Viewing the 75th Anniversary World War II Plane Parade
This coming week marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. While many of the planned events to commemorate the September 2 occasion had to be scrapped due to COVID and the current stay-at-home order Oahu is under, one thing is still taking place: the “Legacy of Peace” aerial parade.
Leading up to the Sept 2 event several flyovers of the historic WWII aircrafts will take place.
Two of our Hawaii IRL bloggers, Crystal and Mark (@MarkS808), took their keiki to watch the planes for today’s Aug 29 flyover (since it is one of the few outdoor activities you could do).
Crystal and her family turned the event into a fun field trip on base.
Mark and his family enjoyed the festivities comfortably from their front lanai, right along the flight path.
Here are their experience:
Crystal:
I asked my husband to plan the plane viewing and he suggested Wheeler Army Airfield. We are fortunate to have base access but saw lots of cars parked along the strip of grass just outside of the base. There were lots of cars actually stopped in the middle of the road blocking traffic — DO NOT be those people.
This viewing site was nice since we got to see the planes twice, once as they took off and again when the returned — and since the routes weren’t very long we didn’t have too wait too long in between. On base there were also other historic planes for E to look at and since he is in a typical boy “plane” and “car” phase he loved these.
Mark:
When I was a kid I enjoyed listening to my dad tell me all about the different airplanes from World War II and the Vietnam War. I still get excited about planes today. Now I get to share my excitement for legendary planes with my son. Once I found out about this week’s aerial parade, I made sure to check the flight path. Sure enough it looked similar to the recent salute to frontline workers flyover a few months ago, which went right past our front lanai!
The vintage warbirds we saw and videoed today included (as best as I can distinguish) the B-25 Mitchell, the P-51 Mustang, the TBF Avenger, the AT-6 Texan, the F8F Bearcat, the PBY Catalina, and the Boeing Stearman 75. The sights and sounds of the planes brought a lot of excitement for both me and my boy. Ok, mostly me, but he’s catching up.
If you would like to take your family or simply want to see the planes for yourself here is the estimated flight schedule.
SUNDAY, AUG. 30, 10–11 A.M. (ESTIMATED)
10 a.m.: Wheeler Army Airfield toward Haleʻiwa Airfield. The final planes in the parade will be two Stearman biplanes.
10:07 a.m.: Kaʻena Point
10:13 a.m.: Kahe Power Plant.
10:16 a.m.: Waipahu and Waipiʻo
10:20 a.m.: Ford Island
10:23 a.m.: Return to Wheeler Army Airfield
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2, 7:50–8:55 A.M. (ESTIMATED)
7:50 a.m.: Wheeler Army Airfield
7:57 a.m.: Kaʻena Point
8:03 a.m.: Kahe Power Plant
8:06 a.m.: Waipahu and Waipiʻo
8:10 a.m.: Ford Island
8:13 a.m.: Return to Wheeler Army Airfield
For more information on the 75th WWII Commemoration of the End of WWII visit 75thwwiicommemoration.org.
