FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TEXAS FLYING LEGENDS MUSEUM AND LEWIS AIR LEGENDS
PERFORM AT 2015 BUCKET AIRSHOW SAINT-BARTHÉLEMY
2,200-Mile International Freedom Flight of World War II Warbirds
Served to Honor Our Veterans and Active Duty Military and Inspire Future Generations
Houston TX – On Saturday, March 21, 2015, the Texas Flying Legends Museum of
Houston, Texas, and Lewis Air Legends, of San Antonio, Texas, flew eight pristinely restored
World War II Warbirds at the 2015 Bucket Airshow Saint-Barthélemy, A Celebration of
Freedom. This historic journey is one of the largest fleets of Warbirds to travel overseas since
World War II ended.
The awe-inspiring performance on the southern banks of Saint-Barthélemy served to honor
“The Greatest Generation” of World War II service men and women. “The Greatest Generation
willingly answered the call to serve. They built and flew these airplanes and fought to preserve
freedom and democracy around the world. Today, we say thanks to them for our freedom,”
said Warren Pietsch, Vice President of Operations and Chief Pilot for Texas Flying Legends
Museum.
The Bucket Airshow Saint-Barthélemy performance was also Texas Flying Legends
Museum and Lewis Air Legends’ thundering expression of support for the US and our allies,
as we once again face an existential threat to our way of life and fight to protect and preserve
freedom and democracy. “We want our Freedom Flight to inspire all who witness it -- young
and old alike – to keep our veterans of foreign wars and active duty troops present in their
hearts and minds. Extremists and terrorists across the globe are threatening all freedom-loving
people, and our active duty forces have answered the call of duty to combat them,”
Pietsch continued. “As former US President Ronald Reagan said it best, ‘Freedom is never
more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in their
bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one
day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was
once like in the United States where men were free.’”
In addition to the one-hour airshow on Saturday, Texas Flying Legends Museum and Lewis
Air Legends, dazzled Saint-Barthélemy with daily low passes over the airport and flyovers of
the boats racing in the 2015 St. Barth Bucket Regatta -- a four-day, mega yacht race. At the
Regatta’s closing ceremonies all of the pilots and crew from Texas Flying Legends Museum
and Lewis Air Legends were honored for their contribution and presented medals by the
-- more --
President of Saint-Barthélemy Bruno Magras.
The 2,200-mile international Freedom Flight began on March 15, 2015, when the five Texas
Flying Legends Museum Warbirds launched from their home at Ellington Field in Houston,
Texas. WWII Veterans, active duty military, Boy Scout troops, and their families and
supporters were present to view the Warbirds up close and visit with the pilots and crew, who
provided information about the planes, the battles in which they fought, the heroes who flew
them, and the critical role they played in winning World War II.
At each refueling stop along the way to Saint-Barthélemy, hundreds of families were similarly
able to see the planes, reminisce about their missions, and teach their children about the
heroes that sacrificed so greatly to fight tyrannical forces across the globe and win freedom for
generations to come.
The Warbirds stopped in Dothan, Alabama; Tamiami, Florida; Provenciales, Turks & Caicos;
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; and, found their final staging point at Lloyd International Airport in
Anguilla. On Anguilla, more than 200 school children toured the airplanes and were inspired to
learn the importance of freedom and democracy in protecting our way of life and to embrace
civic responsibility.
The following Texas Flying Legends Museum planes and crew flew in the 2015 Bucket
Airshow Saint-Barthélemy, A Celebration of Freedom.

The B-25J Mitchell Bomber “Betty’s Dream,” a plane made famous by the Doolittle
Raiders attack on mainland Japan four months after the Japanese attacked the U.S. at
Pearl Harbor (Crew includes Pilot Alan Miller, a flight instructor and airline pilot from
Hawaii; Co-Pilot Casey Odegaard, an aircraft restoration professional and airshow pilot
from Kindred, ND; and Flight Mechanic Toby McPherson, an accomplished pilot from
Page, ND)

The TBM Avenger 3E torpedo bomber, once flown by former U.S. President George
H.W. Bush, the youngest ever Naval Aviator at 19 years of age (Piloted by commercial
pilot, airplane restoration enthusiast, and United States Congressman Sam Graves of
Tarkio, MO)

The FG-1D Corsair known as “Whistling Death,” the wartime nickname for this fast
and powerful carrier-based fighter that greatly reduced enemy airpower during World
War II (Piloted by Certified Flight Instructor and Pilot Examiner, commercial and
aerobatic pilot Doug Rozendaal of Mason City, IA)

The P-40K Warhawk “Aleutian Tiger,” a model once flown by David Lee “Tex” Hill, a
proud Texan and top WWII Flying Ace, who was a member of the 1st American
Volunteer Group “Flying Tigers” and trained under fellow Texan, General Claire
Chennault (Piloted by TFLM Director of Maintenance and aircraft restoration
professional Bernie Vasquez of Vacaville, CA)
-- more --

The A6-M2 Model 21 Japanese Zero “Last Samurai,” one of only a few Japanese
Zeros left flying in the world that was the symbol of Japanese airpower in World War II
(Piloted by Warren Pietsch, TFLM Vice President of Operations and Chief Pilot, who is
an accomplished aerobatics pilot and aircraft restoration professional from Minot, ND)
The Lewis Air Legends planes that flew in the 2015 Bucket Airshow Saint-Barthélemy, A
Celebration of Freedom are:
•
The B-25J Mitchell Bomber “Russian To Get Ya,” the last production model of the
bomber and conventionally equipped with a transparent nose that surprisingly but
accurately sports Soviet nose art and insignia, as nearly 900 B-25s were sent to the
Russians in WWII under the Lend/Lease program, as were many others to allies in
Europe, Asia and South America (Piloted by Rod Lewis, a businessman and avid pilot,
who is qualified in both jet and prop driven aircraft and personally flies all of his planes,
including the vintage WWII Warbird collection known today as the Lewis Air Legends;
and by Jim Dale, a pilot with more than 6,000 hours and Lewis Air Legends Director of
Warbird Maintenance).
•
The F7F-3P Tigercat “Here Kitty, Kitty!,” fast and heavily armed, the F7 outraced the
single-engine F6F Hellcat by more than 70 mph. “Here Kitty, Kitty!” is configured as a
photo-recon aircraft, one of five flyable models in the world, and the first ever to race at
the National Championship Air Races in Reno. (Piloted by Stewart Dawson, an FAA
Experimental Aircraft Examiner, a FAA Designated Pilot Examiner, and a flight
instructor.)
•
The F7F-3P Tigercat “La Patrona,” the Navy’s first twin-engine fighter was heavily
armed with four 20mm cannons and four 0.50-inch machine guns. The Tigercat saw
enough service in Korea to earn it a reputation with Captain Fred M. Trapnell, famed
Navy test pilot, as “the best damned fighter I’ve ever flown.” (Piloted by Steve Hinton, a
civilian trained pilot since 1971 with over 11,500 hours civilian time and 9,000 hours in
Warbirds, he is an icon of aviation for his performances in Warbirds at airshows around
the world for more than 35 years in 150 different types of aircraft.)
TFLM Social Media Channels:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TXFlyingLegends
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/texasflyinglegends
Website (for more information):
www.texasflyinglegends.org
Lewis Air Legends Social Media Channels:
Website:
www.lewisairlegends.com
Bucket Regattas:
Website:
www.bucketregattas.com
Media Inquiries:
Jill Warren, (512) 217-8114, Jill.Warren@rrpartners.com
Erin McCleskey, (702) 468-0137, Erin.Mccleskey@rrpartners.com
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