Coast Life: Mississippi Aviation and Heritage Museum celebrates five-year anniversary with focus on the future

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - This week, the Mississippi Aviation and Heritage Museum celebrates its five-year anniversary.

“The mission of this museum is to tell the story of Mississippi aviation from the Delta to the Coast,” museum executive director Francisco Gonzalez said. “Anything that’s happened in aviation in this state, we’re going to tell it right here.”

More than two decades ago, Gonzalez first got involved in what was originally an idea to celebrate John C. Robinson from Gulfport, who made a name for himself in the early stages of World War II in northern Africa.

Robinson laid the groundwork for what would become the Tuskegee Airmen.

“A group from Gulfport decided that it was time to honor John Robinson, the Brown Condor of Ethiopia, who had grown up in Mississippi and became th