American Pin up girls and Vintage Planes

I went to an airshow and USO hangar dance last weekend and had a great time! There were some great photo opportunities that I snatched right up too :)

Don't these fellas look like they came out of a time machine?

We talked with them for awhile and it was nice to see that kids so young are so knowledgeable and interested in our history. They have both been involved with reenactments since childhood!

They even did a parachute drop! Can you imagine dropping out of a plane?

There were so many vintage planes there. This is the location of the project I blogged about previously where they are working to build a memorial to Leland Pennington the local Tuskegee Airman killed in WWII.
Check out that post here if you want to learn more: Keep Em Flying

All the parachutists wanted their picture taken with Richard "Red" Falvey an actual veteran of the 101st airborne paratroopers of WWII(aka Band of Brothers).

You can see Red in the light blue jumpsuit. He is in his 90s and sharp as a tack! I am so glad I had the chance to meet him while he is still living. What an honor!

and we got to see the Memphis Belle (the one they used in the movie "Memphis Belle") before she goes on tour.

but of course we had to get some good photos in before she leaves us.

My friends and I came all dressed up for the hangar dance after the airshow.

Perfect.

Keep 'Em Flying! Comemorating a Local Hero

Today's post is a little different than my usual. I came across this pin that was given to me a few months ago and wanted to share the story behind it with you.

The pin came from a hangar in Geneseo where they are undertaking an incredible project, the rebuilding (from the ground up) of a P-51B Mustang plane in honor of a fallen local Tuskegee Airman.

Here is an excerpt from the project's Facebook page:

On April 21st, 1945, the city of Rochester lost a war hero. Flight Officer Leland H. Pennington, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen's 301st Fighter Squadron, was lost while returning to base from combat. A successful bomber escort mission over the Attnang-Puchheim Marshalling Yard in Austria was Leland's last action for the war effort. During this mission, Pennington was flying a P-51B-10 "Mustang" named "Lucy Gal," after his wife.

Isn't this an amazing undertaking?!?
Keep up to date on the progress through their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Tuskegee-P-51-Lucy-Gal-Project-Geneseo-NY/164292383635429
or their blog:
http://fighterfund.blogspot.com/
where you can also show your support via much needed donations!