Air Force Museum schedules B-52 flyover, traveling veteran tribute

Traveling memorial will be at museum Aug. 18-21; B-52 flyover set for Aug. 19

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will host a traveling tribute to Vietnam War veterans in coming days — and a B-52 flyover is also on its slate of events.

From Aug. 18-21, the museum will host the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Vietnam Memorial — an 80%-sized replica of the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C., bearing the names of more than 58,000 service members killed in Southeast Asia.

The museum said it will also host an Aug. 19 B-52 flyover, Air Force Flight One pop-up concerts, historical displays, veterans presentations and more.

Also, the museum will have Panel 44 on display in its 4th building from Aug. 16 to 24.

Panel 44 is a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial containing the names of 337 American service members who died between March 9 and 16, 1968. The panel was originally produced in 1982 to go on display in Washington D.C., but was ultimately not placed because of a crack.

The B-52 Stratofortress flyover is scheduled for 1 p.m. Aug.19. It is weather-dependent.

The mighty B-52 first flew in 1954 and has been in service since 1955. The Air Force describes it as the “backbone of the strategic bomber force for the United States.”

The bomber can drop or launch the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory, the Air Force says, including gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided missiles and more.

The Vietnam Memorial will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 18 to 21, located outside the museum near the flag pole.

Sept. 18 this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Air Force. A complete schedule of events and exhibits is available at https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Events/75th-anniversary/.

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