The City Council paid tribute today to the history of Marine Corps aviation by declaring it "Flying Leathernecks Day'' in San Diego.
"Thank you so much for this honor,'' said retired Marine Corps Maj.Gen. Bob Butcher, who now chairs the board of the Flying Leathernecks Aviation Museum at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
"It is indeed a pleasure to accept it on behalf of all Marine aviators past, present and future,'' he said.
The Flying Leathernecks Aviation Museum chronicles nearly a century of Marine Corps flight and is home to more than two dozen historic aircraft. It was moved to Miramar in 1989 following the closure of MCAS El Toro in Orange County.
Next year officials will begin celebrating 100 years of Naval Aviation in San Diego, Butcher said. A year later marks a century of Marine Corps aviation.
