This story was updated at 11 a.m. to add that the flyover included a facility in Takoma Park.
As Maryland saluted “Healthcare Heroes” on Saturday, hundreds of people gathered in the Suburban Hospital neighborhood and scanned the sky.
They were looking for the special guests — formations of jets from the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds.
When a few eagle eyes spotted the jets and alerted the rest of the crowd shortly before 11:50 a.m., spectators on both sides of Old Georgetown Road turned their eyes to focus on the speeding planes. A few people cheered and clapped.
Seconds later, the jets were out of range, continuing their flight pattern over the D.C. region.
The Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds, which passed over the Baltimore area before coming to D.C., Montgomery County and Northern Virginia, are doing flyovers at hospitals and medical facilities, one city at a time.
Local hospitals in their path included Suburban in Bethesda and Holy Cross in Silver Spring. The jets also flew over other facilities, including the National Institutes of Health and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, both in Bethesda, and the former Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, which is being used for extra beds to help with a surge in cases.
Gov. Larry Hogan declared Saturday “Healthcare Heroes Day” to salute “healthcare workers, first responders and essential personnel” for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even though Hogan has issued an executive order prohibiting large gatherings, state officials and local police allowed the local crowd to gather, with the condition that people be safe and practice social distancing.
There were scattered clusters of people together on Saturday, but, overall, the crowd was fairly spread out along sidewalks and on the grass around Suburban as people waited for the jets. Some people wore face coverings; some did not.
Montgomery County police kept the public out of the Suburban Hospital campus and monitored the crowd.
Drew Ezrine toted his 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Brooke, on his shoulders as they watched together. Brooke’s mother, Marisa, stood with a stroller. Brooke liked the jets and wanted them to come back for more, her mother said.
Marisa Ezrine said the event was further reinforcement of their message to Brooke to be thankful.
The family lives near the Bethesda police station. Brooke made “thank you” signs and rainbows to hang in the windows. Her parents called the police to let them know. Some came of the station to look and wave.
Robert Molina of Bethesda came to Suburban Hospital on Saturday to celebrate the staff after having spent time there as a patient last month. Molina said he was feeling dizzy and had an MRI there on April 3, then ended up staying two more days.
As someone with other medical conditions, he was worried, but the staff put him at ease. One nurse was so kind to him, he wrote a letter of thanks to the hospital.
“They’re doing a magnificent job,” he said.
John Wise watched on the sidewalk along Old Georgetown Road with his wife, Rosemary, and 13-year-old son Ryan.
He said he showed up last weekend for what was advertised as the flyover, but it turned out to be the wrong day. His family was glad to honor healthcare workers and get out for some fresh air.
“We’ve spent a lot of time cooped up at home,” he said.
Jonna Stoycos, whose family lives not far from Suburban, said it was nice to support the staff. She said her children have done that by putting flags on their car.
Last month, the neighborhood expressed its gratitude with sidewalk chalk messages. Neighbors told the hospital and sent photos, and some employees came out to look.
On Saturday, some employees stood on a roof above the front entrance to watch the display.
After it was over, there were a few moments of honking horns in the passing traffic. That turned into a few more moments of applause among the spectators. Employees waved back in acknowledgement.
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