The impressive structure is located in downtown Fayetteville, NC. We only spent a half day at the museum and it wasn't quite enough. The minimum time I would allot for a visit would be one full day to be able to see everything at a more leisurely pace.

Going back to the roots of today's Special Forces, this C-47 display depicts a night parachute drop of OSS operatives behind German lines. The C-47 is suspended from the ceiling with a very realistic mannequin in the open door. The display is dark, with only a spotlight directed at the paratrooper, to create the scene of this night operation. Whether in the 1940s or the first decade of the new millennium, it takes commitment and courage to jump out of an airplane at night into territory held by the enemy.

The WWII area includes this very lifelike scene from the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. German troops had the town of Bastogne and the American troops holding it surrounded. A German officer delivered a note to the Americans demanding the surrender of the town. The note was passed up the chain of command to Gen. acting Division Commander General Tony McAuliffe. A return note was written and delivered to the German officer by Col. Harper, the Regimental Commander. The General's reply was simply, "To the German Commander: Nuts! Signed, the American Commander." When Col. Harper presented the note to the German officer, the officer asked if the reply was in the affirmative or the negative. Col. Harper replied that the reply was, "Nuts!" and went on to explain that the interpretation of that phrase was equivalent to, "Go to hell!"

The WWII exhibit also includes a very good display of the Waco CG-4A glider that was used to deliver troops and equipment to the war zone. Here it is shown with a Jeep being off-loaded. The 15-place CG-4A glider's wingspan was 83.6 feet and its overall length was 48 feet. In the CG-4A, the floor was made of honeycombed plywood, a construction technique that provided strength with minimal weight. The load-bearing capacity of the floor enabled the CG-4A to carry 4,060 pounds, which was 620 more pounds than the glider's own empty weight.

Here troops are setting up an artillery piece. The troops and the artillery piece would have just landed in the glider. Virtually all glider landings were controlled crashes due to the lack of prepared landing areas.

The entire nose section (including the pilot's compartment) of the CG-4A swung upward creating a 70 x 60 inch opening into its cargo compartment. This made it possible to quickly load and unload the glider. Types of cargo were fighting men, a jeep with radio equipment and driver, radio and operator plus one other soldier; two soldiers and a jeep trailer loaded with combat supplies; a 75mm pack howitzer with 25 rounds of ammunition and two artillerymen; a small bulldozer and its operator.

The CG-4A could be towed at a maximum safe speed of 150 miles per hour with a gross weight load of 7,500 pounds. It was often towed at a slower speed of 110 to 130 m.p.h. The gliders were usually towed behind a C-47 tow plane on a 350 foot nylon rope. 11/16" in diameter. (Thanks to Charles Day, author of " Silent Ones WWII Invasion Gldier Test & Experiment CCAAF Wilmington Ohio" for sending me this corrected information. Click here for more info on the book. )

Combat engineers were also delivered into unimproved areas by the Waco CG-4A gliders. The small bulldozer and it's operator would be the entire load for one glider. Multiple gliders were used for each mission so that a complete compliment of troops and equipment could be delivered where they were needed.

"The intrepid pilots who flew the gliders were as unique as their motorless flying machines. Never before in history had any nation produced aviators whose duty it was deliberately to crash land, and then go on to fight as combat infantrymen. They were no ordinary fighters. Their battlefields were behind enemy lines."

"Every landing was a genuine do-or-die situation for the glider pilots. It was their awesome responsibility to repeatedly risk their lives by landing heavily laden aircraft containing combat soldiers and equipment in unfamiliar fields deep within enemy-held territory, often in total darkness. They were the only aviators during World War II who had no motors, no parachutes, and no second chances."
General William C. Westmoreland, U.S. Army, Retired

The use of very life-like mannequins adds to the realism of the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. This depiction of a grenadier is a perfect example.

The Bell UH-1 "Huey" helicopter has played an important role in inserting Special Forces troops in many different operations. This depiction is part of the Vietnam area. Even the grass looks like it is being blown by the downwash from the rotors.

A section of the Museum is devoted to Operation Just Cause which removed Manuel Noriega from power in Panama. Three Ranger battalions conducted forced entry operations at two airfields simultaneously.They eliminated resistance from Panama Defense Forces (PDF) and secured the Rio Hato and Tocumen-Torrijos airfields for follow-on forces.

The 75th Ranger Regiment is depicted here neutralizing PDF resistance during Operation Just Cause in Panama.

Rangers are shown here arriving via an OH-6 Little Bird helicopter. The scene is dark, indicating night operations representative of Ranger tactics. (Thanks to site visitor Tom for sending a correction on the type of helicopter.)

Special Forces are shown here as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. General Tommy Franks, then Commander of CENTCOM, knew that special operations troops could be used effectively as force multipliers. Just a few thousand of these elite troops controlled nearly two-thirds of Iraq in the early months of 2003. They greatly reduced the threat of SCUD missile launches from the western desert and pinned down Iraqi Army divisions in the North.

Want to know more? Visit the ASOM web site at www.asomf.org