CULLMAN, Ala. – Cullman’s 2020 Veterans Day Celebration is today from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at Cullman Regional Airport. This year’s event will include original WWII aircraft that have not been to Cullman before, as well as opportunities to get face-to-face with a few of the last remaining representatives of “America’s Greatest Generation” and a chance to honor those who have served in the Middle East. Admission and parking are free.
According to www.cullmanveteransday.com, “We plan to conduct the Nov. 7 veterans celebration in full compliance with public health directives, including masks and social distancing. “
The slate of aircraft includes, among others:
- B-25 Mitchell bomber, a plane used throughout the war, but maybe most famous for its use in the 1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo.
- F-4U Corsair Navy/Marine fighter, the plane made famous by Col. Greg “Pappy” Boyington’s “Black Sheep Squadron.”
- C-47 Skytrain troop transport, often dubbed the “Gooney Bird” by troops. Several of the WWII-era planes and their commercial DC-3 counterparts are still flying, but the plane that will visit Cullman actually dropped troops on Normandy during the 1944 D-Day invasion.
- P-51 Mustang fighter, considered by many to have been the premier allied fighter aircraft of WWII, flown by many units including Alabama’s own “Redtail” Tuskegee Airmen. In conjunction with the display, the event will feature an exhibit of Ford Mustangs.
- CH-47 Chinook twin-rotor heavy cargo/troop helicopter
The event will include free lunch for veterans and their spouses, WWII displays and costumed reenactors, war movies featuring military aviation, skydiving demonstrations and the Wallace State Jazz Band.
Saturday’s guest of honor will be Bradford Freeman, the last surviving D-Day veteran of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, of the 101st Airborne Division’s 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was made famous by the cable series “Band of Brothers.” The Mississippi native attended basic training at Ft. Rucker in Alabama before going to jump school at Ft. Benning. During the Normandy invasion, he was among the small group of soldiers who assembled with then Lt. Richard “Dick” Winters after a disorganized night landing. As a mortar operator, Freeman also took part in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. Freeman returned to farming in Mississippi after the war and became a mailman. He was an advisor for the “Band of Brothers” series and has continued to attend 101st Airborne events and travel to Europe to revisit his battlefields.
The event’s grand marshal will be Lt. Col. Julian Campbell, who flew 40 B-26 bomb missions over Europe, then cargo missions over the Pacific during WWII, and went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force through the Korean War era and beyond, flying the last combat missions of his colorful career over Vietnam.
Campbell turned 100 this year. He still carries in his wallet a page from a Bible containing Psalm 91, which his mother sent to him in 1943 while he was serving in Europe.
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