The National WWII Museum's educational mission was in the spotlight as the world remembered the Normandy invasion. 

While the RAF fought in the skies overhead, British civilians in towns of southern England endured regular visits from German bombers in what came to be known as “the Blitz."

The National WWII Museum is saddened to learn of the passing of Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen (USAF, Ret.), who died February 16, 2022, at the age of 101.

Originally designated Operation Anvil and intended to support the hammer blow of the Normandy landings two months earlier, the renamed Operation Dragoon fulfilled an American desire for a lodgment in southern France that shifted forces from the strategic cul-de-sac of Italy.

A main goal of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment was to attack German morale and keep enemy soldiers sleep-deprived from nights of almost endless bombing raids.