National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Virtual Tour expanded to include Southeast Asia War Gallery

News > National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Virtual Tour expanded to include Southeast Asia War Gallery

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Pictured here is a screenshot of the Wild Wesels exhibit in the Southeast Asia War Gallery from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force's Virtual Tour website. (U.S. Air Force image)
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National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Virtual Tour expanded to include Southeast Asia War Gallery

Posted 11/29/2011 Updated 11/22/2011

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by Bryan D. Carnes
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

11/29/2011 - DAYTON, Ohio (AFNS) -- Experience the Southeast Asia War Gallery online on the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force's Virtual Tour, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. Air Force campaign during that war.

The gallery is now fully embedded with audio and video hotspots and touch-screen devices located throughout the gallery .

Located at www.nmusafvirtualtour.com, the Southeast Asia War Gallery is now interactive with initial materials available on more than 150 hotspots allowing users to click on an artifact or exhibit and access factsheets, audio-tour podcasts with printable transcripts, videos and an interactive touch-screen display.

"The Air Force's role during the Southeast Asia War is not widely understood," said Jeff Duford, the museum curator. "When complete, this gallery will present our visitors with the rich, multi-faceted story of Air Force service and sacrifice during that long conflict."

Like the gallery at the museum, the Virtual Tour features more than 25 aircraft that participated in the Southeast Asia War, including search and rescue helicopters and Soviet-made MiGs. The space is full of stories of heroic groups such as the River Rats, forward air controllers and Wild Weasels. Other exhibits range from Medal of Honor recipient Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger to legendary fighter ace Brig. Gen. Robin Olds. The story is explained in 12 major chapters, including themes such as Operation Rolling Thunder, the Tet Offensive, Operation Linebacker and many more.

Museum staff members began renovating the Southeast Asia War Gallery in the fall of 2010 and the renovation will be completed in four phases.

"The renovation of the Southeast Asia War Gallery is a massive, multi-year undertaking by the museum's staff," Duford said. "It includes many new engaging exhibits, dioramas, interactives, aircraft restorations, and hundreds of artifacts."

The museum's Virtual Tour consists of 92 high-definition panoramic nodes. All of the nodes are available online, but not all areas are interactive. In addition to the Southeast Asia War Gallery, visitors can experience the Early Years, World War II, Korean War, Presidential and Research & Development Galleries, the Holocaust Exhibit and Memorial and Air Parks. In the coming months, museum officials plan to complete the Cold War Gallery.

The museum offers online visitors various ways to experience the tour, whether it is downloading podcasts from iTunes or accessing the tour through handheld devices or other mobile technologies. Each node eventually will contain clickable images to the aircraft and artifacts, which will be hyperlinked to factsheets, supplemental information and educational materials.