RoadTrip10 Cities in 14 Days: Day 10

 

Days 10: NEW ORLEANS

Still here, still wonderful

Paul and I took our traditional streetcar ride to the Camellia Grill that morning. As their sign says, "Still Here, Still Wonderful." Pecan pancakes. mmmmm. 

Then I headed off for a day at the convention.

I have always loved that Dad has kept WWII on the who, what, where, why, and when and not so much on flag-waving and glory of war crap, and for the most part, the 100th Bomb Group Foundation does the same, while honoring the men, four still living, most now dead. The programing for reunions is inspiring in its informational basis. 

Three Zdiarkskys back in the Czech Republic 

Friday morning's program was  “Preserving Ruhland Mission History in Kovarska” on September 11, 1944. This occurred about three months before my dad arrived at the base, and if you are interested in WWII history you can learn about it here. The director of the Museum of the Air Battle is Jan Zdiarsky, who gave a lively presentation and who was accompanied to New Orleans by his two sweet sons. Here the three are back home with a quilt they were given at the reunion. The afternoon program was  “Ground Crews: The Men Who Kept the Planes Flying,” given by John Curatola, who is a National WWII Museum Historian, NWWII Museum. All of the experts from the museum were so knowledgeable and focused on specific history. The 100th often recognizes the ground crews in events and social media, a well-deserved inclusion. 

The evening program was galvanizing. After a swanky reception in the museum's Freedom Pavilion, a presentation was given on "Masters of the Air and the POW Experience.” For those who haven't seen my many Facebook posts on Masters of the Air, it is a six-part series based on the 100th Bomb Group during the war. Starring Austin Butler and  directed by Stephen Spielberg and involving much talent, including the talented Donald L. Miller, whose book the series is based on, the movie contains a big chunk on the men who were shot down and spent much of the war in German POW camps. I don't watch many war movies, but I watched this one attentively.

A panel on the POW experience was moderated that night by Kirk Saduski, Executive Producer of the movie. I was so impressed by how articulate, knowledgeable, and pleasant Sakuski was every time he appeared at the convention even when presenting really tough information. The panel featured Kimberly Guise the POW Historian & Curator of the  NWWII Museum; Jonas Moore and Jordan Coulson, cast members of the movie; and Jack Brady, son a Pilot and POW. 

One of the lighter moments of the Q and A occurred when someone asked Brady what his dad thought of the TV show Hogan's Heroes, which had been thoroughly denounced through the evening, with good cause, as not very authentic. But everyone laughed when Brady said, "He loved it. Because the German office were portrayed as so stupid." 

I remember my father often saying how grateful he was to get back in his cot every night. He had in mind the men that hadn't, and his own brother, freezing in the Battle of the Bulge.