B-29 Superfortress still majestic today

A few years ago, my good friend Karl Roach and I attended the MAPS Air Museum’s Defenders of Freedom Air Show at the Akron Fulton International Airport. MAPS stands for Military Aircraft Preservation Society and the museum is located on the west side of the Akron-Canton Airport.

Karl is a Vietnam veteran and WWII buff, while I am a World War II veteran. We were both very moved by this event, since there were many “memory jogger” planes from both wars on hand.

For me the awesome B-29 Superfortress rested majestically on the landing strip, like the ones that dropped the atom bomb and wreaked devastation on Japan with their incendiary bomb raids. Just after V-J Day, I saw a 20 mile stretch between Yokohama and Tokyo that had been completely wiped out by these raids.

Flying fortress

A famous B-17 flying fortress flew in, reminding me of my first airplane ride as a guest of the U.S. Air Force in 1945 over the islands of Guam, Saipan, Tinian and Rota. A plane that also got my attention was the F4U Corsair, a gull wing fighter plane, which was produced by Goodyear in Akron. This attention getter jogged my memory of the April 1, 1945, D-Day invasion of Okinawa. I saw one of our Corsairs blast a Japanese Zero out of the sky into oblivion in a dog fight.

Karl was very impressed by the various helicopters on display, reminding him of the Vietnam era.

The noise of the many different planes was deafening at times. Then we received a real surprise that came silently out of the clear blue sky. Everyone started to look skyward, and as I did I saw the most remarkable plane I have ever seen. It was a B-2 Stealth Bomber based in Missouri. It made several passes overhead. I heard no noise; maybe that’s why it is called stealth.

I captured this monstrous bat-like plane on film in flight, since it did not land. There is only one word to describe this incredible plane in our country’s arsenal: awesome. This air show made both Karl and I very proud to be veterans and Americans.

X Michael J. Lacivita is a Youngstown retiree who has been inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.