The American Airpower Museum, located at 1230 New Hwy. in Farmingdale, is offering a historical flight experience in their original WWII C-47 on Sept. 14, honoring the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II. Living historian Robert Scarabino, who has been part of the museum since 2003, serves as the commanding officer for these reenactments.
“The museum usually gets donations for people to ride on the C-47,” said Scarabino. “What me and my guys do is come in full replica uniform as if we were jumping into Normandy the night of the D-Day Invasion. We’ve created an experience where we have a squad assigned to the C-47, specifically Lt. Dick Winters’ crew of E Company, the second battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment.”
Scarabino and his crew take in eight to 10 people per flight, with four flights in all expected to be offered on that Saturday, and give each person the proper parachute equipment. In addition, they give each person the ID of one of the paratrooper’s who jumped out of the plane that night in Normandy.
“Before we board the plane, we brief them as if we were about to drop into Normandy,” said Scarabino. “We give them airbourne objectives and, more specifically, we give them the E Company battalion objectives and the 506 regiment objectives.”
Once the briefing is complete, Scarabino and his crew brings the passengers to the plane. Each person is given a number and they must stand or call out their numbers in the order that the crews put them in. They practice drills to make sure they understand their role and to simulate what it was like keeping things organized heading into the D-Day battle.
“Once that’s done, we get on the plane,” said Scarabino. “We’re in the air for about 25 to 40 minutes. On the final descent and once we get back to the ground, we go through the whole drill like we practiced it earlier. We have everyone stand up in unison, do a hook-up sequence, a check-our-equipment sequence and then the jump master yells ‘sound off for equipment check’ for everyone to sound off.”
No one actually jumps from the plane, but they do “make believe” jump to complete the simulation. After the final drills are complete, the passengers take the IDs out of their pockets to see if their soldier survived the war. Scarabino says having these passengers embodying these WWII paratroopers often gives an emotional reaction when they see their card.
“I’ve been doing this for 16 years,” said Scarabino. “I’ve had the honor of being named the leader of this group. I took it over fully in 2008. It’s just an outstanding experience. It’s not just going into the plane. The plane gives you a vehicle going back in time immersing you into what these soldiers went through. Everyone gets off the plane and goes ‘wow.’”
Scarabino planned out this experience based off of the stories he has heard from veterans that have visited the museum within the last decade and a half. They got a sense of what they were doing right and wrong in teaching people about World War II and D-Day. With most of the WWII veterans no longer with us, Scarabino says it’s more important than ever to make sure the next generation is able to preserve and tell their stories.
“We practice a high level of authenticity,” said Scarabino. “Everything we do is based on historical facts about what they did. It’s the only way to honor their heritage and the sacrifice they made, as the greatest generation, to answer their country’s call. Now we have nieces, nephews and grandchildren coming down to this experience and asking ‘What did my grandpa go through?’ ‘What did Uncle Joe go through?’ We’re able to give them a slice of what they experienced.”
To get the full experience, book a flight by calling 516-531-3950. This is a family-friendly experience for all ages. Minors under 14 years must be accompanied by an adult. The program is about one-and-a-half hours long in all. Cost of the C-47 flight is $350 and goes towards growing the museum. For more information, visit www.americanairpowermuseum.com.
