PORT ANGELES — Generation gaps vanished with a united appreciation of the World War II aircraft that landed in Port Angeles on Wednesday for the Wings of Freedom expo.
Three vintage warplanes — a B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator and P-51 Mustang — looped around William R. Fairchild International Airport before touching down at 2 p.m. in front of a crowd of at least 100.
Spectators spilled onto the tarmac and took turns touring the inside of the heavy bombers.
The swooping Mustang, which escorted the bombers during the war, dazzled the crowd with a high-speed flyby.
Adults can tour the bombers for a $12 donation to the Collings Foundation, the nonprofit group that puts on the 110-city Wings of Freedom tour.
Children 12 and under can climb aboard for $6.
The exhibit will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to noon Friday.
Spaces are available for the half-hour flights aboard the B-17 and B-24, although earlier reports were that they were booked.
The cost is $425 per person, and reservations can be made at the exhibit or by phoning 800-568-8924.
“Nothing compares with being able to fly in one,” said Nicholas Rider, 16, who flew to Port Angeles from Bremerton aboard the B-17 on Wednesday.
War stories
Rider has compiled veteran’s war stories into two volumes of America’s True Heroes, the second of which profiles the late Lee Embree of Port Angeles.
Embree’s photographs of the Pearl Harbor attack were the first to be published. They were later enshrined at the Museum of Flight at Seattle’s Boeing Field.
“He was a historical figure,” Rider said of Embree.
“That part of the story was not forgotten.”
Rider said he was thrilled to take pictures from the vantage point where Embree stood aboard the B-17.
Ernest Snyder of Sequim remembers the B-17 well. He was an engine mechanic who serviced the Flying Fortress in Chelveston, England, during the war.
“These old planes have been around a long, long time,” Snyder said.
“It’s hard to imagine that there were 14,000 of these things. . . . We chopped them up like wood.”
After the war, most of the heavy bombers were scrapped for their metal.
Bomber tours
Veterans like Snyder joined hordes of children who toured the bombers.
“You have to be pretty skinny to go through,” said Kylee Salazar, 12, of Sequim.
“It has a lot of buttons,” added Darren Salazar, 7. “If you’re fat, you can’t make it though.”
The Salazars toured the B-24 Liberator with Juliet Pierce and her son, Deven Pierce, 8.
Across the tarmac, Snyder shared his expertise about the B-17 and its supercharged engines with a steady stream of curious people. He said he was encouraged by the young turnout.
“Maybe they’ll get interested and study a little more,” Snyder said.
Kai Hansen of Victoria agreed.
“We’re getting the younger generation to understand what happened, and it’s harder to do that in the information age,” he said.
Ed Kelly of Port Angeles has been a pilot for more than 30 years, but he never tires of seeing a bomber up close.
“It’s still thrilling,” he said.
“I get excited about it because he’s excited about it,” said his daughter, Arielle Kelly.
Rider, the 16-year-old author from Monroe, said he became interested in World War II history because of his grandfather, Marine veteran John Haney.
“He says I’m his inspiration, but I think he’s my inspiration,” Haney said.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
