Foundation Documents: An Airman's Story Foundation, Inc.

An Airman's Story

Duty, Honor, Country... The Legacy Continues

"Poor is the Nation with no heroes...
Shameful is the Nation that, having heroes...Forgets them.”
“Our brave aviators’ stories should not be forgotten.”


What is An Airman’s Story Foundation?

An Airman’s Story is the epic anthology of Military Air Power filmed in first-person up close and personal accounts. We have more than 1000 hours of film covering Pre-WWII to recent times to process and preserve. Join with us as we will take these courageous stories of our aviators’ heroic feats of valor, and sacrifice and development them for eternity to view. Very little is known of the pilots and crews who served in WWII, Korea, South East Asia and Desert Storm. We intend to tell their stories, in a way that no one ever has done before, so our future generations of Americans will know their truth.

Why is there An Airman’s Story Foundation?

World War II forever changed the lives of many Americans. Many never returned, and of those who did, most had stories rarely heard in the ensuing years. These are stories of heroics, borne from conflict, of which, very few veterans received thanks or credit. Not limited to WWII but also Korea, South East Asia, Desert Storm to today’s war on terror. Each individual's experience is unique. These people just wanted to get back to their lives, as they had known them, before the war. In our present circumstance, time is running out. No one else, as yet, has begun to capture, compile let alone tell the very personal stories of these veterans. While they pass from our midst at the rate of over 2000 WWII veterans per day, we feel a sense of duty to share with this and future generations, their legacy, a truly gallant history, of American military men and women.

Through these recollections are expressed the savage wounds and emotional scars of the air war, from an airman's perspective; the story of courageous men & women, who took to the skies to defend America and win the war against tyranny. Eye-witness accounts of harrowing air to air combat, as told by only such persons as those who have seen it. From their memories of childhood, when they first saw an airplane, their inspiration to become pilots and opportunity to fly, through training and their first experiences of aerial combat against superior aircraft, to becoming great fighter Aces, bomber pilots and air crews. There were no hospitals, or aid stations, with doctors and nurses in the "Bloody Skies", miles above the earth. If you were wounded, chances were, you would bleed to death. These brave souls understood these facts. They rose above their personal fears and accomplished what was asked of them, with unselfish valor.

What does An Airman’s Story Foundation have?

An Airman's Story, as of this date, is comprised of over one thousand hours of taped interviews. It’s an extraordinary record in which the interviewees tell their own story. It is totally unrehearsed and unscripted, as they tell their stories, in their own homes. From the first bombs to fall Dec. 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor, through the onslaught of Japanese Imperial Conquest in the Pacific, the resurrection of the 7th fleet at Pearl Harbor, HI. to flying ground support for troops on D-Day at Normandy, flying fighter escort for 1000 plane formations in air combat against Luftwaffe Aces, bailing out over flaming cities of Nazi Germany.

The airmen and airwomen tell their own stories: aircraft carrier battle groups at the Coral Sea-Midway-Battle of Philippine Sea-“Mariana's Turkey Shoot”; Witnessing from 10,000 ft’ the firebombing of Tokyo; Being blown from the aircraft by AA and falling into the hands of Japanese civilian militia; and Of internment and torture in POW camps. They were there, in Island by island combat, the 1000 ship armada prepared to invade Japan and delivered and witnessed the devastating effects of both Atomic Bombs, which forced capitulation of the Imperial Army. They were among the thousands of aircraft in continuous victorious flight, over Japanese Imperial surrender aboard the Battleship USS Missouri. Air Power led the way. Our film collection accounts from pre WWII to current times and are first person individual stories, inclusive of Tuskegee Airmen, WWII and Southeast Asia Desert Storm POWs to the current war against terror these are the stories of the brave men and women of America's Air Forces.

The early dreams of General William "Billy" Mitchell, the WWI visionary of American Air Power, were fulfilled and implemented by General H.H. "Hap" Arnold, during WWII. To this day, every American aviator is part of this proud Legacy.

Why should I make a donation?

You have the opportunity to enrich future generations by contributing to preserving and reformatting An Airman’s Story Foundation vast film collection for educational distribution! We shoot and keep shooting, it`s a living breathing archive always expanding. Post production or getting our film ready for distribution is very costly. Think about how the air warfare has changed over history - there are many men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice whose stories deserve to be told and be heard by our future generations.

What kind of organization is An Airman’s Story Foundation, Inc.?

An Airman’s Story Foundation is a nonprofit Federal 501(c)(3) entity EIN# 27-0637860

What is a 501(c)(3)?

Section 501(c)(3) is the portion of the US Internal Revenue Code that allows for federal tax exemption of nonprofit organizations, specifically those that are considered public charities, private foundations or private operating foundations. It is regulated and administered by the US Department of Treasury through the Internal Revenue Service.

Will my donation(s) be tax deductable?

Yes.

What does it mean to be a 501(c)(3) organization?

Being "501(c)(3)" means that a particular nonprofit organization has been approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt, charitable organization. "Charitable" is broadly defined as being established for purposes that are religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering of national or international amateur sports, or prevention of cruelty to animals and children.

What benefit do I get donating to An Airman’s Story Foundation?

First and foremost your donation helps us pay for preparing for the general educational release a large proprietary library of film shot over decades of American aviation legacies for our future generation to see. A secondary benefits of being tax-exempt under IRC Section 501(c)(3) is your contributions and donations are tax-deductible by you the donor.

Does nonprofit, 501(c)(3) and tax-exempt all mean the same thing?

Actually, no! These terms are often used interchangeably, but they all mean different things. Nonprofit means the entity, usually a corporation, is organized for a nonprofit purpose. 501(c)(3) means a nonprofit organization that has been recognized by the IRS as being tax-exempt by virtue of its charitable programs.

Can I submit my donation by mail?

While we appreciate the ease of using the PayPal donate key on our websites which accepts all major credit and debit cards, we would appreciate any contribution that assists us further in the preservation and reformatting for educational use of An Airman’s Story’s collection of media. Please mail your contributions to:

An Airman’s Story Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 3044
San Rafael, CA 94912
Thank you.

Who can I contact for more information?

If you have any questions about An Airman’s Story Foundation, send us an email to:
info@airmansstoryfoundation.com with your question(s).

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