The Lake Today

This past weekend I was at the B25 Fly-in at the Camdenton Airport to take pictures for today’s Community Snapshot section. Unfortunately I had problems with my camera and the photos of the B25 didn’t turn out, but watching the excitement of the crowd when the vintage aircraft took off and landed reminded me of my own experiences with military aircraft.

My older brother is retired from the Army Air Corps and years ago while he was still on active duty and stationed at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina my family and I went to visit him. He had flown a Medivac helicopter in Vietnam and although we weren’t allowed to enter any of the aircraft he did get to take us onto the airfield to see the planes up close.

The helicopters were pretty impressive, but they were nothing compared to the big transport planes used to carry supplies to the war zone.

We watched one huge aircraft being loaded and were amazed at the amount of equipment that disappeared into that cargo hold.

The rear of the airplane opened up and we watched load after load of large crates being taken inside by forklifts. This went on for more than an hour and then they began loading trucks and jeeps. I don’t recall how many vehicles they put on that plane, but I do remember that it was enough that we were absolutely sure it would never get off the ground, but of course it did.

After I moved to the Lake Area in the 1990s, I worked for another publishing company and, thanks to my good friend former Congressman Ike Skelton, got a chance to travel to Whiteman Air Force Base and do a story on the B-2 stealth bombers. I was given a guided tour of the Spirit of Texas and let me say I have never seen any manmade object as absolutely awe inspiring as that airplane.

The B2s have an amazing range. So much so that during the Operation Allied Force of the early 1990s, a B2 flew from Whiteman to Kosovo delivered its payload and returned to Missouri without once landing on foreign soil. B2s also flew nonstop missions from Whiteman to Afghanistan and Iraq and a crew of made up of only the pilot and co-pilot handled each one of those missions.

With its 172-foot wingspan, 69-foot length from nose to tail and 17-foot height, a B2 stealth bomber is an awesome sight to see.

During my tour of the Spirit of Texas, I was allowed to enter the bomb bay and cockpit and view the aircraft from above. Although my camera and notebook were taken away before I was allowed to approach the aircraft, I have to tell you that no story I have ever written has made me as proud to be an American (and Missourian) as the hour I spent in that hangar touring the plane and interviewing its crew.

It is the one and only time in my 30-plus years as a writer that I shed tears of pride during an interview.