Captain Joe Shetterly flys over Columbia Regional Airport on May 28 in a special Air Show performance honoring military veterans. Shetterly demonstrated the capablility of the A-10 Thunderbolt II by rolling and dive-bombing above the airfield. (Photo by Daniel Longar, Columbia Missourian)
A-10 Thunderbolt II flown by Captain Joe Shetterly, above, and the WW II P-38 Lightning flown by Kevin Eldridge, below, join together in the Heritage Flight at Columbia Regional Airport on May 28 in a special performance for military veterans. A heritage flight is a tribute to the legacy and future of military aircrews. (Photo by Daniel Longar, Columbia Missourian)
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In a news article "Young and old pay tribute", Janese Heavin, The Columbia Daily Tribune, wrote:
[...] The Thunderbolt' pilot, Capt. Joe "Rifle" Shetterly, no doubt was out to impress as he rolled the aircraft in the sky and demonstrated nosedives, sideway flights and other maneuvers.
When it came time to participate in the annual Heritage Flight, though, Shetterly let a classic World War II P-38 Lightning fly slightly ahead of him as they circled the crowd. [...]
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In a news article "Honoring heroes" Joe Callahan, Ocala Staff writer, reports:
Three years ago when the Scheer family moved to Marion County, they had no idea how much residents supported the 46,000 veterans living in the area.
They were among thousands of people who gathered on a hot, humid Memorial Day morning at Ocala-Marion County Veterans Memorial Park to salute the men and women who died for their country.
Among those being honored was Air Force pilot Maj. Jonathan "Cosmo" Scheer, 31, who died on Feb. 25, 2004, when the A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" he was flying crashed.
He was training soldiers heading to Afghanistan at Eilson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska.
The Rev. Ron Scheer, along with his wife, Carol Lynn, moved to Ocala in 2007, three years after their son's death, to lead Forest Lutheran Church.
During the hourlong ceremony, the Scheer family walked slowly through the park, passing a "Field Cross" and replica of an eternal flame to lay a wreath in their son's honor.
Carol Lynn Scheer thought the military flyover by the Leeward Air Ranch Warbirds, which ended the event, was special.
"It was a moving experience to see the flyover because he [her son] was a pilot," she said.
The event was sponsored by Marion County Veterans. [...]
Carol Lynn Scheer and Ron Scheer, parents of Jonathan Scheer who died in an A-10 crash in 2004, along with the family of Sgt. Chad Lake who died in Iraq are escorted to the wreath and memorial flame by Marines during the Honoring all Fallen Heroes program at the Ocala Marion County Veterans Memorial Park in Ocala, Florida, on Monday May 31, 2010. (Photo by Alan Youngblood, Staff photographer)
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Related background info:
February 25, 2004: At approximately 8:30 p.m., an A-10 aircraft crashed near the Chena Flood Control Project, killing pilot Capt. Jonathan 'Cosmo' Scheer. A memorial service was held on March 1 at 11 a.m. at the base chapel. Source
On June 1, 2010, in a news article "County remembers fallen heroes" Jake Lowary, The Leaf-Chronicle wrote: [...] Retired Air Force Maj. Bill Summers, who also represents Ward 10 on the City Council, was the keynote speaker and reflected on his memories of friends he served with, two of whom died in the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon.
"It's a beautiful day," Summers said. "It's a day under the flag of freedom people fought and died for."
Summers shared the stories of Lonnie Ledet, who dreamt of being a fighter pilot and died when his A-10 Warthog crashed in a training mission; Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude, the highest ranking military officer killed in the Pentagon attack who was scheduled to move to a new, and unaffected, portion of the U.S. military headquarters the following day; and Bob Hymel a career B-52 pilot who survived a crash in Vietnam only to be killed by another plane in 2001, Summers said. [...]
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In a news article "Reflection, Relaxation and a Taste of Summer", Robert D. McFadden from New York Times reported May 31, 2010: [...] A 100-foot American flag was unfurled over the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum as hundreds of veterans and their families joined crowds of visitors and service personnel in an elaborate and poignant ceremony aboard the aircraft carrier on Manhattan's West Side. It concluded with a flyover by two A-10 Thunderbolt jet fighters in the "missing man" formation. [...]
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