Paul E. Garber
Encyclopedia
Paul Edward Garber was the first head of the National Air Museum of the Smithsonian Institution
, Washington, D.C. With his work and effort, the most complete collection of historical aircraft in the world was gathered and preserved. It contains the sole survivors of many interesting historical aircraft types.
flight trials at Fort Myer
in 1908. At the age of 18 joined the Army. During World War I
he was transferred from the D.C. National Guard to Aviation Service in the Signal Corps. During World War II
he was a Commander in the US Navy and later was in the Naval Reserves.
World War I ended before he had started the planned flight training. After the war he took a job as a ground crewman and messenger with the Postal Airmail Service. About that time cleared his desire to help the development of aviation by preserving its past. In 1920 he joined the Smithsonian and for the next 72 years worked for the preservation of the world aviation heritage.
In 1946 President Harry S. Truman
created the National Air Museum as a separate entity of the Smithsonian. Garber played a key role in the process and was assigned as a Curator to the Museum.
The present National Air and Space Museum
building opened in 1976. Most important, Garber, as first curator and devotee, helped to assemble the most impressive collection of historic aircraft in the world for the Institution.
The storage of that collection was not much of a problem prior to World War II - virtually everything that Garber collected was on display at the Arts and Industries Building or on loan to another museum. But when he returned from service as a naval officer, he faced an entirely new set of problems. Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, presented the Smithsonian with a collection of U.S. and enemy aircraft. When Paul Garber accepted responsibility for this vast collection, it was stored in an abandoned airplane factory in suburban Chicago, now the site of the O'Hare Airport. The U.S. Navy had a similar collection of historic aircraft in storage for the Smithsonian at Norfolk, Virginia. The crisis came with the Korean War
, when the U.S. Air Force needed the factory and began to force the Smithsonian out the door.
Determined to safely relocate the treasures to the Washington area, Garber searched in vain for empty warehouse space in the neighborhood of the nation's capitol. He then persuaded a pilot friend to assist him in conducting an aerial survey of the Maryland and Virginia suburbs from the cockpit of a Piper J-3 Cub. His search revealed 21 acres (84,984.1 m²) of woodland in Suitland. The National Park and Planning Commission, which controlled the land, was more than pleased to turn it over to the Smithsonian in 1952.
"When I first went out there and walked around," Garber later commented, "my only companions were the bullfrogs and mockingbirds." There was no budget for this project. "I had to scrounge," he recalled with pride.
His powers of persuasion were legendary. Army engineers at nearby Fort Belvoir provided a bulldozer to clear trees and brush from the site. Garber persuaded a local contractor to donate any excess cement remaining aboard his trucks at the end of the workday. Navy officials agreed to provide, at cost, the first of the prefabricated buildings that would soon dot the site.
Garber: "I'll beg or do whatever is necessary to get the old, famous airplanes for display at the museum."
Paul E. Garber spent his later years giving programs and relating the stories about the beginning and progress of flying history. He came to be a leading figure of the Smithsonian Kite Festival
, Smithsonian's annual kite-flying celebration held on the National Mall
in downtown Washington, D.C.
. He was also instrumental is getting a DC law changed. Previously it had been illegal to fly a kite on the Mall. He was also a talented aircraft model maker. The Smithsonian's Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility
was named for him before his death.
He died in his sleep on September 23, 1992, at the age of 93. Garber's final resting place is in Arlington National Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his wife Irene and survived by two sons, James Paul and Edgar William and a daughter Barbara Jane (passed in 1993).
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, Washington, D.C. With his work and effort, the most complete collection of historical aircraft in the world was gathered and preserved. It contains the sole survivors of many interesting historical aircraft types.
Biography
Garber was born and spent his childhood in Washington, D.C. and had clear memories of the Wright BrothersWright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
flight trials at Fort Myer
Fort Myer
Fort Myer is a U.S. Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It is a small post by U.S...
in 1908. At the age of 18 joined the Army. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he was transferred from the D.C. National Guard to Aviation Service in the Signal Corps. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was a Commander in the US Navy and later was in the Naval Reserves.
World War I ended before he had started the planned flight training. After the war he took a job as a ground crewman and messenger with the Postal Airmail Service. About that time cleared his desire to help the development of aviation by preserving its past. In 1920 he joined the Smithsonian and for the next 72 years worked for the preservation of the world aviation heritage.
In 1946 President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
created the National Air Museum as a separate entity of the Smithsonian. Garber played a key role in the process and was assigned as a Curator to the Museum.
The present National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
building opened in 1976. Most important, Garber, as first curator and devotee, helped to assemble the most impressive collection of historic aircraft in the world for the Institution.
The storage of that collection was not much of a problem prior to World War II - virtually everything that Garber collected was on display at the Arts and Industries Building or on loan to another museum. But when he returned from service as a naval officer, he faced an entirely new set of problems. Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, presented the Smithsonian with a collection of U.S. and enemy aircraft. When Paul Garber accepted responsibility for this vast collection, it was stored in an abandoned airplane factory in suburban Chicago, now the site of the O'Hare Airport. The U.S. Navy had a similar collection of historic aircraft in storage for the Smithsonian at Norfolk, Virginia. The crisis came with the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, when the U.S. Air Force needed the factory and began to force the Smithsonian out the door.
Determined to safely relocate the treasures to the Washington area, Garber searched in vain for empty warehouse space in the neighborhood of the nation's capitol. He then persuaded a pilot friend to assist him in conducting an aerial survey of the Maryland and Virginia suburbs from the cockpit of a Piper J-3 Cub. His search revealed 21 acres (84,984.1 m²) of woodland in Suitland. The National Park and Planning Commission, which controlled the land, was more than pleased to turn it over to the Smithsonian in 1952.
"When I first went out there and walked around," Garber later commented, "my only companions were the bullfrogs and mockingbirds." There was no budget for this project. "I had to scrounge," he recalled with pride.
His powers of persuasion were legendary. Army engineers at nearby Fort Belvoir provided a bulldozer to clear trees and brush from the site. Garber persuaded a local contractor to donate any excess cement remaining aboard his trucks at the end of the workday. Navy officials agreed to provide, at cost, the first of the prefabricated buildings that would soon dot the site.
Garber: "I'll beg or do whatever is necessary to get the old, famous airplanes for display at the museum."
Paul E. Garber spent his later years giving programs and relating the stories about the beginning and progress of flying history. He came to be a leading figure of the Smithsonian Kite Festival
Smithsonian Kite Festival
The Blossom Kite Festival, formerly the Smithsonian Kite Festival, is an annual kite event usually held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. near the beginning of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in late March. The 2011 kite festival took place on the Washington Monument grounds on Sunday,...
, Smithsonian's annual kite-flying celebration held on the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in downtown Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He was also instrumental is getting a DC law changed. Previously it had been illegal to fly a kite on the Mall. He was also a talented aircraft model maker. The Smithsonian's Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility
Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility
The Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility is located in Suitland, Maryland, USA. The facility, also nicknamed "Silver Hill", is where the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum restores aircraft, spacecraft, and other artifacts.It is named in honor of...
was named for him before his death.
He died in his sleep on September 23, 1992, at the age of 93. Garber's final resting place is in Arlington National Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his wife Irene and survived by two sons, James Paul and Edgar William and a daughter Barbara Jane (passed in 1993).
See also
- Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage FacilityPaul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage FacilityThe Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility is located in Suitland, Maryland, USA. The facility, also nicknamed "Silver Hill", is where the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum restores aircraft, spacecraft, and other artifacts.It is named in honor of...
- a restoration and storage facility for the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum located in Suitland, Maryland, USA named after Paul Garber