I am adding here...this thread will be picture heavy.
Good, can't wait to see them. This was quite a day.
Great shot of Marine 1. Keep them coming.
Great photos!
Can't wait to see them all!
I was there as well, in fact must've sat very close to MFH.
I think they should've shot the plane down. Plus there was a loooooooong period of time where the F-16 had overrun the small plane and was in front of it. An F-16 can only go so slow, especially after racing hard to get to the area (you could hear it coming.) I guess he just couldn't slow down enough. With a machine gun or rockets the small plane could have raised hell, even committed the the worst case and the F-16 couldn't have done anything about it. Maybe the F-16 was showing the way to the Merritt Island Airport.
I started watching the security guys on top of the stadium. You can see on the left of the photos is a good-sized case at the foot of one of the guys. As the plane got way too close the security guy looked like he was going for the case but held back (due to radio transmission?) What's in the case? Rifles? It looked to me big enough for a shoulder-fired missile but the contents were never revealed.
It was scary. I feared for the President's life.
Thank you for posting and...what can I say, WOW! It makes me so proud to be a citizen in this country when I see the President and Mrs. Bush are so loved. Great Pics!
MFH,
Thanks for the pics. I'm one of the guys who plans and executes these missions. I'll forward the link to the actual controllers and crew members who were on duty that day protecting the prez.