French Air Force Hosts Journalist on 8-Jet Virginia Mission for July 4 Diplomacy Story
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 4
French Air Force Hosts Journalist on 8-Jet Virginia Mission for July 4 Diplomacy Story
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 4
Summary
Eight French fighter jets were readied at a NASA airfield in eastern Virginia for a mission carrying a journalist invited to report on France's role in America's independence story.
The flight followed a day of medical screening, including an EKG and other checks, before the reporter was cleared to fly in a green flight suit with helmet and ejector-seat briefing.
The article frames the ride less as an adventure piece than as a diplomatic window into how France wants Americans to remember its contribution on the Fourth of July.