Dream Flights give veterans a ‘breath of fresh air’

For six Southwest Oklahoma veterans, their dreams took flight Tuesday morning at Lawton-Fort Sill Municipal Airport.

As a thank you and to honor their service, they were ready to get in the open-air cockpit of a 1942 PT-17 Boeing Steerman bi-plane and take to the skies.

It’s the overarching mission begun in 2011 for the non-profit Dream Flights, said pilot James Sims.

“Our biggest mission is going out and saying thank you vets,” he said. “This is such a great honor to get to do this.”

A veteran of over 500 flights in his four years as a volunteer, Sims said the program has flown over 6,700 veterans. He expects the number to be 7,200 by year’s end.

After taking his 15-minute flight at 1,000 feet for a sightseeing tour of the area surrounding the airfield, Army veteran Jim Henry from the McMahon Tomlinson Nursing and Rehabilitation Center couldn’t stop smiling.

“It was worth the wait,” he said. “It’s a breath of fresh air.”

Henry served in the Vietnam War during his 23-year career in Army Artillery. Following that, he received his degree from Cameron University before teaching at Lawton Public Schools for another 21 years.

When the activities director at McMahon asked Monday if he wanted to join those going airborne Tuesday morning, Henry said his first thought was “no.”

“First thing, I was shocked,” he said. “But when she came back in, I said I’ll do it.”

Henry had no regrets after climbing out of the cockpit.

“I’m so thankful I did it,” he said. “It was such an exciting experience.”

It wasn’t Henry’s first time in the air in a military vehicle. He said this was the most enjoyable, however,

“I’ve been on a helicopter in Vietnam,” he said, “but it was no sightseeing by any means.”

In league with Care Providers Oklahoma for Tuesday’s stop, Dream Flights was established for these veterans to feel like Henry did with his flight, Sims said. As World War II veteran numbers begin to decline, he said they are honored with their signatures on the tail flap. When this season is over, it will be retired to honor them.

Now, there are many who served in the Vietnam War that are taking their ranks. Sims said even some Desert Storm veterans are taking to the skies from the honor.

One of those modern-era vets who served in Operation Desert Storm is Shirley Hudson from English Village Skilled Nursing and Therapy in Altus.

Hudson retired from the Army as a staff sergeant following 16 years of service. She wore a smile like a badge of honor as she told Sims she, too, had been on a helicopter during her service but never a plane.

Like Henry, Hudson took her cellphone with her as the plane took to the skies. Sims shared with her the best places to take photos with her phone so the wind wouldn’t send it flying from her hand. He said it’s important.

“These are memories I want everybody to keep,” he said.

The plane will be in Oklahoma City on Wednesday and Tulsa on Thursday as the mission continues for Dream Flights.