Lost Sky: The Grounded Airmen of the Provisional Air Corps Regiment

Laureta Huit
36 minutes ago
2 min read

In partnership with the Consortium of Indio Pacific Researchers, the New Mexico Military Museum, and additional support from Curator Frank Blazich, we are pleased to present: Lost Sky: The Grounded Airmen of the Provisional Air Corps Regiment

A lecture Series will be held Sunday December 7, 2025, at the New Mexico Military Museum. Doors open at 4PM with the lecture to follow at 4:30PM, refreshments will be provided.

In partnership with the Consortium of Indo-Pacific Researchers, the New Mexico Military Museum along with additional support from Curator Frank Blazich we present an exhibition detailing the extraordinary service and sacrifice of airmen who became infantry after the destruction of their air fleet.

As this program falls on the weekend of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the Museum also honors the 84th anniversary of the attack on December 7, 1941. This commemoration serves as a solemn reminder of the day that propelled the United States into World War II and forever altered the lives of service members across the Pacific. The stories highlighted in Lost Sky are part of this broader legacy—echoing the bravery, sacrifice, and resilience demonstrated from Pearl Harbor to the battlefields of the Philippines.

During the desperate early months of World War II, U.S. forces in the Philippines were compelled to take on roles far beyond their training. When their aircraft were destroyed, a group of Air Corps personnel were reassigned to the front lines, fighting as improvised infantry during the defense of Bataan. This remains the first and only instance in American history in which an Air Force unit was formed from scratch and transformed into a ground-combat regiment.

The narrative of the Provisional Air Corps Regiment (PACR) is brought to life and further enriched through the memoir of Colonel David L. Hardee offering a compelling, personal window into the experience of American POWs in the Pacific. His story traces the journey from battlefield to prison barracks to homecoming, illustrating sacrifice, endurance, and survival. It is a narrative that deserves a central place in any examination of World War II in the Philippines and the history of American prisoners of war.

A lecture Series will be held Sunday December 7, 2025, at the New Mexico Military Museum. Doors open at 4PM with the lecture to follow at 4:30PM, refreshments will be provided.

Formed in early 2021, the Consortium of Indo-Pacific Researchers (CIPR) is a 501(3)(c) volunteer think tank and a forum for worldwide dialogue regarding the Indo-Pacific region. The Consortium fosters intellectual and professional development for researchers, academicians, service members, and readers and informs decision makers and scholars around the globe.

Dr. Frank A. Blazich Jr. is lead curator, Military History, Division of Political and Military History, National Museum of American History.