Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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12 UCW JUNE 22 - 28, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Tales of courage and bravery among resistance groups and partisans fight- ing against the Nazis will be on display across two exhibits at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum beginning next month. e exhibits tell the stories of the Chetniks in Operation Halyard and the Jewish resistance force, the Bielski partisan group. "It fits our mission of being an Air- borne and Special Operations Museum. Special Operation soldiers work with lo- cal and indigenous populations to often help win the hearts and minds of the people," Museum Director Jim Bartlin- ski told Up & Coming Weekly. When entering the museum, you will first see several panels set up in the lobby. e panels will tell the story of how a three-person Office of Strategic Services team, Serbian partisans known as "Chetniks," and the 1st Air Crew Rescue Unit of the U.S. 15th Air Force airlifted more than 500 U.S. airmen out of Serbia. is exhibit, Operation HALYARD: e Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II, is on loan from the Halyard Mis- sion Foundation. "ey did not lose one person or one plane, so they were able to do this under the Nazi's noses," Bartlinski said. "It was one of those untold stories that just came to light in the last ten years be- cause it was kept top secret because of what was going on between the former Soviet Union, Serbia and America. But it was finally declas- sified." Weapons, equip- ment and three videos telling the stories of the three OSS men will also be on display. As visitors move into ASOM's tem- porary gallery, Courage and Compas- sion: e Legacy of the Bielski Brothers will be displayed. is exhibit tells the story of the three Bielski brothers who ran a partisan group out of the forests in Belorus- sia. e brothers helped rescue and keep more than 1,200 Jews alive in those forests for more than two years. More than 70% were women, elderly persons and children who oth- erwise would have perished under Nazi occupation. While keeping people safe, the group also helped in several op- erational missions against the Nazis. ey disabled Ger- man trains, blew up rail beds, destroyed bridges and facilitated escapes from Jewish ghettos. "e Bielski exhibit will be coming with a number of artifacts from the Florida Holocaust Museum — items used in the camps, items worn by the Bielski brothers and some video com- ponents as well," Bartlinski said."We will also be supplementing the exhibit with items from our own collection like weapons and other types of materials that partisans would have used." Several programming events sur- rounding the two exhibits are currently being worked out and scheduled at the museum. "I hope they [visitors] get inspired by both stories and get an appreciation for the difficulties that people, past and present, go through to fight for their freedoms and independence against oppressive governments and militaries," Bartilinski said. e two exhibits will be on display from July 4 through November 13. Ad- mission to ASOM is free, but donations are highly suggested. ASOM freedom fighter exhibits planned for July by HANNAH LEE EVENT Promotional poster for Courage & Compas- sion e Legacy of the Bielski Brothers. (Photo courtesy of Airborne and Special Operations Museum) HANNAH LEE, Assistant Editor. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Health, Vision, Dental Insurance Property and Casualty Insurance Retirement Benefits Paid Leave, Paid Holidays Cafeteria Plan (IRS Code Section 125) Cancer - Intensive Care or Critical Care Employee Assistance Program Flexible Spending TRICARE Supplement Benefits • • • • • • • • • Security Officer Housekeeper Maintenance Technician • • • hr@faytechcc.edu • (910) 678-7342 • (910) 678-8378 We are actively recruiting for the following: We offer an excellent benefits package to include: To view the qualifications and/or apply for these and other positions, please visit our employment opportunities at https://faytechcc.peopleadmin.com/. For assistance or questions please contact FTCC Human Resources Start your new career with