B-2 bomber fly-by slated for SEMO game Thursday

A B-2 Spirit bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, Missouri, will fly over Houck Stadium today immediately prior to the start of Southeast Missouri State University's season-opening football game against SIU-Carbondale.

"This is the third flyover I've helped arrange," said Bruce Loy, a member of Southeast's Redhawks Club — formerly known as the Booster Club — and manager of Cape Girardeau Regional Airport from 1997 to 2020.

Loy said the one-pass flyby will mark the second appearance of the stealth aircraft at Houck.

"The first time, back in 2018 if memory serves, rain and extensive cloud cover made (the B-2) very hard to see, so it'll be nice to see it this time in good weather," he said.

The plane, piloted by Capt. Lauren Kram, call sign "Fuze," will pass over the venue during the national anthem as the SEMO marching band performs.

Co-pilot Capt. John "Rocket" Kennedy and ground controller Capt. Keith "Risk" Stock comprise the remainder of the three-person crew from Whiteman.

"It's quite a feather in our cap to get the B-2," Loy said, noting the plane was first authorized in the late 1970s during the Carter administration and took its first operational flight in 1989. "(The military) tells me it sees a recruitment opportunity by doing these events and it's a way for the community to honor the service of members of the military."

Known as the War for the Wheel game, kickoff between SEMO and SIU is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.

Loy said there is no cost to the university for hosting the Cold War-era bomber.