[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COMMENDING KENTUCKY AIR NATIONAL GUARD

  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I just want to take a moment to extend my 
personal thanks to the Kentucky Air National Guard for a job well done. 
When the U.S. Air Force chose the Kentucky Derby Festival's annual 
Thunder Over Louisville celebration as one of the high points in a 
year-long celebration of the Air Force's 50th anniversary, the Kentucky 
Air National Guard proved to be the perfect hosts. They not only 
brought in all the aircraft, but coordinated all the different 
services.
  Thunder Over Louisville 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. The performances were truly spectacular, 
but much of the success is also due to the tremendous job the city, the 
Air Force, the Derby Festival and the Kentucky Air National Guard did 
to assure the event ran smoothly and safely.
  Called ``Wild Blue Thunder'' in tribute to the Air Force's 50th 
Anniversary, 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 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-117 A 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 performances were not only a great source of entertainment, but 
also were a tremendous learning experience for spectators of all ages, 
especially about Kentucky's homegrown talent.
  Kentucky's 123rd already has an impressive list of accomplishments 
under their belt. And I've come to the Senate floor time and again to 
commend them on their exceptional work in places like Bosnia, Somalia, 
and Rwanda.
  But as part of the Derby Festival's spectacular display, the 123rd 
got to show off for the hometown crowd. 650,000 Kentuckians saw first-
hand the 123rd's skill and expertise with the C-130Hs, getting a better 
idea of how important this unit is to the overall operations of this 
nation's active duty Air Force. And that will make my job much easier 
this year if Pentagon officials start making moves to pull any of the 
123rd's C-130Hs.
  Mr. President, let me close by thanking the 123rd for their hard work 
and their hospitality. I know the true test of their abilities happens 
when they are far from home. But it's nice to remind everyone at home 
just how lucky we are to have such a talented, committed group of 
service people right here in Kentucky.

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