Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/975060
10 WAC Magazine | wac.net first take vietnam memorial / new barbershop Honoring Vietnam veterans When Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Park opens later this year adjacent to the Museum of Flight, WAC member Jim Farmer will be there. Jim was a B-52 co-pilot when he was shot down and rescued in December 1972 as part of Operation Linebacker II. at aerial campaign helped lead to the release of 591 U.S. prisoners of war and put the B-52 at the front of the American consciousness. Today, Jim and fellow WAC members Dave Williams, Ned Laird, and Doug King are helping bring the dream of the commemorative park to reality. Jim and Ned are also trustees of the Museum of Flight, and Dave was a Navy pilot who flew missions in Vietnam. e park will be the centerpiece of Project Welcome Home, an outdoor commemoration of the long under-recognized con- tributions of the air war in Vietnam. e park's main attraction will be a restored B-52 that also took part in Linebacker II. "e B-52 is an iconic airplane to the Air Force, it's an iconic airplane to Seattle, and it's an iconic airplane to aviation," Jim says. Many of the B-52s were built at Boeing Plant 2, located between the Duwamish River and Boeing Field. e plane at the center of the new memorial is being restored at Paine Field in Everett. Nicknamed "Midnight Express," it will be moved to the Museum of Flight and reassembled at the memorial, a $3 million project that will be free to visit. A statue of an aviator returning home will also be erected as part of the memorial. "is is long overdue," says Ned. For more information about the commemorative park, in- cluding how to donate, visit museumofflight.org/WelcomeHome. Don't be surprised if things look a little different when you see the elevator doors open on the 5th Floor this summer. e landing on that level has long lagged behind other fitness floors—but that's about to change. Construction crews will begin opening up the 5th Floor landing later this year, and that's not the only thing. When work wraps up, the WAC Barbershop will move to a new space on the 5th Floor. "is is going to bring the 5th Floor entrance to a level of quality we see on other athletic floors," says Wayne Moving on up! Barbershop going to 5th Floor as part of capital improvement project Milner, Senior Vice President Athletics, Special Projects & Community Partners. "It's also going to move the barbershop closer to Men's Fitness, where we expect to see increased usage." e barbershop, currently located in the lobby, will remain open to men and women. Currently, men account for upward of 95 percent of the shop's clientele. As part of the 5th Floor improvements, a new strength train- ing area will also go into Men's Fitness. "is fills a need our members have been expressing for a while," Wayne says. e new strength area will run along the east wall, and the former tanning station will be removed. e changes to the 5th Floor are the first phase of Project 51, a longer-term capital improvement plan that also foresees 1st Floor updates to the current barbershop space as well as the Club Shop. u Dave Williams, Ned Laird, and Jim Farmer in front of "Midnight Express," the B-52 that will be at the center of a new memorial in Seattle. wac.net/club-projects