HOUSTON — Sunday will be a beautiful day to be outside, and if you look up, you may just see a piece of history flying above.
The Lone Star Flight Museum is honoring the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, the end of World War II, by putting nearly 30 WWII-era aircrafts in the air, and they just might be flying over you.
With two international airports in our city, it’s not unusual to see a plane fly above. But the planes you will see Sunday will be very different than the ones our generations are used to.
At just 19 years old, Bill Owens went off to fight in Patton’s Third Army in World War II. He passed away 18 years ago, but Sunday, he’ll fly high in Houston skies.
“This is a special time for us to take a patriotic distraction from things today and honor the greatest generation," said Doug Owens, Lt. Gen. (ret), President and CEO of Lone Star Flight Museum.
Owens' son says his father’s photo and the photos of many other World War II veterans will fly inside the lead plane of Sunday’s Fight to the Finish Flyover.
“It is certainly something I think he and all those like him absolutely deserve," he said.
Lone Star Flight Museum is putting over two dozen historic World War II warbirds in the air to honor the end of World War II day that happened 75 years ago on Thursday.
“I simply want them to remember the great sacrifices of the greatest generation and that period in our nation's history when our nation went to war for its very survival," Owens said.
The planes will take off from Ellington Airport and fly one route, 120 miles, around the city. They’ll pass over in small groups and be about 2,200 feet in the air. Click here to see the flight maps and times.
“It’ll take about 4 to 5 minutes for all of them to complete that over a particular point," Owens said.
But one big message the museum wants to share: stay home. The planes will come to you.
“You ought to be able to pretty much go outside your house I hope, if you're close to one of these, and be able to just look up," Owens said.
They’re asking you to keep your distance as much as possible.
KHOU 11 will be live streaming the flyover on our Facebook page.
