MEDORA, N.D. – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced today the North Dakota Air National Guard 119th Wing, known as the Happy Hooligans, will be doing a flyover at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. The Happy Hooligans, based in Fargo, will fly an MQ-9 Reaper, which Air Force Chief of Staff General Kenneth Wilsbach recently referred to as the MVP of Operation Epic Fury.
While the original flyover plan was scuttled by the military due to “real-life circumstances,” and with very little time to authorize an alternative, Cramer, who chairs the Senate Armed Services (SASC) Airland Subcommittee, contacted Air Combat Command Commander General Adrian Spain and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
“You don’t often get to see an MQ-9 Reaper doing a flyover,” said Cramer. “In fact, this might be the first one. But thanks to the leadership of the Department of War, the Air Force, and Air Combat Command, North Dakota’s own Happy Hooligans from the 119th Wing in Fargo will fly one over the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library on the Fourth of July. It’s a fitting tribute to the men and women who serve with excellence and exemplifies their ability to turn on a dime and shift gears and do something never done before. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and we weren’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
It’s unknown whether an MQ-9 Reaper has ever performed a ceremonial flyover, making this a truly historic tribute to the adaptability and tenacity of the Happy Hooligans and the North Dakota National Guard. For decades, the 119th Wing has proudly carried Theodore Roosevelt’s silhouette on the tails of its aircraft, including the F-16s that helped protect the skies over the U.S. Capitol in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.