BLUE ANGELS ON 9/11

I went to Scott AFB on 9/11. They had advertised the BLUE ANGELS were performing. The BLUE ANGELS were nothing short of breathtaking and spectacular. Unfortunately, the shutter speed on my camera is not fast enough to capture them when they are moving. So, you'll have to settle for a picture when they were sitting still.

There was far more than "just" the BLUE ANGELS at this airshow. The entire day was dedicated to 9/11, all its victims, those who fought so bravely on Flight 93, and all the men and women who have served and fought with such courage and dedication and especially to all the men and women who have given all since that day. It was a powerful moving day of celebration not a day of grief.

I was struck by the incredible airshow, but I was overwhelmingly struck by what an incredibly rich, varied and hearty stew of America attended. Every conceivable nationality, race, religion, and national dress you can imagine was there. All of them were bursting with pride at what was "theirs" on the AFB. Many of them were clearly Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern and in Muslim attire, but they celebrated their American position that day.

But, back to the air base and the show. First, the base was neat, tidy and spotless and staffed by the most courteous military police I can imagine. I really felt sorry for them. Their quiet, clean, well ordered base was invaded by 30,000 civilians with strollers, corn dogs, funnel cakes, cell phones, lawn chairs, and cameras. Everyone had to be security wanded, all bags had to be searched, all strollers had to be searched, they had to make sure the cell phones were simply cell phones and had not been altered for evil use, and all cameras had to be tested to ascertain they were working cameras that had not been altered. It was an overwhelming task. They were all courteous, friendly, and respectful.

After parking and walking about one and a half miles you come to an outdoor Hall of Fame celebrating many of the accomplishments of the Air Force and airmen and airwomen over the years. There is a long curving sculpture garden with many busts of military men and women who have made major contributions. There is also two gigantic arched sections of the Berlin wall that apparently were flown back to the United States.

There's another 1/2 mile to walk to get to security once you are through the sculpture garden. After passing through security, there was a huge hanger with many "static displays" of various vehicles and video displays. I could not help but snap a picture of the Civil Air Patrol plane because a family member of mine was very active in the CAP as a teenager and I thought it might bring back some good memories for him.

There was a completely restored truck labeled "Dodgin Flak" and dedicated to Adolf Hitler that was used in WWII. I've included a picture simply to share some of the personality of my parents generation. It's rather charmingly decorated.

Finally, I reached the Flight Line where there was an incredible number of "static displays" we could tour. There were other "static displays" that we were required to stay back at least 100 yards. These seemed to be aircraft that are currently being used in the war effort. One that I really wanted to tour was a Blackhawk, but I didn't get to do so.

I did however, get to take a guided tour of a huge plane on gigantic metal skis. It's primary use right now is support of research going on in Antarctica. They shuttle huge pieces of research equipment, modular buildings, food, medical supplies, generators, and people to and from the South Pole. I was permitted an extensive, guided tour of one of the huge aeroevac plans that are used to fly the wounded from war zones to Germany for medical care and eventually home. They said the survival rate of anyone who gets put on that plane and flown from the battlefield to the hospital is much higher than if they must be treated on the battlefield. In included a picture of their banner which says we aren't the heroes, we just bring them home.

There was so much to see and so much to tell you about that I can't get it all in here. There SEALS were in a dunking tank disarming bombs. There was the TORA, TORA, TORA display. They have six completely restored Japanese Zero all painted up just like they were at Pearl Harbor. They have that exact drone anyone who saw the movie Pearl Harbor will remember. They re-enacted the attack on Pearl Harbor with smoke, fire, and explosions. Air raid sirens were going off. It was actually scary even though I knew it was not real. But, it was scary.

My absolute favorite plane of the day was the warthog, tank killer, A 10. There's a picture of one in the sky with the Hornets parked below it. Boy, watching that beauty fly I can understand why the men on the ground love that plane. That is one beautiful plane because of the countless lives it has saved! I also really liked that stealth bomber that looks just like a bat. It was only there on Saturday. They were doing some sort of training mission and they agreed to make 5 or 6 very low passes so that the crowd could get a good look at them. It's a beautiful plane. But, I think the real reason I loved it was it looks like a bat and I love bats.

One of the high points of the day was the GOLDEN KNIGHTS. They are a crack parachute team who had been scheduled to start the show, but it was delayed because we were "socked in" and they needed a ceiling of at least 1200 feet. Finally, the clouds and the fog burned off and they could perform. By the time they performed, it was blazing hot sitting on the flight line. But, they were worth it. Those jumpers jump out of plans 1/4 to 1/2 mile up in the air and land on a tiny little X on the flight line. They are absolutely amazing!

Blogger is not cooperating and it won't let me post more pictures. I'm going to have to start a new post.