Medical professionals in the Fredericksburg, Virginia, area looked up into the sky Wednesday and were met with gratitude as five vintage, World War II-era airplanes performed a synchronized flyover in their honor.
The pilots flew in a five-ship formation They were all Virginia residents and members of the Mid-Atlantic Stearman Association, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office said.
The performances took place above Stafford Hospital, Mary Washington Hospital and the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. The trip lasted about an hour, The Free-Lance Star reported.
The pilots told they paper they wanted to boost the morale of health care workers and first responders dealing with the pandemic.
“They’re the ones taking the bullets. They’re on the front lines,” Pilot Lee Fox told The Free-Lance Star. “We’re in our homes, isolated, and these guys have to go to work putting in long hours and they’re exhausted. Anything we can do to let them know we appreciate them, we’re there.”
Fox told the paper he was inspired to perform the flyover after the U.S Air Force Thunderbirds had a similar performance for health care workers and other essential personnel in Las Vegas earlier this month.
