PORT ANGELES –– City residents and leaders are preparing a welcoming ceremony for a Chattanooga, Tenn., man who expects to land in Port Angeles on Sunday with a thank-you banner.
James Howard, a radio and television personality in Chattanooga, will pilot a one-year-anniversary memorial flight to Port Angeles, starting Saturday, in honor of five military servicemen killed by a lone shooter in Chattanooga last year.
Howard is bringing with him a banner signed by the Chattanooga City Council and hundreds of other people thanking Port Angeles for its support after the attack last year.
“It’s going to be a somber day for Chattanooga on Saturday,” he said.
“I’m just glad to be doing this trip and thanking Port Angeles for keeping us in Chattanooga strong.”
Howard and his crew plan to touch down at William R. Fairchild International Airport at about noon Sunday, although weather could delay the flight into the early evening, he said.
City officials are inviting the public to come out to help welcome him.
Expressed sympathy
Shortly after the shooting, Revitalize Port Angeles founder Leslie Robertson spearheaded an effort to collect signatures and messages of sympathy on banners and traveled to Chattanooga to present them to the Tennessee city.
“The people I’ve come in contact with that have signed the banner, it meant so much to Chattanoogans here just to see that gesture, friendliness,” Howard said.
“It meant a lot. Our city is still healing.”
Robertson and others, who had led a spirited effort to beat Chattanooga in Outside magazine’s “Best Town Ever” online contest in May 2015, turned to the mission to bring peace and sympathy to the larger city.
In Chattanooga, Robertson was taken to visit two public memorials to those who were killed and to the gravesites of a Marine and the sailor who were killed. She also met the father of the slain sailor.
“That experience of taking those banners to Chattanooga was an incredible honor and one of the most meaningful things I’ve done in my life,” Robertson said.
“Seeing how much of an effect these gestures have, I learned in Chattanooga it really does make a difference to people.”
Welcoming ceremony
Now that Howard is returning the favor, Robertson is involved in organizing a welcoming ceremony at the airport for him.
The logistics aren’t quite figured out yet, but the public is invited to help welcome Howard to the community, she said.
Through Revitalize Port Angeles, Robertson was easily able to find someone who could host Howard, his two daughters and co-pilot while he is in town.
Many also offered to take Howard on tours of Port Angeles, to the Salt Creek Recreation Area, Hurricane Ridge and other local attractions.
Robertson said she is proud — but not surprised — that it was so easy to find people willing to help.
Howard said in planning his trip, the one thing he forgot to plan was a place to stay the night during his two days in Port Angeles.
“Just knowing what you guys did over a year ago for the great people in Chattanooga after the terrorist attacks, I knew we weren’t going to have an issue finding a place,” Howard said.
City Mayor Patrick Downie said he hopes to see plenty of people at the airport welcoming Howard to Port Angeles.
Downie and other members of the Port Angeles City Council plan to greet Howard when he lands.
Banner at City Hall
“My intent is to hang the banner in City Hall and let as many people as would want to see the banner,” Downie said.
“On Tuesday [during the City Council meeting], I’ll make a point to call attention to it.”
Howard will leave from Wilson Air Center at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport at 6 a.m. Saturday flying a Cessna 172.
He will receive a military escort out of the city from two T-28 Trojans to honor the military men whose lives were lost.
The names of the five military servicemen will be marked on the Cessna 172.
Four Marines and a Navy logistics specialist were killed. They were Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Lance Cpl. Skip “Squire” Wells, Sgt. Carson Holmquist and U.S. Navy Petty Officer Randall Smith.
The plane will be nicknamed “The Spirit of the Fallen Five” in honor of them.
After his mission in Port Angeles is complete, Howard aims to set his second speed record through the National Aeronautic Association on his return flight.
Howard plans to fly as nonstop as possible — stopping only to refuel — and expects the trip to take about 15 hours.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
