[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 22, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3415-S3416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           WILD BLUE THUNDER

   Mr. FORD. Mr. President, the city of Louisville and the U.S. Air 
Force have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they know how to 
throw a party. On Saturday, April 20, 44 tons of fireworks were loaded 
onto barges in the Ohio River and 225 food booths dished up everything 
from corn dogs to barbecue to Cajun wings. The armed services brought 
130 planes, including nearly every type of aircraft owned by the Air 
Force, helicopters, jets, and vintage planes.
  When the party began, as many as 650,000 people were given the 
performance of a lifetime. Thunder Over Louisville, part of the 
Kentucky Derby Festival, has already gained a reputation as a one-of-a-
kind air show and fireworks display. But I think everyone agreed that 
this year will be hard to top.
  Called Wild Blue Thunder in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the 
U.S. Air Force, it was the world's largest show of its kind in America, 
both for the fireworks display and for the air performances.
  The fireworks were reported to be larger than the opening and closing 
of the Atlanta Olympics combined and of the Inaugural fireworks. The 
impressive show culminated in an 11,000-foot waterfall of fireworks off 
the Clark Memorial Bridge.
  The television and radio commercials for Thunder Over Louisville use 
the tag line ``you haven't seen anything until you've seen 
everything.'' The Air Force and other armed services certainly pulled 
out all the stops with air performances showcasing the ``Thunderbirds 
USAF Aerobatic Team,'' the F-117A stealth fighter, the B-2 stealth 
bomber, the SR-71A strategic reconnaissance plane, the B-1B long range 
strategic bomber, F-14 Tomcat jet fighter, the A-10 Warthog tank killer 
jet fighter, the F-15 Eagle jet fighter, the T-33 Thunderbird, and 
Apache and Blackhawk helicopters.
  The Louisville Courier Journal reported that the F-117 stealth 
fighter was a crowd pleaser, along with the Army's impressive 
helicopter assault demonstration on the two floating bridges in the 
middle of the Ohio River. And after the 123d's C-130H demonstration, I 
can assure my colleagues the Pentagon doesn't stand a chance of taking 
them out of Kentucky.
  I want to commend the city of Louisville, the Derby Festival, the 
U.S. Air Force, and Kentucky's 123d for putting on such an incredible 
show. Not only were the performances simply spectacular, but despite 
the magnitude of the crowd, I found the event to be managed with few 
glitches.
  This was truly a day for family. And from parking to crowd control, 
city, Air Force, and National Guard officials did everything possible 
to make sure Kentucky families could enjoy themselves safely and 
without hassles.
  Mr. President, let me close by congratulating the Air Force for their 
50th

[[Page S3416]]

anniversary. Their service to this country is immeasureable as is our 
gratitude to all our Air Force service men and women. A big thanks also 
goes to all those involved with Saturday's event. I look forward to 
going back next year and seeing the festival officials, the city, the 
armed services, and the National Guard try and top this year's 
sensational performance.

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