In an interesting ‘virtual’ re-enactment of the D-Day airborne operations over the night of June 5th/6th, 1944, Joint Base Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina will be conducting a real-time historical reenactment of the D-Day invasion, solely on social media. Starting at 7 pm EST (or midnight in England), both the 437th and 315th Airlift Wings will start Facebook and Twitter posts as if the D-Day invasion were happening in real-time, noting precisely the actions of their brethren from 1944, when they were known as the 437th and 315th Troop Carrier Groups. “This is a great way for us to celebrate our heritage,” said Col. Jimmy Canlas, commander of the 437th Airlift Wing. “This project will give the public a glimpse of a day in the life of some real heroes that did what our nation needed them to do 74 years ago.”
During the D-Day invasion of June 5th/6th, the predecessors of today’s active duty 437th Airlift Wing flew from RAF Aldermaston in England. Their C-47 Skytrains towed troop-laden gliders over Normandy, France. Meanwhile, antecedents of the current Air Force Reserve’s 315th Airlift Wing flew C-47s from RAF Spanhoe, also in England, dropping paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division near St. Mere Eglise, France.
Both wings will use their official social media to post real-time accounts and photos of events that unfolded for their respective units on D-Day. These perspectives will be drawn from historical and personal observations as well as the official histories of both wing. The “social media re-enactment” will start at 7 pm EST and run until 6:30 am the following morning. All historical posts will use the hashtag #DDayRemembered.
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The 437th Airlift Wing can be found on Facebook and Twitter at 437AW and the 315th Airlift Wing can be found on Facebook and Twitter at 315AW.
Edited from Joint Base Charleston press release.
