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A member of the Blue Angels flight team made quite an impression on some veterans in Great Falls on Friday - without leaving the ground.

Montana Veterans Memorial president Gina Winters was joined by area veterans in giving Blue Angels flight surgeon Jason Smith a tour of the Montana Veteran's Memorial.

Lieutenant Smith says the Blue Angels try to visit attractions in every city where they perform.

Today's visit to the Montana Veterans Memorial was memorable not only for Lieutenant Smith but also for the veterans in attendance.

Larry Malby, one of the veterans at Friday's event, noted, "All of us who have anything to do with this memorial are very, very proud of what we have accomplished here. Obviously we like to share that with people. We especially like to share that with special people like the Blue Angels."

Lieutenant Smith said, "A large part of our mission in the Blue Angels is to go around the country to places that may not have a high military concentration and having a place like this is exactly in line with that type of mission, just remembering what our men and women in uniform have done in the past and what they're doing right now."

Lieutenant Smith says that every tour site takes plenty of preparation, but Great Falls has the added challenge of being the highest altitude city the group has visited this year.