
History - planes grouped by eras - with lots of dioramas, text explaining what had happened. I was touched by WWII displays - war of my father and uncles and Vietnam displays - my war (although I wasn't there). Two ways to do museum - concentrate on history or technology or come back another day and do both. Bob did former; I did latter - his was better approach. Not much irony on display except irony of WWII boys inadvertently revealed. Nothing from Catch 22, Apocalypse Now.
Valor - a lot of that here - I was awed by paratroopers who jumped out of C47s. Could I have done that?
Death - place is a monument to death - that is the work product. The way it is. I was not bothered until I saw plane that dropped atomic bomb on Nagasaki and ICBM's. They were obscene.
Sex and Life - The WWII boys had images of naked, half naked women everywhere - where they lived and worked - on the planes. I think the girls were there to remind the boys that there was life after all this. That they were fighting for something worthwhile. Voluptuous fecund women to grab onto, children - life. Not much worthwhile in the wars since then.
Memorial park out front where waited for museum to open. Monuments to groups, individuals.
The woman theme. Innocent Bob Hope humor not seen in later wars. (In Vietnam the humor is dark ironic.)
Monument to Flying Tigers.
Continuing bathroom theme. Note serrated edges of towel. Never seen that before.
Kennedy Air Force One. Jackie came down this ramp in pink suit stained in blood.
Wax Dwight Eisenhower
Kennedy plane in foreground, maybe Roosevelt, Truman plane in background.
Never worked. Airplane design - at least back then - was not an exact air.
Mock-up of maintenance in South Pacific
Boxcar - dropped second atomic bomb - this one on Nagasaki.
Fat Boy - name of second bomb - cute little phrase. Bomb dropped dropped by Enola Gay was Little Boy.
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