TROY — On Thursday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m., WACO will have its third lecture of the 2022-23 Aviation Lecture Series with a presentation by Bill Albers, entitled “Christmas Truce on the Western Front.”
World War I, the so-called Great War was only five months old and there were already many casualties on both sides. The first Christmas of the four year-war, at the front lines, became a Christmas celebration of the size that never took place before and most likely will never happen again. Many believe it is a miracle that thousands of soldiers put down their weapons and stopped killing to celebrate Christmas. The lecture will cover the history of World War I and the events that led up to the Christmas Truce.
Albers is a frequent guest lecturer about World War II subjects. He is Dutch-American who survived WWII. He was born in Amsterdam in 1940 and as a child, survived a five-year long German occupation during World War II. He served in the Royal Dutch Air Force as a jet aircraft mechanic and earned a degree in mechanical engineering before coming to the US in 1965. He continued to study engineering in Ohio and lived and worked in the US before becoming a citizen in 1977. Albers has held positions as an engineering manager, sales manager, and divisional manager, VP of sales & engineering, and CEO of different US companies. He now is busily retired and spends time volunteering at the Champaign Aviation Museum as well as WACO Air Museum. Albers is a pilot with Sidney airport as his home base and holds a private, instrument, commercial, and ground school instructor pilot license. He shares his knowledge about World War II so people do not forget what happened during WWII.
All aviation lectures are free and open to the public and are scheduled to last one hour, beginning at 7 p.m., with questions to follow. The lecture is held in the Willis Wing of the WACO Air Museum at 1865 South County Road 25A in Troy, OH. Doors will open at 6:30. Donations to the WACO Air Museum are gratefully accepted. All lectures are sponsored in part by Collins Wheels and Brakes. For questions, call 937-335-9226 or visit www.wacoairmuseum.org.
