WWII planes on display in Monterey

Living history will on display at the Monterey Regional Airport for the next few days, giving locals a chance to go inside four World War Two planes. If you’ve ever wanted to see any World War Two aircraft up close, you may want to check out a few on display in Monterey right now.

The Wings of Freedom Tour is now at the Monterey Regional Airport, where anyone can get up close and personal with four-different World War Two aircraft. Those planes include the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell and North American P-51 Mustang. Of those, the B-24 has an actual war-record and is the last of it’s kind left that will still fly. Pilots will be taking ticketed spectators up into the air, showing off their planes for everyone who comes on board. Also, a special moment for remaining world war two veterans who may have flown in one of these historic war planes themselves.

“Meeting the veterans that come out from World War two and they look at the airplanes and it brings back their memories and then they start telling their kids and their grandkids their stories and what have you. And every one of them would make a movie,” said B-24 Pilot, Jim Goolsby.

“When you see the look on their face and their families and everything like this you think “Gosh, I’m so glad to be here.” It’s such a great honor to be here with these people and actually watch this and help them through the process of re-orientating themselves to the airplane again; getting acquainted again,”‘ said B-17 Pilot Mac McCauley.

The Wings of Freedom Tour is put on by the Collings Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation devoted to organizing living history. They’re here as part of a 110-city nationwide tour with the four airplanes.

They’ll be on display and open to public now through Friday at the Monterey Regional Airport, giving people a chance to re-live a major part of world history.