Marni Magda’s father came alive for her Wednesday when she saw the Panther plane restored in his honor for the first time.

The Aviation Heritage Park dedicated the plane at the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport, with the help of a fly-in from the Blue Angels, and on Saturday will have a Hangar Party at the airport to further christen the plane and raise money for restoration of others.

Up close, Marni and her family from California, her brother, Dale, and his family from Florida marveled at the brightly painted blue and gold F9-F.

Johnny Magda, a Kentucky native and Western Kentucky University graduate, was shot down over Korea on March 8, 1951, when Marni was just 3 years old and Dale was 7.

After his death, little was spoken of their father, Dale said.

“I think it is a natural thing when someone loses their spouse to just not want to talk about it,” Dale said.

Marni said she began to know her father, a lieutenant commander in the Navy and commander of the Blue Angels, when Bob Kirby asked to nominate Johnny Magda for Western Kentucky University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

And then the Aviation Heritage Park began the process of looking for a plane similar to one flown by Magda.

Magda, who enlisted in the Navy in 1940 after graduating from WKU, served on various aircraft carriers and had his first documented close call in the Battle of Midway in August 1942 when his plane ran out of fuel after an attack on Japanese aircraft carriers and he had to ditch it in the Pacific Ocean. He was 33 when his jet burst into flames after being hit when attacking installations at Tanchon, Korea, on March 8, 1951.

“What is so wonderful about what they are doing is that they don’t just find an artifact but they tell a story about the person,” Marni said.

After being contacted, Marni said she began pouring over the letters that were written between her school teacher mother and pilot father while he was serving his country.

“It really took me two years before I was able to read those letters,” said Marni, also a school teacher.

Now Marni has written a book about her father, whom she said was a real hero.

A first draft is being read “by people in Kentucky who asked me to write it.” But she doesn’t yet have a publisher.

Because of his heroism, Johnny Magda received numerous medals, many of which Marni delivered Wednesday, along with his wings, to Aviation Heritage Park board member Bob Pitchford.

Pitchford, wiping tears from his eyes, was speechless when Marni showed him the boxes of the medals that will become part of the numerous artifacts the Aviation Heritage Park has.

Dale, a retired commercial airline pilot, recalled being taken to a Blue Angels air show as a young boy. He watched as one pilot spiraled about 15 times across the deck of a carrier.

“ ‘That’s your father,’ ” Dale said his mother told them.

The young boy was in awe of what his father could do and still marvels today while watching the Angels, he said.

On Wednesday they roared into Bowling Green in a six-man formation, circling the airport before landing and then pivoting on a dime into their parking spots on the airport tarmac.

Blue Angels Cmdr. Greg McWherter told the crowd of 150 or so that he was glad to be able to help dedicate Magda’s plane.

“This is in honor of one of the great heroes,” he said.

Blue Angel Chris Collins, a Marine major, said making such visits and flying airshows is part of the main mission of the Blue Angels.

“Right now with the economy, it’s not that hard to get people to enlist,” Collins said. “But it is those kids, who are 4- to 10-year-olds, looking up at the airshows who we are hoping to inspire … and want to join the military later on.”

One of the ground support for the team, Warren County native T.J. Coots, a Warren Central High School graduate, was on hand Wednesday to help with mechanical support for the flight. He got a workout when one of the jets shut down when they were about to take off.

Coots said a fuel tank caution light couldn’t be cleared. Not being his area of expertise, Coots called for support. They did a few things and attempted to leave again, but to no avail.

The plane spent the night at the airport and was expected to leave this morning.

Collins said he views working with the Blue Angels “as a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Five-year-old Tanner Jones, of Summer Shade, is one of those young folks Collins is hoping to influence.

Tanner, who came to the event with his father, Kiffen, presented one of the Blue Angels with a cap from his personal collection.

Tanner said he had a DVD of the Blue Angels and watches it frequently. His father is a pilot who buys and sells airplanes for a living.

“He comes with me most of the time,” he said. “He has over 300 hours of flying in.”

Jones said his son is allowed to take off and land while sitting in his lap.

Brad Barry, of New Mexico, was Johnny Magda’s wingman in Korea and was with him the day he was shot down.

Barry, who retired as a lieutenant commander, said when Magda brought his Blue Angels squadron into combat, he combined them with other forces already serving.

“For some reason he picked me,” he said. “Some people say flying these planes is like ballet. Well, watching Magda fly was like watching Dame Margot Fonteyn. He made it easy.”

Fonteyn is thought to be one of the best classical ballerinas ever.

Tickets are still available for Saturday’s Hangar Party that begins at 5 p.m. at the airport. A $30 ticket covers the cost of barbecue, drinks and entertainment by Tyrone Dunn Experiment. Tickets also are available at Ford’s Furniture, Sit and Sleep Outlet, Chuck’s Liquors and Barbara Stewart Interiors, and in Glasgow at Ford’s Furniture and Bailey Gibson GMC.