Museum offers journey into base's past

  • Published
  • By Col. William Wade
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Director of Staff commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Wing Staff Agencies are a collection of many different agencies that all have an important but different function supporting the men and women of Travis. One of these organizations is the Travis Heritage Center, also known to many as "The Museum."

Located next to the 60th AMW headquarters building, in what used to be the old commissary, the Heritage Center offers the opportunity to learn about our proud service's lineage as Airmen and discover how we arrived at our place in time. It also gives us an opportunity to celebrate and remember the heroes that came before us. Believe it or not, there are more than 40 aircraft and 1,000 items on display, each telling a unique and important story about the history of Travis and the U.S. Air Force.

The facility is surrounded by a large airpark filled with vintage Air Force aircraft that have served this nation through the golden age of aviation. Inside the Heritage Center, you are welcomed into the facility by a Vultee BT-13 Valiant and a Fairchild PT-19, each used to train pilots of the Army Air Corps in the 1940s. As you walk through the displays, you can see amazing artifacts and learn intimate details and little known facts about such events as the Doolittle Raid or The Berlin Airlift.

Something else that many people don't know about the Heritage Center is its active volunteer program. Dedicated volunteers from across Northern California are working diligently on restoration and education projects daily. Right now visitors can see and participate in the restoration of a Vietnam-era Cessna O-2A Skymaster.

The Heritage Center also functions as a hands-on education center for visitors of all ages. In one of our latest projects, we are working closely with our partners at Solano Community College to provide insight on the Tuskegee Airmen. The group of teachers and students is building a traveling re-enactment to honor these great American heroes.

The Heritage Center serves many purposes and is an important part of our Air Force family; past, present and future. In the upcoming months we are embarking on a campaign to bring new life to our airpark and at the same time encourage wing-wide involvement at this facility. Please come out and join us celebrate our Air Force heritage.