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thedrifter
05-14-09, 08:05 AM
MILITARY NOTEBOOK

Military notebook: WWII comes to life this weekend in Virginia Beach
By Hugh Lessig
May 14, 2009

If you have a hankering for the 1940s and want to see some vintage WWII aircraft in action, check out the Warbirds Over the Beach Air Show this weekend at the Virginia Beach Airport.

Hosted by the Military Aviation Museum, this first-ever event serves as its fundraiser.

We chatted with museum president Jerry Yagen on Wednesday, and he's promising a good time — a safe bet with fighters, bombers, sea planes and other aircraft swooping down from the skies.

There's stuff to see on the ground, too.



The show will feature re-enactors dressed in period gear. You can stop by, learn about their history and maybe talk about the latest 78 from the Andrews Sisters. (Kids: Just Google it. You'll figure it out.)

Veteran WWII pilots will be on hand to talk about missions, dogfights and what it felt like to be shot at.

The actual air show begins at 1 p.m. both days. Saturday night features swing band music.

The private airport is on Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach. Check out www.vbair show.com for more.

Rambo, yes. Chick flicks? Uh, not so much
Getting a hug from mom is great, but a box of DVDs? Now we're talking.

Which is why Christi Beil of Yorktown is popular with certain members of the U.S. Marine Corps right about now.

The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group began a seven-month deployment on Wednesday.

The flagship USS Bataan departed Naval Station Norfolk, and Christi's son will spend some quality time on that ship. He is 22-year-old Cpl. James R. Beil with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Group.

Christi thought it would be a good idea to collect DVDs so her son and his buddies would have something to watch while passing the time at sea.

She asked her family for donations, then she asked her co-workers at Old Point National Bank's Warwick branch, which she manages.

The collection grew, and she was able to send along about 200 DVDs for the Marines. And she's still accepting donations.

Stop off at Old Point National Bank, 11134 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, with your old collections of "CSI," "Heroes," "24" and other thrillers. Bank hours are 9-5.

Blog update
Check out our blog for a shout out to the U.S. Coast Guard (via the College of William and Mary), what Rep. Glenn Nye has to say about WWII merchant mariners and the final day's agenda for the Joint Warfighting Conference in Virginia Beach.

Hugh Lessig can be reached at 757-247-7821 or by e-mail at hlessig@dailypress.com.

Ellie