We think of history in terms of grand, sweeping events and often forget that actual humans are at the center of it. Today’s episode reminds us that people drive history, everyday people like you and me who are swept up or have to react to these larger events. The discussion centers around Mike Caputo, a World War II B-24 Navigator, and his daughter Yvonne, the woman who helped him open up about the wartime experiences he’d hidden deep inside. While helping her father document his story in his own voice, she forged a stronger connection with him that she carries even today after he’s passed away.
Welcome to the
Flight Deck Podcast
Listen to all of the Museum’s best aviation and aerospace stories on the Flight Deck Podcast, a podcast that makes history personal. Episodes released every other Tuesday. We hope you enjoy it!!
A Family Story
October 27, 2020 / Podcast, FlightDeck, WWII, History, Storytelling, aerospace, aviation
Hidden
March 24, 2020 / Podcast, FlightDeck, WWII, History, Engineering, Storytelling
This week we are honored to speak with Museum of Flight docent and Holocaust survivor, Pete Metzelaar. Listen as he describes his first-hand account of the devastating sound of war planes flying over Holland during World War II, and his journey to freedom.
Paperclip Family
March 10, 2020 / Podcast, FlightDeck, WWII, History, Engineering, Storytelling
This week’s episode of the Flight Deck Podcast is the first in a series associated with the Museum wide initiative to feature untold stories in honor of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Today you will hear from Museum docent Reiner Decher who was a young boy in Germany during WWII. Reiner recalls the end of the war through the eyes of a child, escaping Germany with his family through Operation Paperclip.
Failure is Not An Option: The Story of Jerrie Cobb and the First Women Astronaut Trainees, Part 1
June 25, 2019 / WWII, NASA, WASP, Air Force, Jerrie Cobb
When the United States was lagging behind the Soviet Union in the race to space, the Soviet space agency announced plans to send women into space, which spurred American astronaut trainers to consider what might happen if they did the same.
Jimmy Stewart
January 8, 2019 / Fighter Aces, WWII, History, Storytelling, Collections
What do you get when a WWII American Fighter Ace has the same name as a Hollywood icon and doesn’t get rid of anything? The Lt. Col. James C Stewart Collection!
Please Note: During his retelling, American fighter ace Besby F. Holmes uses an ethnic slur to describe his attackers. This oral history is presented unedited as a historical artifact of one veteran's experience.
An Interview with a WASP
October 2, 2018 / Pilot, WWII, Personal Courage, Storytelling, WASP
96-year-old Betty Dybbro was fortunate enough to spend one year as a WASP (Women Air Force Service Pilot) during World War Two, and in order to tell her story, we enlisted Katherine K. and Nithi B., two members of Amelia’s Aero Club who participate in aviation and aerospace activities at the Museum.
Fighter Aces - In Their Words
August 7, 2018 / Fighter Aces, WWII, Personal Courage, Storytelling
The American Fighter Aces Association preserves the memories of pilots who have sacrificed bravely for their country, and the Museum is home to its collection of artifacts and stories
Shouting at Hitler
April 17, 2018 / FlightDeck, WWII, History, Personal Courage, B-17
In this second installment of our Personal Courage series, B-17 pilot Dick Nelms takes us on one of his missions and shares how he and his comrades dealt with fear and other realities of war.