(1944 photo of four P-51 Mustangs in flight – not the same ones you might see tomorrow, but similar)
Tomorrow is the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the end of World War II. Two local notes: First, thanks to Bob for noticing and pointing out a special airborne tribute that you might see in the sky over West Seattle (and/or elsewhere) tomorrow. From the Historic Flight Foundation, which is based at Paine Field in Snohomish County:
To mark this important day, HFF has organized a very rare formation of P-51 Mustangs to visit cities and towns throughout Western Washington on June 6th, the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Led by HFF’s D-Day veteran (four sorties over the beaches of Normandy), P-51B “Impatient Virgin,” the formation will launch from HFF at 9 a.m. and conclude operations at approximately 3 p.m. with a noon-hour tour of downtown Seattle. Special visits include Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Gray Army Airfield. Operations will extend as far north as Bellingham, as far south as Olympia.
Our friends at Lynnwood Today have schedule details.
For more on D-Day – a West Seattle veteran tells some of the context, perspective, and backstory in a video published on the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s website.
ADDED 9:19 PM: From the HFF website, as pointed out in comments, the expected viewing times/places tomorrow – the afternoon route is the one closest to us, in spots:
Paine Field 11:50
Lake Forest Park 11:56
Seattle Waterfront 12:00
Seattle 12:05
Boeing Field 12:15
Newcastle 12:20
Bellevue 12:23
Woodinville 12:30
Issaquah 12:40
McChord 12:50
Gray AAF 13:00
DuPont 13:05
Lacey 13:10
Olympia 13:15
Tumwater 13:18
Tacoma Narrows 13:22
Tacoma 13:25
Gig Harbor 13:32
Vashon Island 13:37
Belfair 13:40
Bainbridge Island 13:44
Poulsbo 13:50
Kingston 13:55
Paine Field 14:10
Also in the comment section, there was word of a possible sighting today. The Times, in fact, has photos from a practice, including the one in this tweet:
"It's our way of paying respect" said pilot John Sessions (top r) as P-51s practice Thurs @ Paine Field for #DDay70. pic.twitter.com/I8hnLhXid2
— Ken Lambert (@SeaTimesFotoKen) June 6, 2014
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