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thedrifter
03-14-06, 06:03 AM
Posted on Tue, Mar. 14, 2006
FORT LAUDERDALE
Air-sea show honors American military heroes
This year's McDonald's Air & sea show will honor both past and present heroes of the American military
BY ROBERTO SANTIAGO
rsantiago@MiamiHerald.com

During World War II, Leo Gray was barred from some military bases and from all ''Whites Only'' establishments.

Now, 64 years later, the retired pilot and economist is welcomed wherever he goes -- often with a standing ovation.

''I guess it tells you how far we have come as a nation,'' said Lt. Col. Gray, 82, of Dania Beach, one of the few surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen, America's first black military pilots.

The crowd stood for Gray on Monday morning, during a press conference for of the 2006 McDonald's Air & Sea Show, which roars into town the weekend of May 6 and 7, along four miles of Fort Lauderdale beach.

This year's edition will offer a lineup of the nation's top pilots strutting their stuff high above the sand and surf, including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels demonstration team and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds.

Beginning May 1, nearly 3,000 Navy sailors, Marines, and Coast Guard personnel will pour into town from eight visiting ships. The week's events will focus on recognizing past and present heroes, including U.S. military men and women young enough to be Gray's grandchildren, who are deployed in trouble spots all over the world.

Twelve of the surviving 200 Tuskegee Airmen will be honored at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center on May 12, with a proclamation from the city of Fort Lauderdale and a key to the city.

''We knew our country would soon learn to love us as much as we loved it,'' Gray said. ``We wanted to defend our nation, and we weren't about to allow racism to get in the way of our patriotic duties.''

In 1940, bowing to social pressure, the U.S. Army began training a group of black men as aviators in Tuskegee, Ala. They became the most sought-after bomber escorts of World War II for one reason: In 1,500 missions, they destroyed 490 enemy aircraft without losing a single American bomber.

The annual air and sea extravaganza, a major armed forces recruiting tool, flaunts America's military prowess, which doubles as eye-popping, beachside entertainment.

A mock beach invasion gets things started, with U.S. Navy and Marines Corps jets, helicopters, marine vehicles, and armed troops.

Other features: the U.S. Golden Knights parachute demonstration teams; flybys and demonstrations by the Air Force B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, U.S. Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle fighter; and the U.S. Marine Corps Harrier jets; and a Blues Brothers concert featuring original front man, Dan Aykroyd, with Jim Belushi, replacing his late brother, John.

''Each year we try to bring it to new levels, and 2006 is no exception,'' said McDonald's Air & Sea Show executive producer Mickey Markoff.

Ellie