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Frontline Workers Honored: Pa. Air National Guard Salutes Hospital Workers With Flyover

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Eyes that have seen so much in the fight against COVID-19 gazed skyward from Pittsburgh, to Monroeville, to Johnstown and Harrisburg. Operation American Resolve came to the Commonwealth today, a military salute to those in the COVID-19 fight.

In other places, it's been the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels but the Pennsylvania tribute was home grown.

The 171st Refueling Wing in Pittsburgh and the 193rd Special Operations Wing out of Harrisburg flew a KC-135 tanker and a EC-130J transport in a half mile trail over the front line workers.

Lt. Col. Curtis Mulkey had the controls of the transport.

"We use this as an opportunity to say thank you to the men and women in the medical field who are on the front line helping throughout this pandemic," said Mulkey.

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(Photo Credit: KDKA)

From Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, the planes made their way to the Med of Oakland, then on to Mercy Hospital, to downtown Pittsburgh as people watched along Grandview Avenue on Mt Washington. Then it was a turn over Allegheny General on the North Side and on to Shadyside Hospital.

As the plane passed overhead the health care workers got a break from the constant threat of their work and waved and applauded.

"Knowing that we have our community partners out there supporting us, and certainly our military support, that is just unbelievably humbling," said Leeanna McKibben of UPMC.

WATCH: Web Extra Video Of The Flyover --

"There's substantial risk with this virus," says Dr. Mark Rubino, the President of Forbes Hospital. "Despite that, these health care employees, they go and they do what is necessary to take care of our patients."

While this was a salute to the Health Care and EMS workers, McKibben says they hope it serves as a reminder that the threat is not over: "We really can't have that belief in our community. We really need to make sure that we're figuring out how to live life with covid. We need to establish a new norm."

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