American Idol singer to help celebrate Air Force Memorial's 10th anniversary

The Air Force on Oct. 14 will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the service's national memorial with performances by American Idol singer Melinda Doolittle and the Air Force Band and a flyover of vintage airplanes.

The Air Force Memorial's anniversary ceremony will also feature appearances by radio personality Adrian Cronauer of "Good Morning, Vietnam" fame and television journalist Bob Schieffer. Doolittle placed third during the sixth season of American Idol in 2007, and released her debut album in 2009.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James will be dubbed an honorary member of the Tuskegee Airmen and presented with a Tuskegee red jacket, which represents the red-painted tails on the P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs those pilots flew in World War II.

The ceremony will also feature the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation, which conducts aerial performances of World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War-era fighters to honor and display the Air Force's history.

The memorial, which is located near the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, was dedicated on Oct. 14, 2006. Its central features are three soaring spires that are 201, 231 and 270 feet high, which were designed to evoke planes conducting a bomb burst maneuver. The three spires also represent three of four planes performing a Missing Man formation, according to the memorial's website, as well as standing for the service's three core values of integrity first, service before self, and excellence.

The memorial is managed by the Air Force Association, and more than 1.7 million people have visited it over the last decade.