Did I Miss Something?
June 30th, 2007 by 
Kevin
Did I miss a WWII memorial event in town this weekend???
This week I took Friday off to get a head start on a very over-due landscaping project in my backyard (it was hot by the way). While hauling what felt like the 4000th wheelbarrel of dirt, a noise made me look up. Now air traffic is not uncommon over my house. Several airstrips nearby plus traffic from MSP goes over my house, although that is usually high enough that I barely notice. This time it was different. Multiple very loud engines.
I looked up just in time to catch a tail view of a formation of four WWII-era planes….I believe F6F Hellcats, but they disappeared behind my trees almost as soon as I looked up. Certainly didn’t have the distinctive wings of the Corsairs.
I’m a bit puzzled what four WWII carrier fighters were doing flying around Minnesota on a Friday morning. I can only assume there was some sort of memorial event happening. Or else some local veterans club has restored four of these beautiful planes and was doing a test flight for July 4th celebrations. In which case, where are they normally stored, as I would love to see them up close??
UPDATE : Wow, do I feel like an ass. Those fighters were part of a fly-over for the funeral of Chuck Lindberg, who is the last surviving member of the group that raised the first flag on Iwo Jima (the one before the famous photograph). His funeral was at Fort Snelling that day and I had forgotten all about it. Foot. Mouth. Dumbass. Yup, that’s me!
Thank you to Sue for pointing out my mental error in a very gentle manner.
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July 1st, 2007 at 10:06 am
I think it is very cool that they recognized him as obviously most of the recognition for the Marines that raised the flag at Iwo Jima has focussed on those that participated in the raising for the famous photograph rather than the first flag raising - the one seen first by all the other soldiers and ships assembled nearby.