SEATTLE — Longtime Seattle-area residents and philanthropists Dave and Sandy Sabey were celebrated at a ceremony Nov. 19, 2019, honoring their $50,000 donation to the Museum of Flight‘s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park.
Behind the podium was the park’s centerpiece, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress flown during the Vietnam War. The fundraising campaign, started by Vietnam veterans, is called Project Welcome Home.
“Boeing has made an indelible mark on the Pacific Northwest and beyond for more than a century,” said Dave Sabey. “We are honored to help return this iconic B-52 Stratofortress to its original condition and help The Museum of Flight with this very important effort.”
Honoring Vietnam veterans and the B-52 has special meaning for Sabey and his family, he said. Sabey’s brother, Dean, served in an air cavalry division in Vietnam. Both their parents had long careers at Boeing.
“Like many Boeing families, our blood runs blue,” Sabey said. “We have much to thank The Boeing Company for what they’ve done, and we have much to thank veterans like my brother, Dean, who have helped preserve American ideals like equal opportunity and that nothing is impossible if we work together.”
“This big-hearted support from Dave and Sandy Sabey ensures that the B-52 restoration project is completed in 2019,” said Matt Hayes, president and CEO of The Museum of Flight. “Project Welcome Home has been a passion project for a dedicated group who wanted to create a place where people can learn about and reflect on the Vietnam War.”
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park is slated to open in 2019 and will include the restored B-52 towering over a serene landscaped setting that also includes a statue honoring all military veterans who served during the war. There will be no admission price for visiting the park.
Founded in 1965, the independent, non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, serving 600,000 visitors annually. The museum’s collection includes more than 160 historically significant airplanes and spacecraft, from the first fighter plane (1914) to today’s 787 Dreamliner.
Attractions at the 20-acre, five-building Seattle campus include the original Boeing Company factory, the NASA Space Shuttle Trainer and an exhibit of the rocket engines used to launch Apollo astronauts to the Moon.