Blue skies bring cheers at veterans’ celebration

Published 10:38 pm Sunday, November 6, 2016

The skies were clear, the wind was light, and the temperatures were, well, temperate: all perfect ingredients for a day of watching some pretty cool pilots put some pretty cool vintage aircraft through their paces.

Saturday’s Veterans celebration at the Cullman Airport — hosted by the Cullman Elks Lodge — had all the things that bring out the crowds: vendors, WWII-era costumes, skydiving, aerial displays, classic cars, music, veterans with stories to share and more. Best of all, admission was free.

Pilot Neil Morrison, one of six crew members with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EEA), the group responsible for bringing the show-stopping B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber to the event, said Cullman’s version of a Veterans Day celebration was “ideal.”

“This is really nice. The turnout’s fabulous here,” said Morrison. “We tour city-to-city, and we do a lot of big cities: Denver, Dallas Los Angeles. But there’s a real value to what we do in a place like Cullman, because we generate a lot interest. Cullman is small, and people really noticed us yesterday when we flew in and they saw us pass over their house.

“In a bigger city, we fly over and people just think, ‘Oh, there’s a football game today.’ It’s great to come to a place like this. It’s really the ideal setting — a nice bit of casual flying.”

The air show drew thousands of spectators, many of whom lined up for a walk-on tour of EEA’s B-17 — one of only a small handful of the WWII bombers still in flying shape worldwide.

“These [planes] carried bombs over occupied France; Germany; Poland, and dropped 6,000-8,000 pounds of bombs on a daily basis — hundreds of airplanes each day,” said Morrison. “There wasn’t an Air Force then; just the Army Air Corps. And even though the German ranks were decimated, the losses on our side didn’t let up. There were huge losses in the B-17 community, and it never stemmed, all the way to the end of the war.”

Nancy Harrison of Cullman was at the show all day, and said the turnout, as well as the enthusiasm, showed locals’ eagerness to pay their respects to those who’ve served in America’s fighting forces.

“I think it’s fabulous. I think the crowd’s wonderful; I think we need it, and I think this crowd seems so interested, which really makes me feel good,” said Harrison. “And it gets the kids thinking about history, which is great. It’s something they need. And it gives people a chance to support the airport, which I think we all need to do.”

The airport show wasn’t the only pre-Veterans Day event Saturday. The Elks Lodge also sponsored a commemoration earlier Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park at Sportsman Lake, and capped the day with an after-show evening back at the Cullman Elks Lodge.

More Veterans Day events are planned for the coming week, including the Nov. 10th presentation of an honorary diploma at Cold Springs High School for one veteran who was drafted before he had the chance to graduate. That ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.