MIAMI, Okla.- In the lobby of the Miami Regional Airport you can now find a bit of British history.
During the 1940's British pilots invaded Miami and headed to the regional airport, which became a training school for British cadets.
John Weigel remembers as a 10-year-old seeing the pilots fly over his home.
"They would take off and come over our place and circle around," he said.
He said he doesn't remember too much about the British pilots being in Northeastern Oklahoma, but does recall a bit about why they came.
"They were coming over here to fly because they couldn't over there with the Germans chasing them," Weigel said.
City staff report more than 1300 British pilots earned their wings and graduated from the training school, before heading back to Europe. 15 pilots, some as young as 20-years-old ended up dying during training. Those pilots are now buried in G.A.R. Cemetery, nearby the airport
Recently the city hired a local artist to paint a mural capturing Miami's British history.
"I was excited about it because I love history," artist Jessica Stout said. "I think the history of the flight school here during World War II was really interesting."
She said given her interest in history, she had a great time painting the mural that is now on display for anyone to see as they pass through the airport.
"Just really excited that I was asked to be a part of this historic event really," Stout said. "And to help beautify this great little airport in our community."
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