May 13-16 2021 – 34th Armed Forces Celebration 

Findlay, OH

May 13th:  We arrived 13 May, Thursday and unloaded our equipment and the African Queen, which had been recovered from the National Museum of the US Air Force (NMUSAF) for the event.  It was to be returned to the museum where it is on an 18-month loan after the event finished 16 May.  Unloading went like the proverbial Swiss watch and we turned out to be one of four half-tracks at the event.  There were 192 military vehicles that showed for the event. We raised a lot of excitement as we unloaded the African queen and set up our display.  The weather was perfect and was supposed to be great the entire weekend.

John Cheney’s generous transportation made it possible for The Queen to attend the event

 

MAY 14th:  Friday was a beautiful day with plenty of sun and lots of visits from the public.  We spent the day explaining the history of the Queen, its recovery from the East African Desert, its preservation and history of service. Visitors were especially interested in the items on display and the original working half-track radios. The Maxson Gun Turret drew a significant amount of attention along with the four (4) .50 Caliber Machine Guns. Numerous photos were taken and the too short but busy Friday was very successful as the event shut-down for the day.

The Queen was a hit with the many WWII re-enactor groups

 

May 15th:  A beautiful Saturday and large crowds of visitors.  We didn’t get a break the entire day as we again spent our time giving audio presentations on the African Queens history.  Several groups took pictures with the Queen to include WWII reenactors, along with children and scores of others.  We were visited by the Commander of the Lima, OH M1 Tank Plant, LTC Travis Adkins and we conducted a background briefing on the African Queens history for MG (Ret) Deborah Ashenhurst the current Director of Military Affairs for the State of Ohio.  Numerous pics were taken with the African Queen as a backdrop, and it was a privilege to have these distinguished visitors stop by for a visit with the Queen.  We were also visited by Mr. David Jackson and Mr. Rick Forys, two professional photographers who took numerous detailed photos the Queen.  Hopefully, an article will follow in the MVPA Magazine, History in Motion.  We also received several donations that support our nonprofit, The African Project. We stood-down at 7pm and headed back to the hotel for dinner and a well-deserved rest.

 

May 16th:  A cloudy and Rainy day as we packed up the display and readied the African Queen for her trip back to the National Museum of the US Air Force (NMUSAF).  All display items to include those attached to the Queen were removed and stowed for the trip to Dayton OH, the home of the National Museum of the US Air Force (NMUSAF). We said good-by to the new friends we’d made at the event and were grateful that we could share the Queen and her unique history with her many admirers and new friends.  We plan on attending next years show and look forward to meeting new fans and supporters of the African Queen Project.  Finally, we need to extend a huge THANKS! to John Cheney for all the work he did to secure us a good display spot and providing transportation for the Queen to and from it’s current home at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

 

IMAGES FROM THE EVENT

ADDITIONAL MEDIA OF THE EVENT:

 Hometownstations.com News Report on the 34th Armed Forces Day

 

 

 SEE LISTiNGS OF UPCOMING EVENTS