Blue Angels Salute Health Workers On 75th Anniversary Of V-E Day

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Dr. Jackie Patel couldn't take her eyes off the clear blue sky outside Mount Sinai Medical Center as the U.S. Navy's vaunted Blue Angels roared overhead Friday in a special 75th anniversary V-E Day salute to health care workers and first responders.

"I think it's amazing. It shows our community coming together in appreciation for everybody that's involved in doing their part," said the physician, who credits her friends and family for helping her through this difficult period.

Patel's fellow health care workers whooped and cheered as the Boeing F/A-18 Hornets streaked by in a six-jet formation as they toured South Florida hospitals. Earlier in the day, the Blue Angels saluted Jacksonville hospitals at the northern end of the state.

The elite U.S. Navy flight demonstration team travels at speeds between 120 mph and 700 mph, which is just under Mach 1. The pilots fly as close as 18 inches from one another.

The Blue Angels were named by the original squadron in 1946 as they prepared for a show in New York and came across a reference to the Blue Angel nightclub in the New Yorker magazine.

Friday's flyover came on the 75 anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, which marked the end of World War II in Europe. The flight team began the 25-minute flyover from the Boca Raton Medical Center and finished over the West Boca Medical Center. It took all of 6 minutes for the jets to make the trip to Boca Raton, two counties away.

"It shows us that they are going out of their way to really appreciate the front-line workers for health care," said Nikki Eshleman, a medical assistant at Mount Sinai. "We're here, so we can't really enjoy the things that we normally enjoy outside."

See the a map of Friday's South Florida hospital salute below: