Fayetteville, NC Exit 46: The legends of those who jump into battle are covered through this museum in artifacts and film. The impressive 5-story glass walled lobby sets the stage with 2 fully deployed parachutes: a WW II era T-5 round chute and a modern MC-4 square chute. Look for the story of Lieutenant Bill Ryder, leader of the Test Platoon, who on August 16th, 1940 became the first American soldier to jump.
You can walk through a section of a C-47, sit on crates in a WW II Army briefing hut, learn about gliders that landed jeeps and bulldozers, see a famous UH-1(Huey) helicopter from ‘Nam days and a Desert Storm hide-site.
Another exhibit traces the development of the Special Forces, or “Green Berets”, from the summer of 1952 to Operation Enduring Freedom.
Location: 100 Bragg Blvd., Fayetteville, NC 28301
Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm
Tel: 910- 643-2766
www.asomf.org