I had been working out in the shop this evening and was beginning to
think about going into the house when I heard what sounded like a
helicopter in the distance, but as it got louder the beat was way too
fast. It got louder and louder and louder...

As I stepped out of the door and looked up I saw it come into view
from over the trees on the north side of the shop. Now I knew why it
was getting louder. There, maybe 1500 to 2000 feet above me was a B17
brightly lit from the side in the golden light from the setting sun.

It made me recall Oshkosh some years back when they had the largest
formation of WWII planes in the air since WWII. There were so many
planes they had to have them come in from 4 directions at 4 altitudes.
The whole place was shaking and you could feel the sound. I doubt
there was a dry eye in the place.

The whole thing started with a reenactment of the attack on Pearl
Harbor followed by silence. Then there was the sound of distant
thunder as the engines began to start. That sound kept building and
building and building until it was an emotion, not just a sound. Then
wave after wave of planes took off. Spitfires, Mustangs, Corsairs,
T-6s, B25s, B17s, B24s and many others, but that was only a small
portion of the display to come as they were joined by planes from at
least 3 or 4 other fields to form that tremendous formation. Even from
their altitude the ground shook and that was only a fraction of the
huge formations of B17s, B24, and B29s that took part in the raids of
WWII.

It's strange how one lone plane flying over can evoke such memories.