The United States will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the World War II victory with diverse arrays of U.S. World War II aircraft being flown over Washington D.C. on May 8, event organizers said Tuesday.
The Arsenal of Democracy Flyover, featuring dozens of World War II vintage military aircraft including the P-39 Airacobra, P-38 Lighting, B-25 Mitchell, B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-29 Superfortress, will fly over the National Mall area in Washington D.C. in the day, according to a press briefing in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
"We are extremely grateful to the generosity of our sponsors for helping to make this unprecedented event possible so that we can honor American heroes who served so bravely in the war and those at home who worked tirelessly to manufacture the ships, tanks, and aircraft that made it possible for the United States and its Allies to achieve victory 70 years ago," said the Arsenal of Democracy Flyover Executive Committee.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which has approved the event, said that public interest will be served by "the educational and historic value of this single signature event in commemorating this significant milestone in history."
Other commemorative activities include a wreath-laying ceremony at the National World War II Memorial on May 8 and a show of airplanes outside the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on May 9.
