CLEVELAND - Excitement filled the air as Marines moved their vehicles and aircraft into Cleveland for Marine Week Cleveland, June 10.
Marine aircraft were the first to take their places with an MV-22 Osprey landing at Voinovich Park for positioning as a static display. Static displays throughout the city are just one aspect of what the Marine Corps will bring to Cleveland, June 11-17.
“We’re here to showcase the capabilities of our aircraft and to tell people what the Marines do and what we stand for,” said Capt. Bret J. Knickerbocker, pilot with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, and native of Tallahassee, Fla.
Other displays will be located at Public Square, Gateway Plaza and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 also landed a UH-1N Huey and an AH-1W Super Cobra onto West Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland. The helicopters were then transported to Public Square for a static display.
The displays allow the public to interact with and experience firsthand the aircraft and the Marines who operate them.
“It’s always a great time to interact with the public,” Knickerbocker said. “We get to clear up misconceptions about the Marine Corps and reinforce the good things.”
For many observers, the Marines’ visit holds an even greater significance.
Marine veteran Steve Zeisel, a native of Cleveland, brought his wife Jennifer and two children, Lauren and Drew, to experience things he remembers from his time as a radio operator in the Corps.
“I remember all this stuff,” Zeisel said who served from 1990-1996. “I’m excited to get to show all this stuff to my kids.”
Zeisel and others in the city will see the full Marine Corps experience through an array of events like Marine Corps martial arts demonstrations, vehicle and aircraft static displays, and military working dog demonstrations. One of the final events June 16-17 will be a Marine Air Ground Task Force demonstration, which showcases Marines’ abilities to assault a beach moving from ship to shore with ground and air assets.
Cleveland is truly in for an exciting week full of all the Marine Corps has to offer.
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