Fighter jet flyover planned for Las Vegas Veterans Day parade
If you plan to join tens of thousands of other flag-waving spectators at Friday’s Veterans Day parade down Fourth Street, you might want to bring some earplugs.
The Air Force is sending a fighter jet to fly over the parade route for the first time since 2012, when automatic budget cuts kicked in under the so-called sequester law.
The jet of choice is an F-35 Lightning II, the nation’s newest stealth joint strike fighter, from Nellis Air Force Base.
“It’s going to be over the top,” parade chairman and Navy veteran Bill Stojack said Wednesday. “For the first time since sequestration we have a confirmed flyover. We’re really excited.”
He said an F-35 is expected to roar over Fourth Street in downtown Las Vegas at 10:11 a.m. Friday, just as the first of 120 entries including floats, bands, color guards and military vehicles begin to roll north of Charleston Boulevard between Hoover and Stewart avenues. 
Supported by sponsors Humana, MGM properties and Caesars Entertainment, this year’s parade has a salute to female veterans as its theme.
“We’ve got about a dozen of them in the parade from all different age groups, from 19 years old into their late 80s,” Stojack said.
City of Las Vegas spokesman David Riggleman said the parade is “always billed as one of the largest Veterans Day parades in the country.” In past years, crowds of 30,000 or more have watched it.
Among the featured participants are Army Lt. Col. Patricia Spearman; retired Air Force Col. Charles McGee, of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen; and special guest Steve Seroka, former Nellis Air Force Base colonel and veterans advocate.
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2.
