In 2003, David O’Maley, Sr. watched two World War II veterans speak to a group of middle school students. The experience would become the inspiration for the Tri-State Warbird Museum in Batavia.
“Watching the reverence and engagement from the children was striking,” recalls his son and the museum’s President, David O’Maley, Jr.
His father began thinking about what had captured and held the students’ attention. They weren’t simply reading about history. They were hearing it from two people who had lived it. His father wanted to find a way to preserve that connection.
“The idea of the museum came from the need to give that context a place of permanence,” O’Maley Jr. explains. “A place where the experience those kids had that day listening and learning from two American heroes can be bottled and repeated for future generations.”
Today, the museum preserves 11 World War II aircraft, but these historic planes aren’t confined to the hangar. The museum restores and maintains its aircraft in flying condition, taking them back into the sky so visitors can experience them as they were meant to be seen.
“These aircraft are living, breathing examples of what we are capable of if we work together as one,” O’Maley Jr. emphasizes.
For O’Maley Jr., watching planes take flight creates an experience that a stationary aircraft simply cannot.
“You can learn about and understand those things by looking at one in a museum building, but seeing these aircraft in their natural element engages the soul,” he says.
Education is central to the museum’s work. School tours, homeschool sessions, Programs on Wheels and STEAM-based Super Soarin’ Saturdays give young people opportunities to learn about the past. Family events including Hangar Halloween and the annual Santa Fly-In offer more fun ways to experience the museum.
“Education is everything,” O’Maley Jr. says. “The more intentionally we decide, as people, to learn from those who came before us, the better off we will be.”
Honoring veterans remains at the heart of the museum’s work. On November 7, the museum will hold its Celebrating Veterans Day programming, including Coffee with Kilroy, a time for veterans to gather for coffee and fellowship. Afterward, a few veterans will have the opportunity to ride in museum aircraft.
“We try and make every day at the museum Veterans Day to some extent,” O’Maley Jr. remarks. “One of the more tangible ways we can give back to veterans is to give them a unique experience or opportunity they might not have otherwise received.”
For those selected to fly, the experience offers a rare chance to feel what the historic aircraft are like in the sky.
“It is just one small way we can show our appreciation while also continuing to share the aircraft with the world,” he says.
The generosity of people throughout the community makes museum events, programming and operations possible.
“Donors, volunteers and our community are the lifeblood of the museum,” O’Maley Jr. emphasizes. “Without their belief in our mission, it would be impossible for us to work each day to carry out that mission.”
When asked whether one veteran, aircraft or story best captures why the museum’s work matters, O’Maley Jr. can’t choose one.
Each aircraft, each story and, importantly, each veteran, he says, “is owed just as much gratitude, respect and reverence as the next.”
More than two decades ago, David O’Maley, Sr. watched two veterans make history real for a room of middle school students and envisioned a place where their stories could be preserved. Today, his son carries that vision forward, ensuring the stories of those who served are not forgotten by the generations that follow.
Tri-State Warbird Museum | 4021 Borman Drive, Batavia | 513.735.4500