Pilots unite for 9/11 tribute flyover over Fort Snelling National Cemetery
A group of vintage military aircraft flies over Minneapolis and Ft. Snelling for a 9/11 tribute. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Nationwide, memorials were held in honor of the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. In Minnesota, a group of pilots from Minnesota military organizations came together for a flyover of downtown Minneapolis and Fort Snelling to honor those lost on that fateful day.
“Well, it’s kind of special. I remember 9/11, because I happened to be with my flight surgeon getting a flight physical and we were standing in the lobby after the physical talking about it and all of sudden on the television comes the jets flying into the World Trade Center and the doctor turned to me and said, ‘The country will never be the same,’” said Barry Hammarback, a Huey helicopter pilot.
Friday, they gathered to remember and honor.
“We felt that as a group of us fliers that something should be done not only for the 9/11 commemorative, but also for the first responders and all the veterans that have given their lives that allow us to do this sort of thing,” said Chuck Datko, a pilot.
Nine vintage military aircraft, including the T-6 Thunder team, took off for an honor flight over Fort Snelling National Cemetery, the very place that’s now home to one of Minnesota’s 9/11 fallen heroes.
“Tom Burnett is buried there,” said Jerry Kyser with Honor Flight Twin Cities. “He was on Flight 93, him and his other passengers were able to disrupt that flight, so that they weren’t able to go to Washington D.C. to do terrible damage.”
The formation flight over the cemetery was not only a tribute, but also a call for those on the ground to reflect and remember.
“I want them to think about their freedoms,” said Datko. “I think that’s very important. And to thank God for what we’ve got.”