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Keeping the legacy of the ‘Greatest Generation’ alive through flight

Posted at 3:28 PM, Apr 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-01 16:43:40-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The skies over Virginia Beach will soon be filled with aircraft reminiscent of the World War II era for the Warbirds Over the Beach air show.

The annual show is put on by the Military Aviation Museum and will be held May 18th to 20th.

Before the airshow, News 3 anchor Todd Corillo went flying in one of the aircraft over Pungo and the Sandbridge shoreline.

"A lot of planes that were otherwise civilian were pressed into military service to train the tens of thousands of pilots that it was going to require for our armed forces in the second World War," Pilot J.R. Smith explained.

Keeping the planes flying is an effort to keep the legacy of the 'Greatest Generation' of WWII veterans alive.

"As that generation dies off, this is their legacy. To think that the young men, you know 19-20 years old, were flying these airplanes with only a minimal amount of flight time is astounding really. They were the Greatest Generation," Smith said.

During the air show, spectators can expect to see fighters and bombers of the armed forces "patrol the countryside to protect our homeland from the Axis forces," according to the museum.