Will Rogers Wiley Post Annual Fly-In

The annual Will Rogers & Wiley Post Fly-in begins at 8:30 am on Saturday, August 15th at Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch in Oologah, Oklahoma. 

The National Day of Remembrance is put on by the staff of the Will Rogers Memorial Museums, located in Claremore and Oologah. In particular, this is a special year for the event because it marks the 80th anniversary of the death of Oklahoma’s favorite son, Will Rogers, by way of plane crash. 

Over 100 private planes will be participating in the fly-in by landing on a grass field located at Will Rogers’ birthplace. Additionally, there will be food concessions, an antique car show, games for the kids and lots of other festivities taking place at the family oriented event.

A 35 second moment of silence will be held by the event, as well as by numerous radio stations and airports around the nation, in remembrance of not only Will Rogers, but all those who have died in aircraft crashes. This is the first time that the event coordinators have been able to organize a nationwide moment of silence. This will occur just after 10 am Central time. 

On August 15th, 1935, Will Rogers and Wiley Post, who was the first aviator to fly solo around the world, both perished in an airplane crash just a few miles from their destination of Point Barrow, Alaska. The world stood still when news spread. 

At the time, Rogers was viewed as the most famous man in the world. He was the biggest male box office draw as a film actor, appearing in over 70 movies. He reached tens of millions of people around the world with his newspaper columns and radio programs. As a U.S. ambassador, he traveled the world and reported back to the White House. During the Golden Age of Aviation, which were the years between WWI and WWII, he was a pioneer in the industry. 

Tune in to RSU radio at 91.3 FM or stream the station at www.rsuradio.com at 9:55 am on Saturday, August 15th to hear our coverage of the National Day of Remembrance. We will conclude our broadcast with an interview of Oklahoma musician, Beau Jennings, who recently recorded a Will Rogers tribute album called, The Verdigris, and filmed a documentary called, The Verdigris: In Search of Will Rogers, in which he retraced Will’s footsteps at different locations around the nation. 

For more information about Will Rogers or the fly-in, visit www.willrogers.com.