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West Texans Help Oklahoma Victims
Living History at 2012 CAF AirSho 10/13/12
Tatum Guinn
CBS 7 News Reporter
October 13, 2012
tguinn@cbs7.com
Midland - West Texans heard the roar of engines across Midland and Odessa today.
Day one of the CAF AirSho 2012 is wrapping up. For many in attendance, the event takes them back to another era.
The sound of an engine is all it takes to remind war veterans of where they've been.
"Watching airplanes go by and just break into the hugest smile. That's what the AirSho does for these people,” Lt. Col. Burt Ballentine, U.S. Air Force retired said.
"P51…I could tell you a few stories about that," Delbert McNealy, WWII Infantryman said.
It's at the AirSho when families begin to hear the untold stories of their Veterans.
"When you get them here, all of the sudden stories that you never heard. They'll tell you because they're in the presence of the aircraft they flew," Stephan Brown, president of the CAF said.
In these stories you'll begin to learn a piece of history.
"They'll learn a lot more if they see these planes in action and see how things were done. That's a long time ago for young people to think about, not so much for me," Dave Swenson, WWII pilot said.
Veterans say by sharing history through the AirSho, their legacy's will be carried on for years to come.
"You have to know history and you have this history in front of you. You have to see it," McNealy said.
And it’s these airplanes that will remind the younger generation of the Veterans that were here and have left their marks on history.
The AirSho will run through tomorrow with another show by the AeroShell Aerobatic team and much more.
Gates open at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow at the CAF.