Blue Angels Spark Mixed Reactions From South Seattle Residents

For many lifelong South End residents, watching the Blue Angels' jets fly over the city during the Seafair Weekend Festival is a staple they expect every summer.

"I love them," Peggy Masterson said while walking in Seward Park. "I like the noise … they come every year for my birthday."

Masterson used to go to the park to watch the jets fly overhead. Lately, she tends to stay away from the crowds and watches them from afar.

But in recent years, there's been a growing push for Seafair to cut its 50-year ties with the F/A-18 Super Hornets, arguing the jets pose health risks and triggers for survivors of war trauma. As community advocates are working to spread their message ahead of this weekend's festival, many don't want to say goodbye to what they consider a summer tradition.

"The Blue Angels are wonderful to watch … [but] sometimes other people's fun can be dangerous for the people that live below," said Breck Lebegue, a former Air Force flight surgeon. He stressed the health risks for South Seattle residents, citing a UW study that found neighborhoods near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are already more likely to be exposed to aircraft pollution.

"It's not healthy for our lungs, it's not healthy for our hearts," Lebegue said.

When Kimberly Larson first witnessed the Blue Angels show in 2002, it triggered a trauma response. She was in Washington, D.C., during the Sept. 11 attacks a year prior, the over 20-year Beacon Hill resident said.

"We're triggering a whole bunch of residents," Larson said. "How are we calling Seattle a sanctuary city, welcoming refugees and people from war-torn countries?"

Her experience eventually led her to join the Air Show Climate Action Coalition (ASCAC), which unveiled a billboard at Rainier Avenue and Rose Street on July 22 in Rainier Valley.

"Too loud. War trauma. Pollution," the billboard reads.

ASCAC hopes to encourage Seattleites to imagine a Seafair without the Blue Angels' jets.

"This has been pitched as fun for decades," Larsen said. "Many of us [in ASCAC] used to love the air shows, and now we can move on."

The coalition's end goal is to get Seafair to terminate its contract with the Blue Angels, a team of 140 sailors and Marines that perform shows around the country year-round. Other organizations are joining ASCAC in its fight. Michael McPhearson, executive director of the Veterans for Peace Seattle Chapter (and former executive director of the South Seattle Emerald), doesn't consider himself to suffer from PTSD from his time in serving in the U.S. Army. But when he first heard the jets practicing near his home in northern Beacon Hill, he said a single tear ran down his face.

"That was a mild reaction, whereas people who have seen or experienced war trauma would have a much more unsettling reaction," McPhearson said. "The public doesn't understand the impact it has on people. And I do wonder how many people really care."

In a statement on the Blue Angels' website, flight leader Adam Bryan announced that the fighter jets have "the unique ability to highlight the importance of naval aviation while honoring its historical significance."

Seafair did not respond to a request for comment.

But not everyone in the South End is ready to hang up the longtime tradition. For lifelong Rainier Valley residents Auzhane Washington and Lay Harris, the Blue Angels' show is a staple they look forward to every summer. The two friends usually go down to the water's edge to watch the show.

"It's a free event for the kids … Seafair weekend is way more fun than any other thing going on in the summer," Harris said. "[Holidays like] Fourth of July last way longer than Seafair weekend. People pop fireworks for months."

Washington and Harris argued that people suffering from PTSD have time to prepare for any triggers the jets might bring.

"It's only for a weekend … or multiple times a year," Washington said. "At some point, you gotta take into consideration what you decide to pursue. You can't move somewhere and want people to stop what they're doing."

Editors' Note: Michael McPhearson previously served as the executive director of the South Seattle Emerald.