Off the wall things you've heard at Museums

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Iron Duke

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

ORIGINAL: Iron Duke

AVG arrived in Burma June/July 1941
AVG fought it's first engagement on 20th Dec 1941
AVG ceased to exist 4 July 1942

AVG was fighting in China well before June 1941 as well... it was organized by Claire Chenault in 1937, and he arrived in China in 1938... large scale efforts didn't get going until 1940... in April 1941, Roosevelt signed an executive order "authorizing reserve officer and enlisted men to resign from the Army Air Corps, Naval and Marine air services for the purpose of joining the American Volunteer Group in China."

They were sending back information about how to fight the Japanese aircraft before Pearl Harbor (but the reports were pretty much ignored.)

Apparently, there were individual actions before this (and in fact, some US pilots were flying for the Chinese back in the mid 30's), but the first UNIT action is credited to be 20 December 1941, despite several victories by individual pilots before this who had been flying since at least September 1941... the officers/instructors had apparently flying well before September 1941 as they were instructing the new pilots how to fight the Japanese based on their experiences, which according to one quote by an instructor had been at least 4 years prior to Sep 1941.

EDIT: According to one article, many of the pilots were in China before 15 Sep 1941.

Yes between 1937 and 1941 American pilots flew for the Chinese Airforce including Chenault but not as the AVG ,there were also many American airmen serving as instructors at the Central Aviation School

Er... since Chenault formed the AVG in 1937, wouldn't any flying he did be for the AVG?? Or are we splitting hairs, here??

[jeffk3510]

I live in McPherson, KS which is just NE of Hutchinson, where the Cosmosphere is... sure someone has heard about it....
 
They have a guide there that informed us she doesn't believe that the moon landing ever happened... that it was stagged....
 
While we've all heard this, I thought it was odd the Cosmosphere would employ someone with these views to educated us...
 
 

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: ool

Well mine isn't about a museum either but it is a head shaker. One morning on Canada AM they were interviewing a tour guide at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. Peggy's cove is the one you see on most postcards involving the maritime provinces. The interviewer asked the tour guide what the strangest event or incident that they had experienced while being a tour guide. To which he replied," Well there was this woman from the states who asked me if we deflated the rocks and put them away after the tourist season was over?" I nearly fell off my chair!

I'd rate this right up there with the previous post about a woman who asked why the troops at Gettysburg didn't hide behind the monuments to avoid the rifle fire.

You've got to wonder![X(][X(][8|][8|]

Sometimes people are 'prepared' for such instances. Many years ago a friend of mine told me of a news story (it was a joke) of 'killer snow' that had occurred the previous week in South America. The telling included very believable accounts (cattle starving, roofs caving in, people trapped, etc.) right up until the part about the really dangerous thing being that the snow fell all at once - all three feet of it! - complete with the sound effect fffump! It was a good laugh, so I re-told it to another friend.

He didn't get it, and asked his meteorology professor... [:D]

[jeffk3510]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

ORIGINAL: ool

Well mine isn't about a museum either but it is a head shaker. One morning on Canada AM they were interviewing a tour guide at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. Peggy's cove is the one you see on most postcards involving the maritime provinces. The interviewer asked the tour guide what the strangest event or incident that they had experienced while being a tour guide. To which he replied," Well there was this woman from the states who asked me if we deflated the rocks and put them away after the tourist season was over?" I nearly fell off my chair!

I'd rate this right up there with the previous post about a woman who asked why the troops at Gettysburg didn't hide behind the monuments to avoid the rifle fire.

You've got to wonder![X(][X(][8|][8|]

Sometimes people are 'prepared' for such instances. Many years ago a friend of mine told me of a news story (it was a joke) of 'killer snow' that had occurred the previous week in South America. The telling included very believable accounts (cattle starving, roofs caving in, people trapped, etc.) right up until the part about the really dangerous thing being that the snow fell all at once - all three feet of it! - complete with the sound effect fffump! It was a good laugh, so I re-told it to another friend.

He didn't get it, and asked his meteorology professor... [:D]

[:D]

[Doggie]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso



Er... since Chenault formed the AVG in 1937, wouldn't any flying he did be for the AVG?? Or are we splitting hairs, here??

The AVG was formed in 1941

Any flying Chenault did before then was for the Chinese Air Force, such as it was.

The AVG deployed to Rangoon on 12 December, 1941, and flew their first combat sorties on 20 December.

[Radio]

Not Museum, but still history related, a history professor told us about a phone call from a TV studio who wanted to make a reality show about the training people would receive to become a Knight. Specifically they wanted to know how many times someone could take their "Knight Exams".

Apparently the show decided not to use him as a consultant.

[GaryChildress]

ORIGINAL: bobogoboom

ORIGINAL: herwin

ORIGINAL: Gary Childress

There are people in this forum who can identify a Japanese Type 99 machine gun from a bren just by looking at the recoil mechanism. I know a lot of you have probably been to WW2 museums. In my experience, most of the time the docents are pretty good with their facts and can give a good explanation of things but sometimes....

What is the most off the wall thing a museaum decent has ever told you?

I confess I haven't had too many things said to me which I could correct in my meager knowledge but I remember visiting the Pensacola Naval Air Museum where the docent told a group of us that the Japanese invaded the Aleutian Islands as part of a plan to work their way down through Alaska into the mainland US.

I didn't say anything. Quite frankly I wasn't sure why the Japanese invaded the Aleutians. But I knew it wasn't to work their way down to the mainland US.

It was in reaction to the Shangri La operation, to extend the scouting perimeter.

i was also under the impression that is was a diversion for the midway op.

That is what I remember thinking but I wasn't sure if that was the real reason or not. I suppose it could have been a combination of the two. On the one hand the Aleutian campaign could have been to extend the scouting perimeter but perhaps it would also make a good reason for the US carriers to come out of harbor for the KB to intercept them. [&:]

[AW1Steve]

Having spent a good deal of the last 25 years working and volunteering in museums, and memorials , I've probably got hundreds of stories that fit in this category. One comes to mind. While acting as a docent in a Naval museum, I over heard a very young school teacher telling her students about the Korean war. She was a little off in her facts, as she had the USA allied with the North against South Korea. When she stopped, I took her to one side and explained the truth. Give her credit, she thanked me , explained that She was a science teacher, and was more than a little chagrined at not knowing her US history (apparently the history teacher was sick). She then corrected what she had said, and asked me to give a brief talk on the subject. I was very pleased that she wanted to set the kids straight, but disturbed at 1) her lack of basic knowledge 2) that she should be saddled with a task that even she felt that she was unqualified. Since then , I've encountered a lot of teachers who made similar mistakes, and when informed usually replied , "yeah, well, whatever!". [X(]

[Hornblower]

Being from the Empire State, I took the kids ( little Hornblower 1 and 2 ) to see the Independence at NYC.   While ascending to the bridge, I heard the lady behind me telling her little one “oh, darling this is a destroyer” 

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

Having spent a good deal of the last 25 years working and volunteering in museums, and memorials , I've probably got hundreds of stories that fit in this category. One comes to mind. While acting as a docent in a Naval museum, I over heard a very young school teacher telling her students about the Korean war. She was a little off in her facts, as she had the USA allied with the North against South Korea. When she stopped, I took her to one side and explained the truth. Give her credit, she thanked me , explained that She was a science teacher, and was more than a little chagrined at not knowing her US history (apparently the history teacher was sick). She then corrected what she had said, and asked me to give a brief talk on the subject. I was very pleased that she wanted to set the kids straight, but disturbed at 1) her lack of basic knowledge 2) that she should be saddled with a task that even she felt that she was unqualified. Since then , I've encountered a lot of teachers who made similar mistakes, and when informed usually replied , "yeah, well, whatever!". [X(]

Reminds me of my school days. More than once I got in an argument with a teacher who didn't know what the heck she/he was talking about. The history teachers tended to be fairly good, my issues were usually with teachers in other subjects.

The worst was my 8th grade science teacher. I thought it was quite scary that somebody so ignorant in science was teaching it.

Bill

[spence]

i was also under the impression that is was a diversion for the midway op.

According to "Shattered Sword" this operation was forced onto Yamamoto by the Naval General Staff as the price of it sanctioning his Midway operation. It was as has been mentioned an effort to anchor the flank further to the East so as to prevent further Doolittle-style operations and/or a northern route advance on the Japanese homeland. It was a purposeful offensive move in its own right though. Interesting to conjecture what might have happened at Midway had Ryujo and Junyo been there even though their airgroups were cobbled together out of decidedly second string aviators.

[John Lansford]

My 8th grade history teacher was very good about having us memorize names, places and dates, and then he tried to weave them together during his daily narrative.  During the WWII part of the class, however, he told us all about how Doolittle's Raid used B-17's flying off of a carrier, and that they strafed the Japanese cities with their wing mounted machine guns.
 
I raised my hand and asked to be excused to the library for a moment to bring back proof that he was completely wrong about this.  He laughed at me and said go ahead, he was right and he knew it.
 
Did I mention our library had an excellent Aeronautical History section thanks to a local air force base?  I brought back one of several well written historical accounts as well as a line drawing of a B-17 (without wing mounted MG's) and handed them to him.  After looking through the books a moment, he closed them and said "well, they were twin engine bombers so I was at least right about that".
 
If I had known about facepalming back then I would have done it.

[bobogoboom]

ORIGINAL: Gary Childress

ORIGINAL: bobogoboom

ORIGINAL: herwin




It was in reaction to the Shangri La operation, to extend the scouting perimeter.

i was also under the impression that is was a diversion for the midway op.

That is what I remember thinking but I wasn't sure if that was the real reason or not. I suppose it could have been a combination of the two. On the one hand the Aleutian campaign could have been to extend the scouting perimeter but perhaps it would also make a good reason for the US carriers to come out of harbor for the KB to intercept them. [&:]

the carriers used in the alutian op were junyo and hiyo. kb was at midway.

[AW1Steve]

ORIGINAL: Hornblower

Being from the Empire State, I took the kids ( little Hornblower 1 and 2 ) to see the Independence at NYC.   While ascending to the bridge, I heard the lady behind me telling her little one “oh, darling this is a destroyer” 

You've got the Independance?[X(] Last I knew she was still at Bremmerton. Any chance that it was a typo and you meant Intrepid?[&:]

[bobogoboom]

opps looks like i was wrong on the carriers.

[anarchyintheuk]

ORIGINAL: gladiatt

In another room, their was a huge paint of a Napoleonnic battle (Friedland??? can't remenber) showing the sweddish general Bernadotte [8|]

Bernadotte became Crown Prince of Sweden after he was dismissed from Napoleon's service. He led the Army of the North against Napoleon at Leipzig. IIRC that was the only battle he fought against him although he fought many for him.

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk
Bernadotte became Crown Prince of Sweden after he was dismissed from Napoleon's service. He led the Army of the North against Napoleon at Leipzig. IIRC that was the only battle he fought against him although he fought many for him.

Jean Baptiste is in the top ten of my pantheon of pretty-boy, political, incompetents. He made the big time as Crown Prince of Sweden, but he totally wanked the wazoo as a general; intellectually void and morally deficient.

[anarchyintheuk]

Yep, top-10 of wanker generals for me too. Always wondered why Davout didn't kill him after Auerstadt. Doubt the army or Napoleon would've minded.

[Mobeer]

ORIGINAL: Hornblower
Being from the Empire State, I took the kids ( little Hornblower 1 and 2 ) to see the Independence at NYC.   While ascending to the bridge, I heard the lady behind me telling her little one “oh, darling this is a destroyer”

At Christmas I was watching the TV show QI, which was discussing plans for an aircraft carrier made from ice and sawdust. I almost screamed when they used a background image of a destroyer or cruiser. But for once, the quiz panel contestants actually took the producers to task and complained it was a not a carrier - made my day.

[JeffroK]

Back about 6 yrs ago I spent some time for my job in Kansas City.

I went to the big memorial in the park above Union Station (I think it is now the National WW1 Memorial) and had a talk to the guy keeping an eye on things (Tour Guide??) and made a comment on how the Australian War Memorial started this 80 years ago, he was very surprised at the level of Australia's involvement in WW1,(and of the official looting we did to fill the Memorial up[8D]) he thought we sent a Division to the Dardenelles and thats about it.

We had a good talk and at least he was willing to listen and learn, and I got a fair bit of Korean War Vet pins and badges out of him.

I'm banned from watching History Channel now so cant make any comment on what tripe it broadcasts.