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[h=4]WWII vets gather for rare flyover of vintage planes celebrating VE day[/h]Some 56 vintage fighters and bombers from World War II will fly over the National Mall to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of war in Europe, in an event called "The Arsenal of Democracy: World War II Victory Capitol Flyover."
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P-51 World War II era aircraft sit on the tarmac at Culpeper Regional Airport in Brandy Station, Virginia, May 7, 2015. The planes will fly past the National Mall in Washington, DC, on May 8 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.(Photo: SAUL LOEB, AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – Walter Kraus, 94, of Fort Mitchell, Ky., survived the sinking of the submarine S-36 during World War II on his way to a 30-year Navy career that led to commanding another submarine.
Howard Requardt, 89, of Edgewood, Ky., fought as a Marine corporal in the Battle of Okinawa.
Gerald Bentle, 90, of Milan, Ind., was a private first class who guarded thousands of German prisoners of war at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, Ind., during the closing months of the war.
And Noah Switzer, 89, of Taylor Mill, Ky., was a hospital corpsman first class who treated the wounded and buried the dead during the 36 days of the Battle of Iwo Jima.
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"Every time somebody would holler 'corpsman,' I would hear bullets -- zing, zing, zing – and I don't know how they kept from hitting me," Switzer said Thursday while walking through Arlington National Cemetery. "I don't need to see the (Iwo Jima) memorial. I saw them put the flag up on the fourth day."
The four Cincinnati-area veterans came to Washington to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, which will feature dozens of vintage planes from the war flying over the National Mall Friday afternoon.
World War II veterans, from left, Howard Requardt, 89, of Edgewood, Ky.; Walter Kraus, 94, of Fort Mitchell, Ky.; Gerald Bentle, 90, of Milan, Ind.; and Noah Switzer, 89, of Taylor Mill, Ky., tour Arlington National Cemetery on May 7, 2015, for the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY)
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Ceremonies begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the World War II Memorial on the Mall, featuring remarks from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Dozens of veterans will lay wreaths in memory of 400,000 Americans and 60 million people worldwide killed during the war.
The flyover from noon to 1 p.m. features 56 military planes in 15 formations. A webcast of the event, called "The Arsenal of Democracy: World War II Victory Capitol Flyover," will show the flights and feature narration about the planes and the battles that they represent.
The planes will fly across the Potomac River to the Lincoln Memorial and down Independence Avenue to the House office buildings before returning to airports in Culpepper and Manassas, Va.
Such flyovers happened occasionally after the war, but the most recent was in 1972, and flights are now generally prohibited over the Mall. The Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration, the Secret Service and the National Parks Service collaborated in allowing the flyover, and Reagan National Airport nearby will close to commercial traffic during the noon hour.
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The Arsenal of Democracy: WWII Victory Capitol Flyover prepares for commemorative flights which will fly over Washington, D.C. and National Mall on the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 2015. Jack Gruber
The vintage fighters and bombers will fly just 1,000 feet off the ground – nearly twice the height of the Washington Monument – in formations representing significant battles during the war. Planes scheduled to appear include:
• Curtiss P-40 Warhawks from the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• B-25 Mitchell bombers, which were adapted for the aircraft carrier Hornet for the Doolittle Raid over Japan. Dick Cole, who will turn 100 on Sept. 7 and who was co-pilot of the first bomber flying off the Hornet, is expected to attend.
• Bell P-39 Aircobras and P-63 Kingcobras from Guadalcanal.
• Consolidated PBY Catalinas, Grumman F4F Wildcats and Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers from the Battle of Midway.
• Lockheed P-38 Lightnings from the mission that shot down Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of Japanese naval strategy who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• Consolidated B-24 Liberators, the type of bomber featured in the movie Unbroken, and North American P-51 Mustang fighter escorts from the Ploesti Raid targeting Romanian oil refineries.
• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from Operation Argument to destroy German aircraft manufacturers.
• Douglas C-53 Skytrooper and C-47 Skytrain cargo planes that dropped supplies into Europe for the D-day invasion.
• Grumman TBM Avengers, F6F Hellcats, F8F Bearcats and a Curtis SB2C Helldiver from the Marianas Turkey Shoot.
• Republic P-47 Thunderbolts from the Battle of the Bulge.
• Vought F4U Corsairs from Iwo Jima.
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress nicknamed Fifi, the only known model still flying, which was the type of plane that dropped atomic bombs on Japan.
• A TBM Avenger leading a "missing man" formation to honor war casualties will be flown by Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and have passenger Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind. The Avenger is the type of plane flown during the war by former President George H.W. Bush, who is one of the flyover's honorary chairmen, along with former Sen. Bob Dole and former Rep. John Dingell.
"It's got a wonderful history," Graves said of the aircraft, and Bush signed the propeller of the plane Graves will fly Friday. "He's an individual who is representative of that generation that did so much for our country. We're proud to honor his service."
The Avenger was the largest single-engine plane in the war, weighing 18,000 pounds with 1,900 horsepower, said Graves, who has flown vintage aircraft with the Commemorative Air Force and Texas Flying Legends Museum. The difficulties flying in formation offer him a glimpse of the challenges that wartime pilots faced during missions five or six hours long.
"It wears you out," Graves said. "It's an opportunity to honor these men and women who sacrificed so much to protect our freedoms and our liberties."
After the flyover, some of the planes will be on display Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.
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At Manassas Regional Airport, WWII bombers practiced their flyover for the Arsenal of Democracy at the National Mall on Friday Jenny Leonard, USA TODAY
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