Gilmer airport hosts nonprofit flying experience
Three World War II veterans from Blue Ridge took to the skies last week as part of a nonprofit’s trek across the eastern U.S.
The Dream Flights, conducted by the visiting organization of the same name, were hosted at the Gilmer County Airport. Staff of the Nevada-based Dream Flights travel the country giving military veterans an opportunity to fly in a vintage plane, either again or for the first time.
“It’s an organization that’s been going for many years now, and it was started by the founder, Daryl Fisher,” said Jenny Garza, a Dream Flights crew chief. “The first Dream Flight was out of Oxford, Miss., with one Stearman biplane that was his father’s. We now have six Stearmen in the fleet, and we’re barnstorming the U.S. giving our WWII veterans a ride in one of the planes.”
John Otwell, Bill Langford and Hoyt Campbell — all residents of a Blue Ridge assisted living facility — were taken up in a 1943 Boeing Stearman biplane once used to train military pilots.
Each got to sit in the biplane’s open-air front cockpit, while Dream Flights pilot, Hunter Stuckey, steered from the rear cockpit. Personnel from the airport and Gilmer Fire and Rescue assisted in helping the veterans, all of whom are in their 90s, get in and out of the plane.
“The airport is part of the Gilmer community, and we support our service members,” said Justin Heitman, Gilmer County Airport manager. “If we can help organizations like Dream Flights, we will go above and beyond what is needed to show our commitment to those who have served.”
Dream Flights representative Katie Moore said, this year, the organization is specifically honoring WWII veterans, recognizing the 75th anniversary of the war’s end.
“All four gentlemen were asked to fly because of their World War II service. The Blue Ridge facility nominated these veterans to receive a flight, so we contacted the Gilmer County Airport to see if they would be willing to host us. They were, gladly,” she added.
Garza said funding for the flights is raised through donations and sponsors. The planes are outfitted somewhat like NASCAR vehicles with sponsor decals affixed to their bodies.
“Our biggest sponsors are Sports Clips, Veterans United Home Loans and American Airlines. It’s all complimentary and free (for the veterans),” Garza said.
Although some of the men who flew last week hadn’t been in that type of aircraft for many years — or had never flown in one at all — they were all eager to occupy the snug Stearman cockpit, strap on their headgear and take off from the runway.
After their flights touched back down, each of the three WWII vets received a signed Dream Flights baseball cap and were asked to autograph the plane’s star-spangled rudder where signatures from past flyers had been left.
When asked by Stuckey if he’d also like to sign a poster commemorating the event, John Otwell, 97, responded with a proud “Hell yeah!”
“I enjoyed it,” he said of the unique experience.
For Otwell, who grew up in East Point near the Atlanta airport, serving in the Navy from Dec. 1941-Dec. 1945 included trips to Iceland and being stationed in the Pacific.
“I stayed out there the rest of the war. We moved all around. Guadalcanal was one of the main bases,” he remembered.
Otwell said going up in the plane was just something he wanted to do. He hadn’t flown in a plane like the ‘43 Stearman, but remembered ones like them from the war.
“They were a little older, but they weren’t (back) then,” he said.
Hoyt Campbell, who was in the Army during WWII, has lived in Blue Ridge since 1938. The former military policeman said he’s long been fascinated by airplanes.
“I’ve just always enjoyed riding in them,” he said.
“He and mama rode airplanes, probably in the ‘50s or ‘60s, down in Atlanta,” said son, Steve Campbell. “They were having rides, and my uncle worked down there, so they took off to one of the airports.”
After learning about Dream Flights from the assisted living center, Steve thought it would give his dad, who’ll soon be 95, one more opportunity to cut through the clouds.
“I think it’s wonderful that they’re doing this for the veterans. It means a lot to them,” he said. “These gentlemen from World War II are getting old, and they won’t be with us much longer.”
During the war, Bill Langford was on a ship that took tanks to Iwo Jima. After being helped down from the Stearman’s front cockpit last Tuesday, he beamed from the thrill of flying on a clear day.
“This is great. It was a great flight,” Langford said.
“He can turn that thing around on a dime!” he remarked about Stuckey’s piloting skills.
Garza said the planes used by Dream Flights are kept in different locations across the U.S. and ferried from place to place.
“The planes had various uses after the war. Some of them were crop-dusters, and we had them restored,” she added.
Before coming to Ellijay, the crew had been to Chattanooga, Tenn., and the 50th annual National Stearman Fly-In in Galesburg, Ill. From the Gilmer airport, they headed toward Atlanta to make memories with another group of WWII veterans.
“Our tour (will last) about another seven days, and we’ll end in Charleston. When we’re done, we’ll head back to Mississippi,” Garza said.