WWII Airplane Pays Tribute to Fallen Ahead of Memorial Day Ceremony

Palm Springs, CA It is a Memorial Day tradition, 3 thousand Carnations fall from the sky above the Palm Springs Air Museum. The flower drop is a tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. A B-25 PBJ is set to take off Monday and participate in the "missing man" formation. "Having this air plane and having it operate it still after all these years, is a great salute to the veterans; to honor what they’ve done, they gave their lives, they gave their time and they gave everything so we can be free, said the plane’s pilot Jason Somes of the Commemorative Air Force. The B-25 is a tribute and a living piece of history. The plane was first built in 1944, its the only Navy version of a B-25 still in the air today. "This plane was one of the planes that took place in the Doolitte Raid, or at least this type, so this has a lot of history behind it in that the B-25 is the first striking back that we did to the Japanese in WWII so it was great for morale," said Somes. Names of living members of Marine Bombing Squad 611 signed are signed in ink. "There’s also an honor roll over here," points out pilot Chris Liguori of the Commemorative Air Force. "That honor roll here honors the members that gave their lives during the war."