History will come alive in a most inviting way at the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum when “The Longest Yarn” – 80 three-dimensional scenes of D-Day and the weeks in France that followed, knitted and crocheted by hundreds of volunteers worldwide, including Cape May County – arrives in April for a four- to five-month stay.
Created with guidance from historians, the exhibit represents the 80 years since D-Day, the 80 hours from the buildup and launch of the invasion in England through the Normandy landings, and the 80 days it took for the Allied forces to liberate Paris from German occupation.
It would measure 80 meters (265 feet) if the scenes were placed side by side and is a tribute to all those “who fought and sacrificed their lives to kick out the Nazis and fight for freedom,” said one of the exhibit’s organizers, Mark Kulkowitz, of Cape May.
“I see this as my mission in life,” Kulkowitz said recently from Peterborough, England, where the exhibit opened March 5. “I grew up with stories from my dad, who lied about his age to fight in World War II and was at D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge; stories from my mom, Inge Goldstein, who was smuggled out of Germany with her sister in 1939 disguised as Catholic schoolgirls; stories from all my father’s friends who were vets, and all those who fought for freedom.
“Their stories and how they fought for freedom, liberty and democracy infects your blood. This is the Greatest Generation, and they shouldn’t be forgotten.”
Kulkowitz has traveled to Normandy 15 times over the years, he said, about half of them with his father, Harry, who landed on Utah Beach on D-Day. In 2004, when they visited the Normandy town of Houseville on the 60th anniversary of D-Day, “Harry was feted, embraced, kissed by every woman in the town in their emotional and heartfelt gratitude,” he said.
“In France, Harry was knighted and awarded the French Legion of Honor,” Kulkowitz said. “In 2014, Harry sat on the stage, alongside President Obama, who lauded this son of Jewish immigrant parents.”
During those visits, they became close friends with a number of people, including Tansy Forster, whom they stayed with when visiting.
Forster was looking for a way to honor Harry Kulkowitz after his death in 2017 and commemorate D-Day, which she thought had become a series of “flat events.” She decided to knit a topper for her garden gate; that grew into “The Longest Yarn” project, with Forster leading the way on the European side and Kulkowitz leading efforts in the U.S.
“This is for Harry and all the other brave men and women who laid their lives down for our freedom,” Forster wrote as a contributor in “The Longest Yarn, A Thread Through History.” The book explains the history of each of the 80 panels and their creators. It also details how the project got started.
One of the 80 scenes depicts the elder Kulkowitz, the patriarch of Cape May’s Carroll Villa Hotel and Mad Batter Restaurant in Cape May, listening to and intercepting Nazi codes and messages.
“Most of our veteran friends have now ‘crossed the bar,’ but they left us with happy memories of times well spent together,” Forster wrote. “It’s now our duty to pass on their wartime experiences and the price paid for our freedom to the younger generations.”
While Forster was leading the efforts and knitters in France (the exhibit debuted in France in May 2024), Rose Traficante, of Cape May, organized knitters across Cape May County, who contributed hundreds of poppies to be used as cascades with the exhibit, along with some of the tiny soldiers used in the 80 panels.
Traficante said that groups such as the Knitters for Peace and the Cape May Kiwanis, along with knitters from Victoria Commons and the county library, all contributed poppies. “Many hands united to create this display,” she said. “It celebrates freedom, and represents an historical statement.
“As former educators, my husband, Chris, and I are service leaders and very community-minded,” she added. “I love history, and when our friend, Mark, started this project, we just wanted to help with whatever we could.”
Dawn Austin, a volunteer with the local effort, said, “The project will be proudly displayed and is a representation of not only history but also incorporates the creative arts. It is anticipated to not only be viewed by the public, but also used as a historical teaching tool for school students and school trips.
“This project can be viewed by all ages. It is of the utmost importance to keep the memory alive of those who fought and have fallen for our great country alongside of our strong allies.”
“The Longest Yarn” will be on display at the Naval Air Museum at the county airport from April 14 until Sept. 1.
The display will to go to the Chapel of the Four Chaplains in Philadelphia after its stay in Cape May County. After three additional stops beyond that, it will return to the state, to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Holmdel.
Anyone interested in being a volunteer docent for the exhibit can email Rose Traficante at rosie1062@outlook.com. The book “The Longest Yarn, A Thread Through History” can be purchased now at the Aviation Museum or by contacting thelongestyarncmc@yahoo.com.
Contact the reporter, Karen Knight, at kknight@cmcherald.com.
