An Independence Weekend patriotic event: Top Gun pioneer shares story in Eureka

“Chronicles of A Top Gun Pioneer” with Captain Kevin M. Smith U.S. Navy (Ret.) is a film screening and live discussion event.

Smith will be appearing two times during Independence Week.

All are invited to this free public event. Showtimes at the Eureka Opera House are July 3 at 3:00 p.m. with an encore performance July 5 at 2:00 p.m.

Join Captain Smith for an amazing look into the life and times of a Navy Fighter Pilot, Top Gun Pioneer, and Squadron Commander embarked aboard the USS Constellation, operating at the “Tip-Of-The-Spear” in defense of this great nation, the United States of America.

Captain Smith has a book, “The Sonic Warrior.” Famously known as Top Gun, the Navy Fighter Weapons School was critical to mission success. This involved quickly revamping close-in-air combat training for flight crews being deployed to Vietnam. And Captain Kevin Smith, a Sonic Warrior who operated fighter planes above the speed of sound, helped lead the way to solving one of aviation’s great challenges. Smith’s The Sonic Warrior offers a riveting inside look at his role in the launch of Top Gun. The memoir is also an inspiring study in leadership and critical thinking, providing Smith’s valuable insight into optimizing human performance in any high-stakes, intense operation.

The book came out just before the highly anticipated release of Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the 1986 iconic box-office hit.