Mural for SR-71 pilot B.C. Thomas joins Denison's Eisenhower birthday events Saturday

Denison will add a mural for one of its own record-setting pilots on Saturday, Oct. 10, as the city spends the day marking Dwight D. Eisenhower's 136th birthday.

The city plans to dedicate the B.C. Thomas mural at 4 p.m., KTEN reported. Thomas graduated from Denison High School and went on to a decorated career as a military aviator, flying both the U-2 and the SR-71 Blackbird. No pilot logged more hours in the SR-71 than Thomas, according to the station. The Blackbird could fly at around 80,000 feet at more than three times the speed of sound.

A day across four sites

The birthday program opens at 9 a.m. at the Eisenhower Monument, off Exit 67 near the junction of Highway 75 and North Loy Lake Road. The celebration also ties in America's 250th anniversary and the Eisenhower Birthplace's 80th anniversary.

After the opening, three venues stay open through the day:

Perrin Air Force Base Museum, 436 S. McCullum Ave., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Eisenhower Birthplace, 609 S. Lamar Ave., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Red River Railroad Museum, 101 E. Main St., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

KTEN's Caroline Kellam previewed the weekend with Main Street Coordinator Grant Yoder and Ken Neely of the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site.

Sources

KTEN

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