Memorial Day Flyover Honors Vets, Healthcare Heroes Across Southland: 'Low, Slow And Loud'

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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Residents across Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange counties looked to the skies this Memorial Day with their cell phones ready for a special salute.

Several warbirds which are part of the Commemorative Air Force Inland Empire Wing based in Riverside, Calif. May 2020. (CAF Inland Empire Wing/Facebook)

The Air Force honored both veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice and healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis with a flyover Monday.

Beginning at noon, an 18-plane formation featuring several historic warbirds flew over hospitals, cemeteries and the USS Iowa Museum at the Port of Los Angeles. It also hit Los Angeles International, Santa Monica and John Wayne International airports.

The approximately 90-minute flyover was put on by the Commemorative Air Force Inland Empire Wing, based in Riverside.

The formation was be lead by the D-Day Doll, a Douglas C-53D transporter which was manufactured in 1943 to carry paratroopers and cargo during World War II.

"We'll be doing 120 mph, a lot slower than previous recent flyovers," said CAF Inland Empire Wing Operations Manager Bill Prosser said in a statement. "We'll be up there for 70 to 90 minutes. We'll have smoke trails. We'll be low, slow and loud."

Here is the flyover route which is expected to run from noon to about 1:30 p.m.:

• Loma Linda University Medical Center
• Riverside National Cemetery
• Anaheim
• St. Joseph Hospital, Tustin
• John Wayne International Airport
• Pacific View Memorial Park, Corona Del Mar
• Newport Beach
• Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital
• The Queen Mary
• USS Iowa Memorial
• Green Hills Memorial Park, Rancho Palos Verdes
• Zamperini Airport, Torrance
• Los Angeles International Airport
• Santa Monica Airport
• Los Angeles National Cemetery
• UCLA Medical Center
• USC Medical Center
• City of Hope Hospital
• Chino Municipal Airport