Full Metal Tattoo – open warfare on the streets of Listowel
ANOTHER ear-popping weekend of madcap military fun and historic spectacle was enjoyed on the streets and green spaces of Listowel as the sixth annual Military Tattoo went off with a bang.
It was that piece of military hardware, the chopper, which formed one of the big spectacles of the 2017 festival - in commemoration of an extraordinary Kerry man regarded as a legendary aviator during the Vietnam War.
The late Tralee native Captain John O’Sullivan risked his life countless times to save his brothers-in-arms during the hideous conflict, regularly flying the iconic ‘Huey’ helicopters into jungle battlezones.
On one memorable day in that conflict he was shot down not once, but three separate times - returning to his unit to fly out the next Huey to pluck marines from hotzones.
For all this he was to become the second most decorated pilot in the entire war.
“The commemoration ceremony we held in Capt O’Sullivan’s memory was spine-tingling to be honest,” Tattoo PRO Denis Carroll told The Kerryman.
The Tralee high-flyer survived Vietnam intact, returning home to Ireland eventually for life as a commercial helicopter pilot.
“We were delighted to have been joined by Capt O’Sullivan’s wife Siobhán, family and former comrades. Ms O’Sullivan was deeply impressed by the occasion as were the veterans of his former unit who had known of his legendary status,” Denis added.
Military hardware and fun abounded across Listowel, with choppers putting down on the Island over the two days. However, the main warbird attraction - a real, Vietnam-era Huey flown over from the UK had to depart earlier than foreseen on Sunday to get back across the Irish Sea before the winds became stronger.
“A new initiative this year that Oonagh Harnett conceived went down a storm in a treasure hunt for children. Oonagh had businesses put clues in their windows, things like pictures of Winston Churchill with a quote of his so it was an incredibly educational event for all the young ones too,” Denis added, vowing another unique Tattoo would take place in 2018.