The big band sound of Glenn Miller’s “Sentimental Journey” wafted over the loudspeakers as a great silver B-17 Flying Fortress rumbled across the sky.

Men in olive drab fatigues and aviator jackets gathered on the tarmac as the big metal bird jockeyed for air time with a Japanese A5M Nakajima Kate torpedo bomber, a navy blue Navy F4U Corsair, and the scourge of 1943 England — a German Heinkel He-111 bomber, adorned with swastikas and practically dripping with bad Nazi mojo.

No, this wasn’t the recollection of some former World War II ace reliving his glory days (though there were plenty of these men on hand); it was the three-day Warbird Fly-In 2000 held at Moore County Airport this weekend.

There were about 40 vintage aircraft representing and honoring all those who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The event was a “salute to yesterday,” sponsored by the Carolinas Wing of the Confederate Air Force, and the antique airplanes brought back bittersweet memories for many of the veterans in attendance.

Retired Marine Capt. Joe Tobul stood proudly beside his F4U Corsair, talking with reverence of the 200-plus missions this particular airplane flew on during the Korean War, and with even more reverence for the men he served with in Asia.

“This plane got shot up pretty good, but she came through the war all right,” said Tobul. “She’s like a lot of veterans — all nicked up but still ready to go.

“Looking around at all the veterans we have here today and all these fine airplanes truly makes me proud to be an American and to have done my part for preserving freedom. There are a lot of men and a lot of airplanes here today that every American owes a great debt to. These are the men and the machines that have kept our standard of living the highest in the world.”

Of all the planes scattered around the tarmac, none drew a bigger crowd than the aforementioned B-17, the workhorse of the American aerial effort during World War II. More than 40,000 servicemen lost their lives aboard these long-range bombers.

The Flying Fortress that was on display for the Sandhills is one of just 30 that are still in flying condition. Indeed, it was flown cross-country for this event by members of the Arizona Wing of the Confederate Air Force. So popular was the vintage bomber that bombardier wannabes stood in line and gladly paid $350 for a chance to soar through the heavens aboard the appropriately named “Sentimental Journey.”

Posing for a picture under the nose of the B-17 — with a faithful reproduction of a painted Betty Grable looking down upon him from the plane’s silver skin — was former 94th Bomb Group Flying Fortress navigator and current Carthage resident Cleet Cleetwood.

Cleetwood participated in 13 missions aboard a plane just like this one, getting in on the action just as the war’s machinery was winding down.

“I was lucky and didn’t start flying missions until 1945,” Cleetwood said as he wore his Uncle Sam-issue aviator jacket and leather flight cap. “I had only been flying missions for six months and was scheduled to be transferred to the Pacific Theater — but luckily, the war ended before that happened.

“But I did get to see some things in my short time. I remember that the Germans were running out of gas, and I was with a bombing group that was equipped with rocket bombs underneath the wings — regular bombs would just bounce off our targets.

“However, in order to put these rocket bombs on the plane, we had to give up our 2,000-pound turret gun, which means we had five times the normal fighter support when we went out on a mission. They were just buzzing around us and the Germans had too much on their hands to do anything about us. So, other than a little flak, I never came under serious enemy fire.”

Cleetwood was also aboard the first plane to drop napalm on a target — a weapon so horrible that it caused the complete and total capitulation of German forces at the French city of Bordeaux.

“They had held out the whole war, and after we dropped that napalm on them, they came out and surrendered the next day. It was, and is, a terrible weapon, and those German troops had had enough.”

But not all of the Warbird Fly-In memories were of conflict and conflagration. Many new memories were made, particularly for 6-year-old Eddie Jones of Aberdeen, who easily walked under the sleek wings of one of the very first jet fighters — the Korean War-era T-33A.

“It looks like a big bullet with wings,” Jones said as he touched the aerodynamic nose with his diminutive hand. “Someday I want to fly one just like this.”

Saturday’s festivities came to a fitting end with a USO show and hangar dance that combined big band music with dancers in period uniforms and refreshments for the troops.

This year’s Warbird Fly-In was the fifth such event sponsored by the North Carolina chapter of the CAF.