BRIDGEWATER, Va. (WHSV) – On June 6, 1944, allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II and 78 years later, airplanes that were part of the D-Day Squadron arrived at Dynamic Aviation.
“These are four aircraft of the D-Day Squadron, they were part of the Mighty-15 that went back to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day,” said Shane Combs, director of partner relations and marketing at Dynamic Aviation.
The airplanes took part in a flyover that started in Staunton, then made flyovers in Waynesboro, Elkton, and Harrisonburg before landing at Dynamic Aviation in Bridgewater.
“It’s amazing,” said Shane Wallace, captain of one of the airplanes. “I pinch myself all the time that we’re lucky enough to get to fly not only a cool, old airplane in itself but a World War II veteran. It’s amazing, every time I push the throttle forward you get to hear the radial engines roar and go flying again.”
“We had lots of challenges in World War II,” said Nick Camacho, co-pilot of one of the airplanes. “I think D-Day is a great example of a singular task that was an intense struggle that we faced, and people knew there were going to be challenges. They took on those challenges facing forward and came over a lot of adversity throughout it.”
Wallace adds that he hopes events like these can get kids more interested in the event’s history.
“Showing the younger generation what happened and being able to show them the kind of airplane that flew and trying to bring that out of the textbook and out of the museum,” he said. “We want to have them remember what happened and also try to get them interested in these kinds of old airplanes.”
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved.
Original post located HERE by WHSV-TV