Fighter pilot hopes to inspire new generation

Childhood dreams sometimes can seem unattainable.

U.S. Marine Maj. Paul Blair is living his.

“Every kid wants to be a fighter pilot, just not everyone actually follows through with it,” said Blair, who will fly one of two F/A-18 Hornets over the National Peanut Festival on Saturday morning. “Everyone starts off fascinated by being an astronaut or a fighter pilot, (but) they end up being doctors, lawyers or going into the family business.”

Blair, who grew up in Dothan, remembers being awed by the glimpses of military aircraft he experienced as a child.

“Dothan used to have an air show that came here. I just remember all the helicopters from Fort Rucker would come down, and a few jets would come in from Moody (Air Force Base), and I think just looking at them is where I got the bug to fly like every kid does,” Blair said. “That’s really one of the reasons we’re here is to give the younger kids a chance to see it and let them catch the fever, too.”

Judging by children like William White, that strategy is working.

“It was good. I liked all the buttons, and there’s this little button you can move, and you can drop a missile and shoot them and stuff,” said White, who said he wants to fly fighter jets one day. “This is my first time being in a jet and a plane.”

Blair serves as an example for children like White that their dreams can come true.

“Dothan High, Wallace Junior College, Troy State Dothan—that’s the extent of my education. Everything was right here in Dothan, and I’m doing the same thing all the guys who went to the Naval Academy or went to Princeton are doing,” Blair said. “If I can become a fighter pilot, anyone can do it. You have to have the will and desire to do it.”

Blair joined the Marine Corps at age 17 to ensure himself a college education thanks to the GI Bill. Soon, however, opportunity knocked.

“A recruiter came in one day to our reserve center and said, ‘Who wants to be a pilot?’ I raised my hand, and he told me what to do, and I did it. Next thing you know, here I am,” Blair said.