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Swamp Fox P51 Joins 11th Annual Salute From the Shore

Photo credit MSgt Carl Clegg, SC Air National Guard
Photo credit MSgt Carl Clegg, SC Air National Guard

"I've known about Salute From the Shore since its inception," said RT Dickson, the pilot of the vintage P-51 Mustang "Swamp Fox." "I'm definitely excited. I've seen Salute From the Shore on numerous occasions, and I'm proud and honored to be able to participate this year."

RT and Swamp Fox will be joining the F-16s and C-17s when they take to the sky on Saturday, July 4th, in the 11th Annual Salute From the Shore.

"One of the things that Salute From the Shore is fabulous at is honoring the troops," RT said. "However, most spectators don’t realize that it’s not just the military pilots who participate in events like this. It takes an entire team of military personnel behind the scenes who are giving up time with their families in order to honor all of the other servicemen and women, and to inspire the crowds as they fly down the coast."

RT is honored to participate in this event in hopes that he'll be able to provide additional manpower allowing another service member to enjoy Independence Day with their family. The Dicksons continuously strive to honor and support the military by maintaining the aircraft and participating in events such as Salute From The Shore.

The Dicksons acquired the P-51 aircraft in 2012, and have considered themselves trustees of this critical piece of history. They want to preserve it by honoring all those past, present, and future that have served in the United States Armed Forces.

The history of the original Swamp Fox P-51 dates back to 1944. North American Aviation manufactured the plane. It was delivered to the USAAF on October 20th, 1944, where it was then assigned to the Eighth Air Force, England, on November 10th, 1944.

Lt. Col Will Foard & Swamp Fox in Leiston, England, 1945. Photo provided by Will Foard Family.
Lt. Col Will Foard & Swamp Fox in Leiston, England, 1945. Photo provided by Will Foard Family.

Lt. Col. Will Foard, a native of South Carolina, was the original pilot of the plane when he was just 20 years old and a young lieutenant at the time. Flying and fighting out of England during WWII, Foard thought it would be amusing to name his plane after the famous American Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina, Francis Marion. Marion led bands of guerrillas in several victories against the British and British-allied Colonists. He received the name "Swamp Fox" for his craftiness in eluding pursuit in the Carolina swamps and some British still consider Marion a war criminal.

The Swamp Fox P-51 that will fly in Salute from the Shore, while not the original, was manufactured at the same North American Aviation plant shortly after Foard's plane was. It was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force in May of 1945. It never left the Continental U.S. during its service to the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and Air National Guard, but never saw combat during WWII. Twelve years after being delivered, the aircraft was dropped from inventory as surplus. It bounced around for several decades before being expertly restored between 2007 and 2012. The Dicksons decided to paint the freshly restored plane to match Foard's original Swamp Fox. They appreciated his backstory and the dedication from the young man from South Carolina, answering the call of duty to ship off to war.

"We feel it is important to preserve the Mustang to honor all those who built, maintained, and flew them, as well as inspire future generations to rise to greatness and serve this amazing country," said Dickson.

To learn more about Swamp Fox P-51 and its pilot, RT Dickson, visit them online at swampfoxp51.com or follow on social media @swampfoxp51. We are honored to have RT and Swamp Fox join us for our 11th Annual Salute From the Shore and can't wait to see them in the sky this 4th of July!

As Seen in Fig Columbia

We are proud to have been featured in Fig Columbia’s Summer 2020 Issue! Read below for our article from the magazine.

Each July, families and friends gather up and down South Carolina’s coastline to celebrate Independence Day together. With their American flags, beach towels, patriotic themed attire, and their favorite beach games, they flock to the shores to spend a day in the sand and in the sun. In 2008, good friends Johnny Folsom and Toddy Smith were enjoying their beach vacation over the 4th of July holiday and thought about how they were enjoying time with family and friends while those in the military were currently away from home, defending our country. They decided that these soldiers needed to be honored, so they created Salute Fromthe Shore as a flyover of the South Carolina Coast to honor our military.

“As you know, South Carolina is a very patriotic state,” said Cam Smith, one of the co-founders for SaluteFrom the Shore. “We figured the coast of South Carolina would be a great platform for an audience to gather and show gratitude to the military.”

For the last decade, Salute From the Shore has joined in on the annual 4th of July celebrations with their patriotic flyover and show their appreciation for active duty members, for veterans, and for their families. The flyover spans the entire South Carolina coast as it begins in North Myrtle Beach around 1pm on the 4th and continues down the coastline to conclude just outside of Bluffton. Everyone on the beach—whether you’re in Litchfield, Folly, Kiawah Island, Edisto, Sullivan’s Island, or anywhere in between—has a front row view to the incredible air show. It’s a tradition that has grown over the years as more and more families plan their summer vacations around being at the beach during the first week of July each year.

This year’s Salute From the Shore looks to be one of the best ones yet. Two F-16s from Shaw Air Force Base and a C-17 from Charleston Air Force Base will take to the skies first as they start off the Salute shortly after 1pm on July 4th. Following them will be a fleet of really cool, civilian-owned and flown vintage airplanes. These planes fly slower than the military aircrafts and will extend the fun throughout the afternoon as they make their way down the coastline.

This summer, book a beach house, condo, or hotel room along the South Carolina coastline and join in on the patriotic celebration with your family and friends as we #SaluteFromTheShore!

To learn more about Salute from the Shore and how to donate to their mission, visit their website at salutefromtheshore.org.

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Salute with 2020 Swag

In times like these, we’re more thankful than ever for those that serve our country—no matter how they serve. Whether it’s on the frontlines overseas or on the frontlines in the hospital during a pandemic, we salute everyone that works to make our country a safe place to live. We are excited to get back to the coastline this summer with our 11th Annual Salute from the Shore to offer our thanks through our Salute!

Are you ready for this year’s Salute? We’re busy counting down the days, finalizing the planes that will be participating, and making sure that we have our patriotic gear ready to go for a full day on the beach.

Our Swag Shop is officially open for the season and our 2020 shirts and swag are available for you to order!

We have a great-looking, well-priced t-shirt for you to wear to support Salute from the Shore, as well as lots of other merchandise. Click over to the Salute Swag Store to buy yours now! All purchases help fund our non-profit mission to honor the military each July 4th.

Shop the store here: https://teespring.com/stores/salutefromtheshore

Which shirt design are you planning to order for you and your family? Be sure to tag us in your photos and Instagram stories when your swag arrives! We can’t wait to see everyone all decked out on the beach this July!

Save the Date for Saturday, July 4, 2020!

Save the Date for Saturday, July 4, 2020!

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Salute from the Shore is coming back for the 11th year in a row this Independence Day. 

Whether you have attended Salute from the Shore every year with your family over the last decade or you have plans to start a new tradition this summer, we welcome you to join us all on the beach this 4th of July for a very patriotic afternoon. Planes—both current military plans and privately owned vintage planes—will take off from the northern end of our coastline just outside of Myrtle Beach and will fly along the coastline to Hilton Head Island. Join in with thousands of Americans as we stand together along our state’s beautiful beaches and salute to the planes as they fly overhead!

It’s a truly patriotic celebration that all ages can enjoy. We love seeing how everyone chooses to dress up in their favorite red, white, and blue outfits and the different displays that friend and family groups set up together on the beach. We’ve seen it all—giant sandcastles, huge American flags, coordinating group outfits, and more. We are so excited to see the celebrations on the beach this summer!

Stay tuned to our social media channels as we share more about how you can join in on the Salute from the Shore celebrations.

We’ll see you in July!

Salute From The Shore Salutes Military Families This Christmas

SALUTE FROM THE SHORE SALUTES MILITARY FAMILIES THIS CHRISTMAS

Non-profit donates funding to two Fisher House Foundation locations

Columbia, S.C. – Salute from the Shore, a non-profit that exists to honor the United States military on Independence Day each year, is excited to announce that they are giving back on an additional holiday this year. This Christmas, Salute from the Shore provided  $2,000 in funding to the Fisher House in Charleston, S.C. and an additional $2,000 in funding to the Fisher House Initiative in Columbia, S.C.

Fisher House Foundation is a non-profit that builds comfort homes where military and veterans families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital. These houses, located at military and VA medical centers around the world, have up to 21 suites with private bedrooms and bathrooms, and share a common kitchen, laundry facilities, a dining room, and a living room. This non-profit served more than 32,000 families in 2018 alone and have served more than 368,000 since inception. Currently, South Carolina has one completed Fisher House at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston with an initiative in place to build one at the William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center in Columbia.

“Due to the weather and the associated safety risk during the July 4, 2019 Salute from the Shore, the vintage planes were unable to participate this past summer,” said Salute from the Shore president, Spann Laffitte. “As a result, our organization had funds that were set aside to support their operating expenses that went unused. We’re thrilled to be able to redirect those dollars to the Fisher House and their mission of serving military and veteran families.”

Join Salute from the Shore this holiday season and give an impactful gift of your own to the Fisher House Foundation. You can make a monetary donation online at https://fisherhouse.org/donate or you can choose a non-traditional donation method from one of the options listed on their website at https://fisherhouse.org/ways-to-give/.

To learn more about Salute from the Shore and how to donate to their nonprofit, visit their website at salutefromtheshore.org and follow them on Facebook (@SalutefromtheShore), Instagram (@july4salute), Twitter (@july4salute), and YouTube (@SalutefromtheShore).

Save the Date: Salute from the Shore will return this year on Saturday, July 4th!

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Salute from the Shore a non-profit, grassroots group of patriotic South Carolinians who simply want to honor our country’s armed forces. Each 4th of July, they work to enhance the celebrations and activities of communities on the South Carolina coast while united them in a free and public Salute in honor of those who have served or are currently serving our country. They create an accessible opportunity of South Carolina beachgoers to honor the armed forces by organizing a “Salute from the Shore” of a military flyover of the entire South Carolina coast.

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Support the Salute

This year we celebrated the 14th anniversary of Salute from the Shore! You can show your support by making a donation to the 14th Annual Salute from the Shore.
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