Flying into 2018

  • Published
  • By Kenji Thuloweit
  • 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  

Two F-35 Lightning IIs from the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base took part in the traditional flyover at the beginning of the annual Tournament of Roses Parade Jan. 1, 2018, in Pasadena, California.

 

The fifth-generation fighters accompanied the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber in the middle, which was from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.

 

According to information from Donate Life America, the flyover honored organ donor Maj. Benjamin Meier, an Air Force pilot who was assigned to the 31st TES.

 

The F-35 on the left of the B-2 represented all organ donors, while the F-35 on the right symbolized all who have received organs that have prolonged their lives.

 

While on a morning run in 2015, Meier was struck in the head by the mirror of a passing truck on Edwards AFB and later died of his injuries. As an organ donor, Donate Life America says Meier was able to provide several organs to people who live on to this day.

Two F-35 Lightning IIs from the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base took part in the traditional flyover at the beginning of the annual Tournament of Roses Parade Jan. 1, 2018, in Pasadena, California. The fifth-generation fighters accompanied the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber in the middle, which was from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. According to information from Donate Life America, the flyover honored organ donor Maj. Benjamin Meier, an Air Force pilot who was assigned to the 31st TES. The F-35 on the left of the B-2 represented all organ donors, while the F-35 on the right symbolized all who have received organs that have prolonged their lives. While on a morning run in 2015, Meier was struck in the head by the mirror of a passing truck on Edwards AFB and later died of his injuries. As an organ donor, Donate Life America says Meier was able to provide several organs to people who live on to this day.

A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, flies over the Rose Bowl Jan. 1, 2018. (Courtesy photo by Mark Holtzman)
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