Rotary Club of Flatonia sponsors the 7th annual Heritage Pride on 7 May 2024 for the FHS junior class. It is a full day of touring and entertainment on the USS Lexington Museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The students were treated to a breakfast on the bus trip down, and lunch on the ship. The day began with a tour of the flight deck and the aircraft displays, guided by 2 Navy aviator veterans, Bernie Satterwhite, and Mark McLaughlin, who both flew the A-6 Intruder. They enjoyed explaining the routine, yet exhilarating, experience of being catapulted off the carrier and then landing with the help of the ship’s arresting gear and the A-6’s tailhook which caught a large cable stretched across the ship. A film on US aircraft carriers was included and were presented with personalized dog tags as a souvenir. On the educational and inspirational tour, they were educated on the aircraft aboard the USS Lexington along with the experience of up to 3,000 crewmembers serving on an aircraft carrier for months at sea.
Flatonia Rotarian and Naval Aviator veteran, Bernie Satterwhite remarked, “Heritage Pride is a hands on project that the Flatonia Rotary Club sponsors to familiarize the students with U.S. Navy operations, especially during World War II. Why does this matter? Because and it is with great pride, that we have the opportunity to nurture a better appreciation, to both students and adults, on the history of American activities to secure and maintain freedom in our country.”