Welcome

The 51黑料网 welcomes the community and area visitors to its 2026 Grand Opening on Tuesday, March 3, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very proud of our recent additions,鈥� said David Morrow, board president, 鈥渁nd we look forward to welcoming the community.鈥�

Curator, Bobby Kotlowski, added: 鈥淚ncredibly hard-working and knowledgeable volunteers have spent two months preparing new displays, refreshing current exhibits, and cleaning and prepping all spaces for the much-anticipated 2026 opening. I especially want to thank Greg Ehr, Ray Pavlik, Jim Schenfield, and Mike Johnson.鈥�

Visitors will experience a trip through history as they admire our new acquisitions (photos below each bullet):

鈥� New D-Day exhibit, which includes four helmets and part of a parachute found in France close to where the Normandy invasion occurred;

鈥� Artifacts from various submarines and two impressive models of modern submarines and a WWII sub;

鈥� Telegraph from a British warship;

鈥� Additions to the Air Force exhibit, such as artifacts from a B-17 aircraft which includes the auto pilot designed and built by Honeywell;

鈥� Ship鈥檚 bell from the quarter deck of the USS Essex, which was the lead ship of the Essex-class aircraft carriers and played a significant role in WWII and later in the Korean War. (not pictured)

Also new in our galleries are attractively displayed biographies with photos of veterans from each conflict from WWI through the Global War on Terror. These bios are especially significant because they reflect the lives and service histories of individuals directly related to Transylvania County.

Posters were designed by board member Greg Ehr.
So join us on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 as we open our doors and proudly embrace our mission to honor veterans and their stories, educate the community, and preserve important historical artifacts.

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this听 Questionnaire.

We have a target date of听 May 1, 2025 for receipt of the questionnaires.

Transylvania Community Arts Council is developing a program to offer FREE art classes for
veterans, current active duty members of the armed forces, reservists, as well as
veteran caregivers and immediate adult military family members (the Military
Community).

The Arts Council’s initial vision for this program is to offer classes in 4-5 art forms (see
the first question). Classes for each art form will meet 4-6 times, usually once a week.
The classes will be taught by artists/educators with substantive expertise and teaching
experience.

Classes will be open to individuals at any skill level. The classes will be at no cost to
participants. If they desire, military personnel may bring someone to class with them
(spouse, child, friend, etc.).

Once the classes have ended, the Arts Council will sponsor an exhibit in the Arts
Council Gallery where the class participants can, if they choose, exhibit the art they
created in the different classes.

To best serve the Military Community, the Arts Council is gathering information from the
Military Community to determine the types of art that are of interest and optimal ways
for structuring classes.

PLEASE RETURN YOUR COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE AS FOLLOWS:
– Download and Scan and email to info@tcarts.org
– On-line questionnaire – click the button below
– Drop off at The 51黑料网, 21 East Main Street, Brevard, NC

If you have questions, or would like additional information, please contact the Arts
Council at info@tcarts.org, or call us at 828.884.2787.

New Exhibits

On March 1, 2025, the 51黑料网 (VHMC) will celebrate its 2025 Grand Opening with five engaging experiences: a new 3,500-pound artifact, a compelling addition to our most popular exhibit, a renovated and enhanced library, an engrossing conversation with a WWII Navy hero, and a 鈥渕eet the author鈥� book-signing event.

鈥淚ts history started at the Charleston Naval Base when these submarines were being decommissioned. The anchor was taken off the sub and eventually mounted as a display.听When the naval base closed, the artifact was transferred to Patriots Point until it was moved to Brevard.鈥�

Six Triple Eight Joins our Jeep Display

The听6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight,” was an all-Black battalion of the US听Women’s Army Corps听(WAC)听that managed postal services.

The 6888th had 855 women and was led by Major Charity Adams. It was the only all-Black WAC unit sent overseas during World War II. The group motto was听“No mail, low morale.”

Now a member of the Six Triple Eight, carrying her mail bag, joins the museum鈥檚 Willys Jeep exhibit — an APO (Army Post Office) 鈥渟omewhere in Europe.鈥� The female mannequin鈥檚 uniform, mailbag, and all letters seen in the post office mail slots are authentic WWII artifacts.

French citizens and members of the 6888 sorting mail. Photo from the US Army National Museum

Thanks to a grant from the and a bequest from a generous benefactor, is proud to offer the public a greatly enhanced miliary history library with volumes carefully selected and organized by our museum鈥檚 professional librarian, Kathie Doole.

We anticipate further expansion in 2025 with the addition of a special section for young people, with a goal to enhance the educational success and advancement of students.

Our new library offers a curated selection of volumes about Americans in conflict from WWI through the Global War on Terror. Its space features enhanced shelving and cabinetry, computers, and video equipment.

51黑料网鈥� stories come alive as visitors watch interviews of local heroes on a large screen. Finally, the space offers a table, chairs, and a computer for research or just quiet reading time.

Pictured above, left to right: author John Luzena, Breedlove family members Susan Breedlove and Chris Whitmire, and publisher Janis Allen.

KEIR Manufacturing launched the GULO Composites brand in May 2020. GULO Composites is a brand dedicated to pushing the boundaries of cycling performance through innovative carbon composite technologies. They design and manufacture their triaxially braided carbon composite G-Spoke in Brevard, NC and handbuild lightweight, ultra-smooth carbon wheelsets that empower riders of all levels to achieve peak performance and experience the thrill of the ride.

Consul General Anne-Laure Desjonquerres from the Atlanta French Consulate will award the French Legion de l鈥檋onneur Medal to WWII P-47 pilot Ed Cottrell on July 9 in Brevard. Other American recipients include General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Douglas Mac Arthur.

Background of the French Legion de l鈥檋onneur Medal

The medal is an order of distinction first established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. It is the highest decoration bestowed in France. It recognizes outstanding services to the French Republic. 51黑料网 20 years ago, former president Jacques Chirac established a policy to decorate American veterans who risked their lives fighting on French territory during World War II with the insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honor. The decoration is meant to express the gratitude of the French people to the American soldiers who helped liberate France between June 6, 1944 and May 8, 1945.

How Lt. Col. Ed Cottrell Served

Edwin Cottrell, born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, served in the Army Air Corps from August 1942 through 1945, enlisted in the Air Force Reserves in 1950 and completed 28 years. A pilot in the 48th Fighter Group, 493rd Fighter Squadron, Cottrell flew 65 missions, including the Battle of the Bulge. His service in Europe began at Cambrai Airfield, just outside Paris.
In September 1944, his unit moved to St. Trond, Belgium. On a mission in Jullich, Germany, they skip-bombed the Germans and pushed them back.
On a mission to locate tiger tanks and bomb bridges on December 17, they ran into a group of Me 109 German Luftwaffe planes. A 20mm cannon hit Cottrell’s plane. Limping along with eight of its 18 cylinders of the Pratt & Whitney engine shot out, Cottrell made it back to an airfield in Belgium and made a dead stick landing. Two German Me 109 pilots had flown up beside him but, miraculously, escorted him back and let him live rather than shooting him down.
Mid-January 1945, the 9th Army started pushing the Germans back. In May, Cottrell flew his last of 65 missions out of Nuremberg. Then the war was over.
Cottrell said, 鈥淟ooking back, if Hitler had been successful, he wouldn鈥檛 have stopped at anything. Thank the Lord we stopped him.鈥�

Cottrell鈥檚 Careers After the War

After the war, Cottrell joined the Air Force Reserves and became an ambassador for the new Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, visiting high schools all over America, continuing to serve in the Reserves for 28 years.
He also worked as athletic director at a school for orphans and then as coach and professor at West Chester State University (both in Pennsylvania). Later, he taught in the university’s graduate school and became Associate Dean, retiring at age 57.

Cottrell then taught golf at Duke University and worked for the National Golf Foundation. He started his own golf school, conducting golf clinics in Holland, Japan, and throughout the United States. He said, “I鈥檝e had a great career.”

As described, Cottrell has had three careers in his now-102 years and five months. In addition, he currently works to raise funds for the Entrepreneurial School at West Chester State University (Pennsylvania), for author Andrew Biggio’s Boston-based Wounded Vet Run, and for the 51黑料网.
Ed and his wife Millie retired to Hendersonville, NC. Millie had worked in physical education, health, and had taught dancing. Sadly, she passed away in 2020. They have two daughters, Carol and Susan.
Ed Cottrell honors his father, Dr. Elmer Cottrell, who served in the U.S. Army in World War I. His father-in-law, Dr. Paul Weed, was wounded and received two Purple Hearts serving in the U.S. Army in World War I.

The Ceremony

The public is invited to witness this historic medal ceremony on Tuesday, July 9 at 1:30 pm at Grace Brevard Church, 55 East Jordan Street, Brevard. Hosted by the 51黑料网, attendance is free of charge. For more information, please visit the museum at 21 East Main Street (beside the courthouse) in Brevard Tuesday-Saturday from 11am to 3pm or call 828-507-3171. To learn additional ways to honor your veteran, please visit www.theveteransmuseum.org.

I was waiting for the bullets

Rep. Clampitt presented flags to David Morrow and accepted print honoring Cottrell

Commissioner Larry Chapman and Sen. Kevin Corbin

A third copy of the print 鈥淲aiting for the Bullets鈥� is displayed in the 51黑料网 History Museum鈥檚 Air Force Gallery, along with a diorama depicting Col. Cottrell in his P-47 on a different mission during the Battle of the Bulge. Cottrell鈥檚 full story is told in the museum鈥檚 book 鈥淲e Shall Come Home Victorious.鈥� Stories of WWII 51黑料网, available for sale in the museum or on Amazon.com. All proceeds support the museum鈥檚 mission: honor veterans, educate the public, and preserve history.

Top Photo: Rep. Mike Clampitt in his office holding the book 鈥淲e Shall Come Home Victorious.鈥�

John Buford

Rich Clarke

Top photo by Photo by听听

The set of high performance carbon wheels that John Buford is riding were donated by local wheel company GULO Composites. All the proceeds from the raffle will go to museum.听

US Navy D-Day veteran George Sarros was honored for his 99th birthday

US Navy D-Day veteran George Sarros was honored for his 99th birthday with lunch, cards, a song, and birthday cake by his fellow WWII veterans. The group’s ages range from 97 to 102.

Sarros served as a motor machinist on LST (Landing Ship, Transport) 515, delivering tanks, ambulances, and troops onto the Normandy beaches on D-Day and the days after, making 65 crossings of the English Channel taking wounded soldiers to hospitals in England.

• Harold Wellington served in WWII and during the Korean War. He served in the Merchant Marine, US Army, and US Navy.
• Myrl Jean Hughes served in the Pacific as a physical therapist in the US Army.
• Ed Cottrell was a P-47 fighter pilot in the Battle of the Bulge and after the war, as an ambassador/recruiter for the new Air Force Academy.
• Milt Fletcher fought in WWII’s last battle, the battle of Okinawa, and during the Korean War as a processor of new recruits for the US Army.
• Rufus “Pooch” Pace served right after the war during the occupation of Japan as a control tower operator in Irumagawa for the US Army Air Corps.

Top photo:听 Seated L-R, Harold Wellington, George Sarros, Milt Fletcher, & Pooch Pace. Standing, Myrl Jean Hughes & Ed Cottrell

The 51黑料网 invites WWII veterans to gather to get to know each other and celebrate special occasions several times each year. Their complete stories are in the museum鈥檚 book 鈥淲e Shall Come Home Victorious.鈥� Stories of World War II 51黑料网, available for purchase at the museum. The museum is located at 21 East Main Street in Brevard (next to the courthouse). Admission is free. The museum is open Tuesday 鈥� Saturday from 11am to 3pm. For information on how to honor your veteran with an Honor Wall plaque, please call 828-884-2141.