TEXARKANA Texas - While World War II in Europe ended 75 years ago this weekend, a flight of that War's vintage planes will circle Texarkana twice, starting at 12:20 p.m., Saturday.
This time, however, rather than covering American military forces fighting heroically on the front lines against tyranny, today's flight is being conducted to honor the front line heroes and heroines still battling COVID-19. These heroes and heroines include: health care workers and first responders as well as those who lost their lives to the virus.
Steuart Walton, chairman of the Arkansas Economic Recovery Task Force, will be leading the flight, which will consist of four warplanes - a 1944 Goodyear F2G Super Corsair and three North American P-51 Mustangs.
AER Task Force Spokesman Mark Raines said Texarkana's downtown area might be the best vantage point to see the four planes make two circles around the city. Each plane will cruise over T-Town twice, flying about 250 mph at an altitude of about 1,000 feet.
With the Flyover's theme being "Arkansas: A United State," Texarkana will be just one of 15 Arkansas cities on the flight schedule - with all four planes taking off first from Bentonville at 8 a.m.
Walton, an accomplished pilot, received an appointment from Gov. Asa Hutchinson last month to lead the task force on a mission to provide recommendations for reviving Arkansas' economy.