Still Flying: Living War Memory, Monuments, and World War II Aircraft

As the Second World War came to an end it marked a new beginning in aviation technology that quickly made the aircraft of the United States Army Air Corps obsolete. Initially, the aircraft that once ruled the skies above Europe and the Pacific seemed destined to spend the rest of their existence in scrap heaps and junkyards. However, in the late 1950s new museums and organizations began to form with the sole mission of finding and restoring these former military aircraft to flying condition. Since that time hundreds of these organizations have been formed and have created a tight nit yet loosely affiliated, "Warbird" community. This community has been vital in preserving the history of World War Two aviation and has created a large effect on the memory of the conflict. However, prior to this thesis, scholars have overlooked the contribution that these organizations, most often called flying museums, have made to the field of memory studies. Furthermore, this thesis shows that these flying museums have also created living monuments by allowing the general public to experience these aircraft in flight.