Alan and Patsy Waters were among a handful of Longhorn Corvette Club members invited to the airfield to watch the takeoff. Pictured in front of their 2022 C8 Corvette Stingray with Z51 option and front lift.
HUTTO – Students were treated to an event that took them back in time as a dozen World War II aircraft took to the sky over Hutto Nov. 17 to honor veterans. The airshow, which for 20 years has served as the highlight of Hutto Independent School District’s Veterans Day celebration, had been postponed from its scheduled Nov. 11 lift off due to weather.
Paul Lister, a dyslexia therapist at Hutto High School and an avid pilot of vintage aircraft, has been organizing and flying in the event from the beginning.
“I was looking to do something for veterans, and the principal (of HHS) at the time knew that I flew in a vintage World War II bomber and asked if we’d be willing to fly over the area schools. And, so it started 20 years ago flying a World War II B-25 Mitchell and dropping poppies over the area schools,” Lister said.
Through the years the event evolved to include more planes and more events at the schools.
“We thought, rather than just give students a day off that they wouldn’t really appreciate as Veterans Day, let’s celebrate our veterans all day long. We’ll have lessons on veterans, we’ll have veterans come out to the schools and visit with the students, bring their memorabilia so the students can get their hands on it. The students can meet face-to-face with our veterans and then, the cherry on top of the cake is we have an air show,” Lister said.
The district invites organizations that have a high number of veterans as members, like the American Legion, to participate. This year, members of the Longhorn Corvette Club came out to watch the planes take off.
“Longhorn Corvette Club was founded by veterans,” said incoming Vice President Alan Waters. “The guys who founded it were actual Vietnam veterans. We’re definitely veteran oriented.”
He said the invitation from Hutto ISD was a nice way to honor veterans, and a small parade of Corvettes lined the parking lot of the airfield as members showed up.
Lister says one of his favorite parts of the event is working with wounded warriors. This year the airshow took three wounded warriors and two American Legion members up as passengers during the flyover.
Sterling Shepperd, a former Marine who served in Afghanistan, was one of the wounded warriors who joined the flight. He suffers from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and uses his experience to minister to veterans and first responders who also are affected by PTSD through Photo by Edie Zuvanich.
organizations including Freedom Fighters Foundation.
“Everybody sees planes in the sky as an international symbol for freedom and that’s what we represent,” Shepperd said. “This is a country that’s still incredible. We still have freedoms we take for granted. I think it’s just a beautiful reminder of those that have gone before, those that have sacrificed and worked really hard to get us what we have and we should be grateful for it.”
Lister says he is grateful for all the support the airshow gets, that allows him to continue with the event each year.
“I would say that Hutto is one of the most patriotic of all communities that I’ve ever been proud to be associated with,” he said. “I’m just one small part of a much larger celebration of veterans by Hutto and especially the Hutto Education Foundation, which has an annual grant that helps me put fuel in some of these aircraft. All of these aircraft today are flying at a loss and waiving their pilot and crew fees because they believe in educating the students.”
The Yellow Rose, an Army Air Corps B25 Mitchell, pulls into place on the airstrip. The plane is a WWII mid-range bomber, the model that responded to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo by Edie Zuvanich.
Lone Star Lady, a World War II-era plane, ready for its pilot to join the airshow. Photo by Edie Zuvanich.
