The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), Dixie Wing out of Peachtree Georgia brought seven vintage WWII planes to the Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport Saturday. The planes were open to the public where guests took photos, met the pilots and gave thanks to the veterans of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.
At 5:35 p.m., 25 min before kickoff, the group of seven vintage WWII-era aircraft flew over Paulson Stadium including a P51 Mustang, P63 Kingcobra, F4U Corsair and several T6 Texans piloted. The planes were sponsored by Optim Orthopedics.
One guest passenger, sponsored by The National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force, P51 Mustang will be 94-year-old Gordon Fenwick a former WWII B-17 radio operator/gunner.
Of the 12,732 B-17s built before the end of World War II, 4,735 were lost in combat. Fenwick flew 35 bombing missions over Germany with the 401st Bomb Group, part of The National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force.
The honorable Paul Grassey, a 97-year-old author and former B-24 pilot, is a volunteer docent with The National Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force. He will sing the national anthem at Paulson before kickoff.
Grassey flew 13 combat missions for the 446th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, over Europe. He chronicled his experiences in the book “It’s Character that Counts.”
WWII-era aircraft are on display at the Statesboro Airport till 5 pm. They will fly over Paulson at kickoff around 5:30. They include a P51 Mustang, P63 Kingcobra, F4U Corsair and several T6 Texans piloted by The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), Dixie Wing of Peachtree Georgia. pic.twitter.com/cbKDWOQANB
— Grice Connect (@GriceConnect) December 5, 2020
