Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Bring back an Air Force jet to Biloxi, Mississippi

Biloxi Mayor Andrew ‘FoFo’ Gilich wants to honor Keesler Air Force Base with a jet in the median of US 90 near White Avenue, near where one had been displayed in years past.



By The Editorial Board


The Biloxi lighthouse. The Friendship Oak. Jones Park.

What do these places have
in common?

They’re popular South Mississippi landmarks.

But one of our favorites is missing from the list — an Air Force jet in Biloxi.

We were pleased last week when Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich proposed the return of a plane just down the street from Keesler Air Force Base. Gilich wants to move a decommissioned 1956 F-104 jet, on display at Keesler, to the center median of U.S. 90 near White Avenue.

“For many years previous, Biloxi displayed a jet very near this same location,” Gilich said in a letter to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. “That jet and others the city also displayed on the beachfront highway for decades were lost over time to natural disasters.”

The Biloxi City Council was scheduled to talk about the proposal at a meeting Tuesday night.

Gilich is a fan of things “Old Biloxi,” and we are, too. Many longtime South Mississippians grew up driving past the old jet on U.S. 90. It always gave us a sense of place, a gentle reminder that we were in Biloxi. And the old jet just had a certain character to it that we liked.

We love the new things in South Mississippi, but sometimes it’s cool to pay homage to your history, too. We think an Air Force jet back in its place of honor is one of those cool old things.

Original article can be found here: http://www.sunherald.com/opinion/editorials

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