Air festival draws thousands to Moses Lake

Organizers deem event a success

MOSES LAKE - Despite the sweltering 99-degree heat, the three-day Grant County Aviation Festival attracted about 2,000 people wanting to see the aircraft and ground equipment from World War II and the Korean War era.

"So far it's gone really well. With the heat, it's amazing. It's been absolutely wonderful," said Debbie Stein, with Mothers of Military Support on Sunday. A few hours before the event was over, she estimated about 2,000 people attended the festival.

The event was held to honor veterans, promote veterans' awareness and to let them know about their benefits.

Inside the air-conditioned foyer of the Grant County International Airport display booths included information from the state Department of Veterans Affairs, Mothers of Military Support, a vacation drawing and embroidered military caps.

But the biggest attractions were through the foyer and outside behind the airport where a variety of airplanes were parked for viewing throughout the three days of the festival.

Betty Sherman of the Cascade Warbirds said the displayed planes included a Sky Raider that belongs to former astronaut Bill Anders, a P-51 flown by Anders' sons Greg Anders and Alan Anders, T-6's, a T-34, a Focke Wolf, a few Navions, a Chipmunk, a C-17 and a couple of Yaks.

During an event ceremony on Saturday, Port of Moses Lake Commissioner Delone Krueger welcomed the Cascade Warbirds before the pilots brought their planes into the view of the audience.

He also alerted the audience about a three-ship pass of T-6's that was preparing to make a formation overhead.

He mentioned T-6's as being connected to World War II's great successes.

As planes flew overhead, audience members craned their necks to look into the sky. Some people packing cameras even took photos of the flying planes, like Larry Sanchez of Moses Lake, who was at the festival with his family.

Pritt and Josephine Davis of Moses Lake also attended the event with their daughter. Josephine said they learned about the festival last month. The couple used to live in Mobile, Ala. and watched the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy's flight demonstration squadron.

"We like airplanes," Josephine said.

Pritt said he wasn't in the military, but added that he wished he was.

"The U.S. is a country worth dying for," he said.

Three of the T-6's came from Bellingham's Heritage Museum and a few came from Seattle, said Marcia Nelson, the wife of T-6 pilot Craig Nelson.

Retired Air Force Col. Clyde Owen, the former commander of the Moses Lake-area Larson Air Force Base, Civil Air Patrol Col. Gordon Ebbert of Moses Lake, First Gentleman Mike Gregoire and Alfie Alvarado, deputy director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs also spoke at an event ceremony on Saturday.

Gregoire served a tour of duty in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

The festival's sponsor, MOMS, brought the event from Kelso to Moses Lake and plans to move the organization to Moses Lake in the next year and a half.