Cindy Ingram for more
info 318-651-8311, prmom@comcast.net
please RSVP so we can
have you on the press bus to Selman
Field reception
Press release was
compiled from committee to announce an historic event upcoming/
Preparations Underway for
Nationwide Flyover by Vintage Aircraft
to Mark 70th Anniversary
of the End
of World War
II in 2015
Goal is
to promote preservation
of WWII aircraft
for future generations
(Monroe, LA) On December
20, 2013, a
group of aviation
heritage organizations are
holding a press
conference to announce
preparations commemorating the
70th anniversary
of the end
of World War
II with a
nationwide flyover of
WWII aircraft in
communities
throughout
America on the
weekend of August
15I16, 2015.
The goal of
the mass flyover
is to pay
tribute to the
pivotal role American
airpower played
during WWII and
to remind the
public of the importance of
preserving the last
remaining
planes of the
era so they
can continue to
educate and inspire
future generations.
The press conference
is being held
in Monroe, LA,
the hometown of
the legendary Gen.
Claire Chennault,
whose famous “Flying
Tigers” took to
the skies over
China on December
20, 1941, in
the first counter
attack against Japan
after Pearl Harbor.
The press conference
will be hosted
by the Chennault
Aviation & Military
Museum (701
Kansas Lane, Monroe,
LA, 71203) at
2:00 PM CST,
followed by a
reception at the
historic
Selman Field, which
was the site
of the largest
navigator training school
during WWII. The
Southern Heritage Air
Foundation, with the
support of Green
Light Development, is
flying in
several WWII vintage
aircraft for a flyover and display after the press conference.
“We are pleased
and honored to
be hosting this
historic press conference
here in Monroe,”
said Nell Calloway, Director
of the Chennault
Aviation & Military
Museum, and granddaughter of
General Chennault. “My grandfather and the Flying Tigers
helped lay the foundations for what was to
become the war in China and they are a fitting symbol
for a movement to
pay tribute to the
achievements of
American Airpower during
WWII.”
Calloway is a
member of a
steering committee made
up of representatives from
the History
Channel, the Air
Force Association, the
EAA Warbirds of
America, the Commemorative
Air
Force, air museums,
WWII heritage organizations, aviation
publications, and other
groups
that are helping
to promote participation
in the 2015
nationwide flyover.
“Airpower was
the decisive factor
in winning the
war and the
source of technological
advances of the
postwar era, including
man’s exploration of space,”
said Jerry Yellin,
89,
who flew the
final combat mission
of WWII in
a P51 fighter
on August 14,
1945, and is the
honorary co-chair of the steering committee. “We need to assure these precious aircraft
are
maintained in flyable
condition so that
they can continue
to educate and
inspire the youth
of
America.”
Other groups are
developing plans for
similar “signature” projects
to commemorate the
70th
anniversary in 2015
that will honor
the WWII legacy
of the Army,
the Seaborne Services,
and the
Home Front.
##
