Pride: Weekend trip to the air show chance to see heroes up close

There are not too many people who can watch a jet shoot across the sky to the strains of the national anthem without a tear or two welling up in their eye.

And this weekend, Wayne County residents will not only get a chance to see jets, planes and aerial demonstrations galore. They will have the opportunity to meet the men and women who fly and maintain the aircraft, and also those who protect this nation's interests at home and abroad.

The 2011 Wings Over Wayne Air Show is a thank you of sorts from the Air Force to the people in Wayne County and across North Carolina and the region who support the men and women who serve.

It is also our chance to personally speak to and thank the men and women of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base as well as some of their colleagues from across the country for their commitment and dedication to protecting this nation.

So come on out this weekend -- and bring the kids.

You will get a chance to see a performance by the world-renowned Thunderbirds aerial performance team as well as catch your breath as the Golden Knights parachute team floats down from the sky.

And just when you thought you had seen every plane, jet and transport, SJAFB's own Strike Eagle demo team will take to the skies.

There is a full day of fun at the show each day this weekend, as well as plenty of other things to see and do.

It is a chance to share with your children not only the wonder of flight, but what it takes to protect a nation. It is a day to make a memory with your family without leaving your hometown.

You don't want to miss it.

Published in Editorials on April 15, 2011 11:54 AM