VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - A monument honoring the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet will be installed on Virginia Beach’s oceanfront.
The Virginian-Pilot reported Monday that the monument will remember the plane as well as those who gave their lives flying it and those who built and sustained the aircraft.
The F-14 became a symbol of America’s air superiority and was later retired from the U.S. Navy. An early success of the aircraft was in 1981. That’s when two F-14 pilots protecting U.S. ships shot down Libyan planes in the Mediterranean Sea.
Actor Tom Cruise later played the role of an F-14 pilot in the movie “Top Gun.”
The monument will be a four-sided granite obelisk. Panels will show different images of the plane in action along with descriptions of its service and those who maintained the jets.
A panel will honor 68 people who died flying the planes.
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