ABILENE, Kan. – Dr. Dennis Okerstrom will present a program on Project 9 at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home. The free public program is set for June 10 at 7 p.m. in the Visitors Center Auditorium.

The release this month of Okerstrom’s latest book, Project 9: Birth of the Air Commandos in World War II, coincides with the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Burma. World War II veteran, Dick Cole, age 98, will join Okerstrom for a discussion of the 1st Air Commando Group, a forerunner to
modern special operations units such as SEAL Team Six and Delta Force.

Okerstrom and Cole will discuss the first air commando raid as well as Cole’s other World War II experiences, including serving as Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot during the Tokyo Raid. He is one of only four surviving Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.

Okerstrom is Professor of English at Park University, a certified flight instructor, and the author of four previous books including The Final Mission of Bottoms Up: A World War II Pilot’s Story. He is the recipient of several awards for scholarship and teaching and owns and flies a restored 1942 Army scout plane. He currently resides in Independence, Missouri.

Copies of the book, Project 9: Birth of the Air Commandos in World War II, will be available for purchase in the Presidential Gift Shop, and Okerstrom will be available to sign books following the program.

This program supplements the World War II Remembered: Leaders, Battles & Heroes exhibit currently on display in the Museum. The exhibit is a three-year commemoration of WWII marking the 70th anniversaries of the war and its aftermath as told through personal stories.

These programs and exhibits are only made possible through private donations to the Eisenhower Foundation. The World War II Remembered exhibit has a number of extremely generous sponsors including the Emma Balsiger Foundation, Dane G. Hansen Foundation, and the William T. Kemper Foundation. A complete list of exhibit donors and information on how you can be a sponsor can be found on www.eisenhower.archives.gov