Air Force Week Atlanta wraps up

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Ben Gonzales
  • Air Force News Agency
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. (AFPN) --  Air Force Week Atlanta wrapped up as Airmen participated in the Great Georgia Air Show for thousands of Peach State spectators Oct. 13 and 14 in Peachtree City.

The air show culminated weeklong events in Georgia as state residents celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Air Force and got to see Airmen and Air Force equipment firsthand.

Heritage to Horizons, the Air Force's motto for the commemorative year, was in full motion at the air show with World War II veterans talking to today's Airmen and air show guests. On hand during the weekend to describe their accounts of World War II were Ed Horton, a Doolittle Raider, and Bob Powell, a former P-51 Mustang pilot.

As a B-25 Mitchell engineer gunner, retired Master Sgt. Horton spoke with Airmen and other aviation enthusiasts about April 18, 1942. On that day, the U.S. made their first air raid on Japan less than four months after Pearl Harbor. But the events of the Doolittle Raid didn't end for Sergeant Horton that day.

"The mission took a while," said the 91-year-old veteran. "After taking off from the aircraft carrier, we were in the air for 14 hours. Once we got to China, we ran into bad weather along the coastal mountains. We ran out of fuel and bailed out."

His whole crew survived and stayed in China for 1.5 years. Sergeant Horton returned to the states in 1944 to a hero's reception in his hometown of Cape Cod, Mass.

"I am not a hero," said the resident of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. "It was hard not to know (the mission) was something special. There were no thoughts of being heroes. We had a job to do and we did it."

Bridging the gap between yesterday's fighter pilots while talking to today's Airmen was Mr. Powell. The veteran of 87 combat missions with two confirmed kills over Germany, the former captain met with 21st century pilots and compared missions and tactics.

"It was like going into a bee's nest," said Mr. Powell describing ground strafing runs on German airfields. "We lost more pilots through strafing missions than anything else."

The veteran flew on three missions for 16 hours on D-Day to keep German aircraft from getting to the beaches. As a P-51 pilot, his primary job was escorting bombers.

"We escorted up to 1,000 bombers in one mission," said the former member of the 352nd Fighter Group who flew P-51s painted blue out of Royal Air Force Bodney, England. "The Germans called us the 'Blue-nosed bastards of Bodney. We were responsible for the destruction of 776 German aircraft, 554 of those in the air."

Ten days after returning to the states from the war, Mr. Powell got married. Today the former Airman who has been married for 62 years has two books out entitled "Bluenoser Tales" and "Blue Nosed Bastards of Bodney."

In addition to the Air Force Honor Guard rifle drill team, the U.S. Air Force Academy Wings of Blue parachute team opened the air show festivities. After their jump, Academy cadets packed up their parachutes with the assistance of children attending the air show.

"I watched them fall out of the sky and then we talked about how to fold a parachute," said Alyssa Leclaire, a 9 year old from Peachtree City. "It was cool."

Other aerial demonstrations included a C-17 Globemaster III from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., and the Air Force Viper East F-16 Fighting Falcon Demonstration Team showed what the fighter aircraft can do.

Seeing the A-10 Thunderbolt II was a dream come true for Alex Grayson.

"As long as I can remember, I have always been interested in the A-10," said the 18-year-old senior at McIntosh High School from Peachtree City who is committed to attend The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. "I want to be an A-10 pilot. This is the first time I've seen one in person, and it is pretty incredible."

Other Air Force equipment for air show participants to see were a C-130J Hercules, recruiting booths, the Air Force NASCAR, a mini F-22 Raptor, mini C-17 and a mini C-130.

Atlanta hosted Air Force Week Oct. 8 to 14. Other events for Air Force Week Atlanta included HH-60 Pave Hawk demonstrations at area high schools, a legal symposium at the University of Georgia at Athens, and an Air Force ball. 

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