RICHLAND, Wash. – Memorial Day honors those who lost their lives to keep our country safe. A commemorative Air Force squadron of pilots is remembering those brave men and women by preserving the history of military aviation.
Scott Urbin, the pilot of a T-28 aircraft, said the whole idea is to take the airplanes out and show people what they look like and the history behind them.
Urbin says he personally owns this aircraft—which was a training aircraft for the Navy. On the side of the aircraft is the name Pat Kinney, a Marine helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Urbin says that after Vietnam, Kinney came back to the state as an instructor pilot for the T-28 for two years.
“Just a great guy, great individual, great American,” said Urbin. “We lost him a couple of years ago. He had a lot of health issues from things in Vietnam like Agent Orange and those types of things.”
Urbin says Memorial Day is an important time to honor not only his friend but all of those who served so we can enjoy our freedom.
The Days Pay Squadron was pitched more than two years ago, aimed at celebrating military aviation history.
George Abbatt is a pilot in the squadron, and he’s had his plane, a 1943 T-23, for less than a year. According to Abbatt, this plane was primarily used to train pilots in World War Two.
Abbatt says he picked it up from Dallas and flew it back to the Tri-Cities. He said a big part of their job is to honor those who sacrificed so much and remember the pilots of these airplanes.
“Just To keep them in the public eye and just honor those that have served and keep the fleet flying the best we can,” said Abbatt.
