Salute To Veterans Airshow

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Friday, March 23, 2012

User-submitted story by Nancy Fields

SPECTACULAR HIGH FLYING AND PARACHUTING TRIBUTES AT

THE 24TH ANNUAL MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

SALUTE TO VETERANS CELEBRATION

2012 THEME: ¡§ETERNAL VIGILANCE¡¨ THANKS TO OUR ARMED FORCES

Columbia, MO: The Memorial Day Weekend Salute to Veterans Corporation invites the public to be our guests at our 24th Annual FREE two-day Salute to Veterans Airshow over the Memorial Day Weekend May 26-27, 2012 from 9:30am to 3:30pm at Columbia Regional Airport. Admission is absolutely FREE to the Airshow. Shuttle service will be available from the Hearne¡*s Center in Columbia and the Jefferson City Airport for a minimal fee. The 6-Day Celebration includes the FREE Salute To Veterans Parade at 9:55 am, Monday, Memorial Day, May 28th on Broadway in downtown Columbia, and concludes with the Military Ceremony at the Boone County Courthouse immediately following the Parade.

Demonstration Teams, Aircraft and Featured Events Include:

The United States Navy VFA-122 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet TACDEMO Team:

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The USN Super Hornet TACDEMO is from NAS Lemoore, California. They are known as the ¡§The Flying Eagles¡¨, and will perform a combination of high and low speed maneuvering, rapid rolls, performance climbs and descents that are sure to entertain the audiences. VFA-122 trained aircrews have flown combat missions in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

The LIMA LIMA Aerobatic Demonstration Team:

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They will be flying six United States Navy T-34 Mentors in a thrilling and dramatic 20-minute performance that will keep the action in front of the spectators for the entire show.

WWII BT-13 Vultee ¡§Valiant Echoes¡¨:

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It is the only WWII BT-Vultee flying acrobatically! During its 22-minute demonstration you will be transported back to 1942 and experience an Aviation Cadet on his first basic training instruction flight, and then thrill to an elegant and graceful demonstration performed with smoke and a 1940¡*s musical background.

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WWII United States Navy SNJ Texan Aerobatic Demonstration:

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Clyde Zeller¡*s in his USN American-made warbird will perform a beautifully choreographed acrobatic low show routine with patriotic music and dialogue that honors each and every veteran at the Airshow.

The Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company T-6 Texan II Demonstration Team

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The T-6 Texan II Demonstration Team is from Wichita, Kansas. At the conclusion of their aerobatic performance they will be accompanied in a ¡§before and after¡¨ formation flight with Clyde Zellers in his SNJ Texan; and John Lohmar in his WWII T-6 ¡§Radial Velocity¡¨ Reno Racer.

Canadian Forces Parachute Team, the Skyhawks:

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We are proud to welcome back our wonderful Allies, the Canadian Forces Parachute Team, the Skyhawks, as they celebrate their 40th Anniversary Season. Led by Team Captain, Mark Sheppard, they will once again descend from the skies demonstrating their spectacular and unique relative canopy work. Their aerobatic performance will visually captivate spectators in a show that highlights technical expertise and thrilling parachute formation.

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United States Army 101st Airborne ¡§Screaming Eagles¡¨ Parachute Team:

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The ¡§Screaming Eagles¡¨ are a full-time aerial demonstration unit headquartered at Fort Campbell, KY. On Thursday, May 24th, they will parachute into Sedalia Smith-Cotton Practice Field out of a WWII C-47 Dakota in front of thousands of students and their families. They will then participate in the Airshows, and on Monday, May 28th, Memorial Day, they will ¡§jump-start¡¨ the Salute to Veterans Parade by parachuting into five intersections on Broadway in downtown Columbia.

WWI Kansas City Dawn Patrol:

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The Famous WWI "Flying Circus" of the Kansas City Dawn Patrol returns with even more planes in their menagerie on the tarmac and flying including two that were used in the Movie "Amelia".

United States Army K-9 Corps Demonstration Team:

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Military working dogs first entered the service in March of 1942 to serve in the Army's K-9 Corps. Today, the dogs have an actual military record book assigned to them, and are still playing an active role in searching for explosives and seizing the enemy. The missions these dogs and their handlers perform include: explosives detection; security and patrol; search and rescue; and guard duty.

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University of Missouri Pershing Rifles Drill Team:

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They are the ONLY Tri-Service Pershing Rifle Drill Team with Army, Navy and Air Force cadets and midshipmen as members. They will be performing their amazing and incredibly intricate routines both days of the Airshow during the Salute to the Nation Ceremony at Show Central!

Over 40 vintage and active duty military aircraft will be on display and/or flying:

The Memorial Day Weekend Salute to Veterans Corporation invites the public to attend the Honored Guest and Volunteer Banquet which will be held at the MIZZOU Arena on Saturday, May 26, 2012, at 5:30 P.M.

Dwayne O¡*Brien, Award-Winning, Grammy Nominated, Singer-Songwriter, and Founding Member of the Multiplatinum Group ¡§Little Texas¡¨, will perform his Song ¡¨We Remember¡¨ LIVE at the Salute To Veterans Honored Guest and Volunteer Banquet. This emotional anthem to military aviation has been incorporated into the USAF¡*s Heritage Flight Program for the past 10 years at airshows across the United States and Canada. His video tribute to military heroes will be shown on two giant screens to accompany the song.

The banquet is the high point of the 6-Day Salute to Veterans Celebration which includes the Salute To Veterans Airshow on Saturday and Sunday, May 26th and 27th and the Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28, 2012. Tickets are only $40.00 a person for a carved buffet and fine wine on each of the tables of eight. The program includes the introduction of all of the Military Demonstration Teams; Special Guests; the Tuskegee Airmen and Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and USN USS Forrestal reunion groups; the naming of the Grand Marshal of the Salute to Veterans Parade; Recognition of the Honored Military Guests; Awards to Volunteers and an Auction for the Endowment Fund of wonderful items including aviation and military artwork and jewelry. The evening ends with a patriotic tribute ¡§Salute to Our Armed Forces and Our Allies¡¨ and a stirring rendition of ¡§God Bless America¡¨ by Major General Arnold Fields, USMC, Ret. Call, Fax or E-mail your Reservations to: Kimberly Boyer at (573) 449-0018; Fax: 573 443-4297; or E-Mail: kboyer@lwandco.com.

It is Jump-Started by the USA 101st Airborne ¡§Screaming Eagles¡¨ parachuting into five intersections on Broadway. It is over 155-units strong, including Military Reunion Groups, bands, Honored Guests and military recruiters, and all of the aircraft from the Airshow fly cover overhead as a tribute to fallen comrades.

Military Ceremony at the Boone County Courthouse, Memorial Day, May 28, 11:00am:

Fifty (50) wreaths will have been placed, the Columbia Community Band plays, a short speech by the ranking military officer Honored Guest on the meaning of Memorial Day, followed by ¡§Amazing Grace¡¨ by the Boone County Fire Protection District Bagpipers Band, a 21-Gun Salute and then Echo Taps will bring the 2012 6-day Salute to Veterans Celebration to a close.

For further information, visit our website at www.salute.org and click on Our History; Living History Program; Airboss Schedule; Aircraft; Demonstration Teams; Honored Guests; Honored Guests Banquet; Salute to Veterans Parade; and Ceremony at the Boone County Courthouse.

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Please Note: The Celebration should not be referred to as ¡§the Columbia Airshow¡¨, ¡§Columbia¡*s Memorial Day Airshow¡¨, this ¡§Columbia Event¡¨, ¡§Columbia¡*s Memorial Day Weekend¡¨, etc., or any other designation that would imply that it is hosted, organized, or anyway produced or sponsored by The City Of Columbia, its Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, or the State Of Missouri. It is presented solely by the Memorial Day Weekend Salute To Veterans Corporation, a private, 501c3, not-for-profit, tax-deductible, educational, Missouri Company. The Corporation consists of over 3,000 volunteers and 100 volunteer committee chairmen, none of whom is paid.