Maine Air Museum

Fifty-five years ago today, Japan’s Emperor Hirohito told his cabinet to prepare to “endure the unendurable,” to accept terms of surrender ending World War II. The celebrations across the United States during the two-day holiday that had been declared were a combination of exuberant relief and of prayers that such a horror would never again occur. At Dow Air Field in Bangor, the holiday was mostly subdued – a picnic was held and a softball game played in the afternoon.

Such a quiet end doesn’t begin to describe the role that the air base played during the war. For that, nothing less than a museum will do.

Fortunately, the Maine Aviation Historical Society has one planned for Bangor that will tell the stories of both Maine’s military and civilian air history. There is a surprising amount to tell.

It began, for instance, in August 1923, when Gen. Billy Mitchell landed 18 Martin Bombers and 11 DeHavilland scout planes on a farm just outside Bangor, according to “The United States Air Force in Maine,” by John C. Garbinski. Eleven years after Gen. Mitchell predicted “a great future for Bangor as an air base,” Amelia Earhart came to town, helping Pan American Airlines advertise its service. Less well known is the high-altitude flight of UMaine graduate Albert Stevens, who rode a balloon into the stratosphere not long after Ms. Earhart’s visit and set a record for traveling farthest from the Earth. But Maine’s place in air history didn’t really get going until 1940, when the U.S. Army listed the Bangor Airport as the prime site in the state for aerial defense.

It was soon renamed Dow Field after 2nd Lt. James F. Dow, who was killed in a training mission in 1940. With its relative proximity to Europe, the field’s service during the war was long and heroic, and by Aug. 14, 1945, the military had invested $9 million in it as an investment that would pay off during the Cold War years when it served as a Strategic Air Command base.

There is much more to Maine aviation history than the Bangor base – including the scores of planes, civilian and military, that tragically crashed, some as yet unfound – but that’s where the museum comes in. Several historic planes, hundreds of artifacts and countless stories from around the state await collection and display. Currently, there is no central place where these items can be safely held and shown, leaving an important part of the state’s history unexamined and unknown by the public. Particularly as Maine’s remaining World War II veterans become noticeably fewer each year, presenting a proper display of this part of history becomes more important and more pressing.

The city of Bangor has provided a building for the museum, appropriately enough a former missile-assembly site on the old Dow Field. And while the historical society has already begun extensive repairs at the building, much more needs to be done to turn it into the first-class, interactive place for both children and aduts that society members envision. They need, in short, your help to make the Maine Air Museum fly.

The museum, as similar air museums have proven in other states, would be of education benefit to the entire state and a tourism draw for the region. To help, contact the society at P.O. Box 2641, Bangor 04402-2641; or call 941-6757 or 1-877-280-6247. The society’s Web site is www.acadia.net/mahs.