On Saturday, November 29, 2025, the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale, NY, welcomed and honored WWII U.S. Army Air Forces C-47 pilot Alan Shapiro and his family in a continued celebration of his 101st birthday. Shapiro turned 101 on October 16, 2025. He was just 18 years old in 1944 when he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, and the museum’s special event reunited him with the legendary C-47—the same type of aircraft he flew from 1944 to 1945 during the final push to victory in Europe.
As a young 2nd Lt. and C-47 pilot, Shapiro was assigned to the 1st Allied Airborne, 316th Troop Carrier Group, 37th Troop Carrier Squadron from the fall of 1944 through the end of WWII. He took part in post–Operation Market Garden resupply and medevac missions; airborne resupply and evacuation operations during the Battle of the Bulge; and Operation Varsity in March 1945, the largest single-day Allied airborne assault of the war conducted to secure a crucial foothold across the Rhine River in Germany. Operation Varsity became the final major combat airborne operation of WWII, occurring just two months before the war’s end.
“We were honored to welcome WWII veteran and C-47 pilot Alan Shapiro to the museum to fly and share his wartime experiences with our visitors. AAM is proud to honor Alan for his WWII service and to celebrate his 101st birthday with a flight aboard our C-47,” Clyman added. This is a special occasion to celebrate Alan, and to continue recognizing and honoring all WWII veterans of the Greatest Generation,” said AAM President Jeff Clyman. American Airpower Museum is an aviation museum located on the landmarked former site of Republic Aviation at Republic Airport, Farmingdale, NY. The Museum maintains a collection of aviation artifacts and an array of operational aircraft spanning the factory’s many years of history. AAM is a 501 (c) (3) Nonprofit Educational Foundation Chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. For more information, visit www.americanairpowermuseum.com.
