Richland High seniors ace their goal. Historic bomber to fly over 2021 graduation

A B-17 Flying Fortress will fly above next month’s Richland High School graduation.

In the space of a day, donations to bring the historic aircraft grew from $9,500 to more than $15,000, Senior Class President Hanna Christensen told the Herald.

Christensen said she was proud of the community, and she had faith people would come together to support bringing the plane.

“(I’m) just super thankful for not only (the Herald) and other people helping get the word out, but all of the donors. The eight months of work was well worth it for our class to make history!”

Among the donors are Steve and Jessy Lee, owners of the Green2Go cannabis stores, who gave $2,021, according to a Facebook post. Steve Lee also is a Kennewick councilman.

The senior class leaders were so grateful for the help and the boost from media coverage.

The surge puts them above the $11,000 they needed to raise by Sunday to have the plane fly above Fran Rish Stadium at the June 12 graduation.

The remaining money will go to a plaque the class plans to put in the stadium with the names of the people who donated.

Christensen led the effort to bring one of 10 functioning WWII bombers to Richland after a teacher mentioned a B-17 had flown over a graduation 30 years ago.

The Day’s Pay was the result of an effort by thousands of Hanford workers during World War II to donate a day’s wages for a B-17 Flying Fortress. The plane flew 69 missions over Germany.

With its ties to the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb, Richland High changed the name of its team from the Beavers to the Bombers in 1944. The school’s logo is a mushroom cloud.