“The Arsenal of Democracy Celebration in honor of the 70th Anniversary of VE Day was an amazing event with phenomenal public response. It was refreshing to see that Americans remember the sacrifices of those who served in WWII. I was humbled and honored to play a role in the historical reenactments of the painting of invasion stripes and flyovers in genuinely restored warbirds.”
— Doug Rozendaal, Texas Flying Legends Warbird Pilot
Washington, DC – Texas Flying Legends Museum was proud to participate in the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, as a performer in Arsenal of Democracy: World War II Victory Capitol Flyover. As part of a thrilling three-day celebration in the nation’s capital, the 2015, May 8 event coincided with a ceremony for veterans at the World War II National Memorial, followed by a vast assortment of World War II aircraft flying overhead in historically sequenced warbird formations.
Invasion stripes were hastily applied to Allied aircraft before the Normandy invasion to quickly identify friendly aircraft to gunners.
Of course, the highlight of the event was the line up of formations, including the Missing Man Formation.
*Media Links*
- The Washington Post made a guide to the formations, covered the event with photos, and they made a list of the best videos of the event.
“It’s unique enough that those planes are fighters and bombers from WWII, but they are also flying a path that’s been severely restricted since the terrorist hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001.
The ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ flyover event commemorated Victory in Europe Day, when Germany surrendered to the Allies 70 years ago.”
- NPR’s coverage includes a great clip of the Texas Flying Legends’ Missing Man formation and quotes from the National Security Adviser and President Obama.
- C-Span posted a live video. And, there are tons of videos on YouTube, here is one from the CAF and four by an independant videographer.
- This article on Photorecon’s Classic Warbirds site is a great recount of the event with tons of pictures!
- This tweet includes a video of Taps and the Missing Man Formation, flown by the Texas Flying Legends, and links to similar posts (#ww2flyover, #VEDay, #VEDay70).
