Monday’s the Wright Day to Celebrate in Central New York

That's Lite 98.7's own midday host Naomi Lynn, posing next to a model of the Wright Brothers' famous airplane in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Monday, December 17th is Wright Brothers Day, so declared by Congress in 1963 and reaffirmed annually by presidential proclamation, in order to officially recognize the efforts of Orville and Wilbur Wright with their famous first flight on December 17, 1903. Their intrepid spirit paved the way for future flight, modern airports, walks on the moon, and other important achievements in aviation.

And National Wright Brothers Day seems especially apropos in Central New York, given the regional and national importance of Rome's Griffiss Air Base, commissioned in 1941 and completed in 1942.

The air base was named in 1948 to honor Lieutenant Colonel Townsend Griffiss. A Buffalo native and West Point graduate, Griffiss was the first U.S. airman to be killed in the line of duty during World War II.

So, give a nod to the Wright Brothers. Without their first flight, there might be no Griffiss, no Air Force research at Rome Labs, and no Hancock International Airport in Syracuse.