It began as a small speck in the western sky.

Looking, straining, eyes glued toward the heavens colored peach and blue by a spectacular summer sunset, a small group of friends and family, some waving American flags, waited on the tarmac at LaGrange-Callaway Airport shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday.

“There it is!” Dale Townsend exclaimed, pointing excitedly toward the fast-moving dot on the horizon.

The retired Delta Air Lines pilot had seen air combat in Vietnam. He knew exactly what to look for.

His wife, Susan Townsend, felt herself overcome by anticipation and emotion.

“At first it was like a silhouette,” she recalled. “Then, within moments, he was there in front of us.”

“He” is Marine fighter pilot Michael Townsend, their 27-year-old son, given the rare opportunity to make a training approach at his hometown airport at the controls of an F/A -18 Hornet.

“There was a powerful rumble,” said Dean Thompson, one of the family friends gathered to witness the spectacle. “The jet soared in front of us a few hundred yards above the runway on its practice approach maneuver. It descended slowly and at a precise moment, the powerful jet engines thrust this mighty aircraft up and away into the fading sunset.”

While the jet didn’t get to land - the maneuver was only a practice - the Townsends and their friends were awestruck.

“I was just so proud,” Susan Townsend said. “In one moment, I thought of all the grit and determination, the hurdles he’s had to overcome to achieve all he’s been able to achieve. I was just so happy for him.”

1st Lt. Michael Townsend was awestruck, too.

“The town turned out!” he commented later.

Actually it was more like 25 friends and relatives, assembled on short notice and with no real assurance of what they would actually see.

“But we got to see him turn around and then the afterburners. When it was over, we all wished for an instant replay,” Susan Townsend said.

The group lingered at the airport about 20 minutes “rejoicing and jumping up and down,” she said.

The emotion lingered, too.

“My heart was filled with pride and tears were streaming down my cheeks as I turned to embrace Michael’s parents,” Thompson said. “We were truly moved, and it was at that moment I realized that it wasn’t about this incredible flying machine but all about a young man living his dream.”

A LaGrange High School graduate, Townsend always planned on a career as a pilot. He earned his pilot’s license while still a freshman at the University of Georgia, joined the ROTC and decided on the Marines in his sophomore year, entering the corps after his 2004 graduation. He finished first in his class in the tough Marine pilot training program.

Townsend was on a cross country navigation training exercise from California to Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta when he and his instructor pilot made the flyover in LaGrange.

It’s not unusual for pilots to practice maneuvers at neighboring airports on such exercises, but rare that one’s hometown would be an option, said Dale Townsend, who trained pilots on T-38s during his own years in the military.

Though immensely proud of his son, Townsend saw the flyover as part of a bigger picture. He hopes the young pilot’s experience might serve as an inspiration to others.

“We need to emphasize to our young people that there is opportunity out there, if you go for it. Study hard, work hard and you can be rewarded.”

Thompson echoed those sentiments.

“I’ve known Michael since he was 2 years old and never have I witnessed anyone with such passion, focus and dedication to accomplishing his goal,” he said. “… As the aircraft became a distant speck once again, I thought about this terrific lesson in life regarding passion, dedication, focus and an abundance of hard work. Semper Fi, Michael Townsend, a great American.”