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Historic planes fly over Shenandoah Valley for D-Day

The Douglas C-53 "Spirit of Benovia" was also part of the flyover.
Randi B. Hagi
The Douglas C-53 "Spirit of Benovia" was also part of the flyover.

Dynamic Aviation in Bridgewater hosted a flyover midday on Monday to commemorate the 78th anniversary of D-Day. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.

[sound of planes approaching, flying overhead]

Four historic planes flew over the valley on Monday – leaving Staunton at 11:30 and passing over Fishersville, Waynesboro, Elkton, and Harrisonburg, and landing at Dynamic Aviation in Bridgewater. Two of them, Miss Virginia and Betsy's Biscuit Bomber, were Douglas C-47's – the same model as the warbirds that delivered more than 13,000 paratroopers to the beaches of Normandy on June 6th, 1944. They're part of the D-Day Squadron, a fleet of restored military aircraft that conducts commemorative flight displays. Monday marked the 78th anniversary of the Normandy landings and airborne operations.

Randi B. Hagi first joined the WMRA team in 2019 as a freelance reporter. Her writing and photography have been featured in The Harrisonburg Citizen, where she previously served as the assistant editor; as well as The Mennonite; Mennonite World Review; and Eastern Mennonite University's Crossroads magazine.