The big easy Panchito party on Spanish Plaza.

New Orleans, which suffered the devastation inflicted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, remains a city of spirit and celebration as it builds better lives for its citizens. The DAV is helping New Orleans reclaim its former glory as The Crescent City gateway to America.

To champion this cause, DAV is bringing the legendary "Panchito" to town to help celebrate our 86th National Convention August 10 - 14, 2007. A restored World War II B-25 Mitchell bomber, "Panchito" enjoys the reputation of achieving the impossible during one of America's darkest hours.

On April 18, 1942, just months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, It. Col. Jimmy Doolittle led a squadron of sixteen B-25s from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet on a daring, top-secret mission against the enemy. Though conceived as a diversion that would boost American and allied morale, the Doolittle Raid was the first U.S. air strike on the Japanese home islands and a bold first step on the long road to victory.

"Panchito" and her crew will fly from Oshkosh, Wisconsin to the New Orleans Lakefront Airport where the bomber--all 53 feet and 30,000 pounds of her - will be carefully loaded aboard a commercial barge on August 8 and readied for passage through the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal and the Intracoastal Waterway to the Mississippi River. The historic warbird will travel downriver past the French Quarter to her final destination along the Riverwalk at Spanish Plaza where she will be offloaded and remain on public display until August 14.

All DAV members and the citizens of New Orleans are invited to celebrate the resurrection of "The Big Easy," the rehabilitation of disabled veterans and the proud history of this warbird.

2007 marks the 65th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid and the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force.