Thunderbird 12 Flies High To Say Thanks

ATLANTA 

When the Navy Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds flew over Atlanta last week to salute that city’s healthcare workers battling the coronavirus pandemic, Thunderbird 12 was among the team. Otherwise known as Capt. Remoshay Nelson,  Thunderbird 12, a Georgia native, is the Air Force’s first Black woman to wear the Thunderbird suit.

.“This is almost unspeakable. This is extremely an honor to be a part of this mission,” Nelson said in a television interview. “Some of these individuals are my friends. They live and work in Atlanta and they’ve been working extremely hard to respond to COVID-19.”

Capt. Nelson, a public affairs officer, graduated in 2011 from Howard University and received her Masters degree in 2014 from the University of Oklahoma. She said her father inspired her to follow a military career.

“My father is the one who introduced me to the military. He was in the Navy,” she said. “So, this is an honor to really be a part of this mission to have the jets fly over and just kind of connect me back to home.” 

The two renowned flight teams also flew over New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to salute the work of COVID-19 health care practitioners in those areas.