On October 26th, the “Wings of Freedom Tour” landed at the Greenville Downtown Airport in South Carolina. They departed on Sunday, October 28th. This was a rare opportunity to visit, explore, and learn more about these unique and rare treasures of our aviation history.
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator “Witchcraft” WWII Heavy Bomber and North American P-51C Mustang “Betty Jane” are the sole remaining examples of their type flying in the World. The vintage Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress” is one of only 11 in flying condition in the United States.
The “Wings of Freedom Tour” travels the nation as a flying tribute to the flight crews who flew them, the ground crews who maintained them, the workers who built them, the soldiers, sailors and airmen they helped protect; and the citizens and families that share the freedom that they helped preserve.
“This visit was especially important because our WWII vets are getting well into their 90s, so time is of the essence if we want them to be able to see these planes that were so important to their service,” stated Paul Howell, Director of Honor Flight Upstate South Carolina. “Our mission usually is to show our honor and support to these heroes by offering a program that flies our World War II veterans to Washington, DC, to see the memorial built in their honor, and to experience recognition for their service that literally saved the world. Now we have the opportunity to bring a bit of their history to them. This is a further extension of our community's way of saying “thank you” to our heroes. I know our local veterans and the whole community will love seeing these historic flying machines so close to home!” Howell said.
The planes were at the Runway Cafe's apron, which is on the South Ramp of the Greenville Downtown Airport, located at 21 Airport Road Ext., Greenville, SC 29607.
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Honor Flight Upstate SC is a non-profit, volunteer-based program that is dedicated to honoring our World War II veterans and the sacrifices they have made to keep our nation safe and our people free. Honor Flight Upstate SC has flown over 650 WWII veterans to Washington, DC since May, 2008, and the next flight is scheduled for April, 2013. Many financial supporters in the community have helped complete this task. For more information please visit www.honorflightupstate
sc.com or contact Paul Howell at 864-869-VETS or
