Wings Over St. Louis Salutes Fallen Veterans With Flights In World War II Bomber

By Carmelo Turdo

The annual Wings Over St. Louis event, hosted by the Missouri Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, is being held this weekend at Spirit of St. Louis Airport. They are offering living history ride opportunities in their North American B-25J Mitchell Show Me over the St. Louis area, each flight saluting our fallen veterans at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. About every two hours, five riders take the approximately 30-minute flight that creates memories to last a lifetime.

This 1944 B-25J Mitchell medium bomber, serial number 44-31385, was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces in January of 1945 and remained stateside as a TB-25J training aircraft until it was retired in 1958. It was sold to the first of several civilian operators the following year. The Missouri Wing of the Commemorative Air Force took ownership of the aircraft in 1982 and named her Show Me in honor of the Missouri State motto. The Missouri Wing crew can be seen at airshows and special events throughout the Midwest each season, usually along with the wing's TBM Avenger, Aeronca L-3 Lil' Show Me and the newly-acquired Stearman trainer.

As with most flight events, the wing brought a ground crew to handle registration, merchandise sales and flightline security. Several other period vehicles were also parked on the apron. Here are some views of the displays and the first Show Me flight on Saturday morning. Registration is still available for remaining ride slots, and a video from our 2022 flight can be seen on The Aero Experience YouTube Channel.

Guest Post: 2023 TBM Avenger Reunion and Salute to Veterans Held in Peru, IL

Guest Post: The Aero Experience thanks our friend Duane Cooley of DRC Images for contributing this coverage of the 2023 TBM Avenger Reunion and Salute to Veterans held at Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru, IL on May 19-20. This event has grown since it's inception in 2016, and here we present some highlights of the flying activity.