Two native Ohioans on the Navy’s Blue Angels team made their way back to their home state this week as they got ready to perform at the Columbus Air Show.
Behind the jets, Columbus Air Show attendees will see this weekend is a team of 160 people, and that team includes Ohioans, Capt. Jen Murr and Lt. Mara Mason.
Murr, who hails from Jackson Center, serves as the team’s flight surgeon and Mason, who is from Dayton, is a supply officer. Both said they are excited to bring the show back to the Buckeye State.
“It’s a thrill to bring the professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps to my hometown and also to get to show my friends here on the Blue Angels what it’s like to be from Ohio,” Mason said.” You know, just that Midwest kindness and that hospitality were really wonderful to bring back to us.”
Mason said growing up in Dayton means living in a community surrounded by aviation and Ohio’s contributions to flight. She has fond memories of visiting Columbus during her younger years. She recalled going to her first Ohio State game when she was younger, which she described as “electric”.
She would have her shot at seeing even more Ohio State games when she attended OSU for her undergraduate degree, graduating in 2018.
“(Columbus) really shaped me into who I am and I think made me strong enough to become a Navy supply officer,” she said.
The Columbus Air Show is flight surgeon Murr’s first time flying into Ohio as a member of the Blue Angels team. She gets to fly in their jets around once a month, but for her flight into Columbus, she flew in a U.S. Marine Corps C-130 dubbed “Fat Albert”.
“We flew right into Rickenbacker here, but seeing the green grass and the trees and the landscape and familiar Ohio was kind of special,” she said.
The Blue Angels will headline every day of the upcoming Columbus Air Show. There will even be Columbus Blue Jackets music mixed into the team’s sets, Blue Angels aviation structural mechanic Grant Causey said.
The late summer show is set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 22-24 at Rickenbacker International Airport, 2241 John Cir Drive.
Breaking and trending news reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com and at @NathanRHart on X and at nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohioans on Blue Angels team reminisce about home as they prepare for the Columbus Air Show
Reporting by Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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