Today we stayed in Dayton.  We only went to one destination but were as exhausted at the end of the day as any day so far.  Our destination was the National Museum of the US Air Force. To describe this museum as enormous would be a huge understatement. It consists of 4 major buildings plus connecting passageways and side buildings totaling over 30 acres of indoor covered space, with literally 100’s of airplanes and 1000’s of artifacts on display. We were there from shortly after they opened until shortly before they closed and spent almost the entire time in the 1/8th section of the museum that covers World War II.  Peg’s tracker says we walked over 8000 steps just in the museum itself.

The museum was extremely well put together with the best combination of historical items and explanations for their place in history I have seen in any museum.  Far superior than even the Smithsonian in D.C.  If you want to see the museum, they have a 360 degree tour available online, but only go there if you have some time.  Here is a link to the World War II portion or the virtual tour.

While neither of us have any ancestors who were in the Air Force, we have both become avid historians in general and particularly interested in WWII.  Both of my parents served in WWII, both in the Army Medical Corp.  Peg’s grandparents contributed to the war effort at McDonald Douglas, her grandfather as a security guard, and her grandmother as a “doper”.  She helped put the “dope” on the fabric used to cover parts of the wings of the C-47’s manufactured in Southern California.  We found a C-47 on display today

Couldn’t help but think of other members of the family and ancestors involved in military as we did a quick tour of other parts of the museum.  Peg’s dad served in both Korea and Vietnam, and we both have nephews and cousins who have served in more recent conflicts.  My grandfather Smith was in the Spanish American War, Peg’s 2nd great grandfather was in the Civil War, I have several 4th great grandparents who were in the Revolutionary War, and Peg has an ancestor who was part of King Phillips War.  Lot’s of stories to go with each of those people, and I only know pieces of each but, as with everyone, our ancestry is interwoven with the history of our country, and our world.

We will be moving a bit more for the next two days and will be in Kentucky soon, an area neither of us has been before.  Many new adventures to come over the next week.