Air Force Flyover Scheduled For Veterans Day Festivities

SARASOTA, FL – The U.S. Air Force will join the Sarasota Veterans Day ceremony in the skies above.

The Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee announced that two F-16 fighter jets from Homestead Air Force Base will fly over downtown Sarasota during the Veterans Day ceremony Saturday, Nov. 11 at approximately 11:30 a.m.

Weather permitting, this will be the first military flyover during the Sarasota Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony. The jets are scheduled to fly over Main Street and Gulfstream Avenue during the ceremony at Chaplain J.D. Hamel Park.

“This is going to be spectacular,” said Daniel Kennedy, chairman of the Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee. “When these pilots fly over Sarasota’s World War I monument, they will pay tribute to all of our veterans from various wars who gave their lives defending our freedom.”

Read More: Road Closures Set For 2017 Veterans Day Parade

The day’s festivities are set to begin at 10 a.m., when the parade begins at Osprey Avenue and will move east to west on Main Street. It will end at Chaplain J.D. Hamel Park on the corner Gulfstream Avenue and Main, where the ceremony will take place at 11 a.m.

The theme for the 2017 Veterans Day events is “We Can Do It!” The phrase, made famous on posters featuring the fictional Rosie the Riveter, represents the contributions of thousands of women in the military and home during World War II.

Six women from the World War II era will ride in the parade and be honored during the ceremony. They will be joined by a dozen other female veterans from other wars.

The ceremony will honor the 100th anniversary of the United States joining World War I. This year’s keynote speaker will be former U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant and current director of veterans services for Goodwill Manasota C.J. Bannister. She will speak about the significant contributions of female veterans and Sarasota’s integral role in World War II.

Image via City of Sarasota, Government Facebook page