Delaware Veterans Take to the Skies in Celebration of Service

DOVER, Del. | Nine Delaware veterans took to the skies Wednesday, September 2, climbing aboard a restored 1942 Boeing Stearman biplane for an experience that was part tribute, part adventure and, for some, a powerful return to another chapter of their lives.

The flights were part of Dream Flights, a national nonprofit program created to honor senior veterans through the free experience of flight. The Delaware Health Care Facilities Association (DHCFA) coordinated the event for veterans living in its member long term care communities.

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For the veterans who participated, the day offered more than a flight above Delaware Airpark. It was a chance to be recognized for lives of service, surrounded by family members, friends, caregivers and fellow residents who came to celebrate them.

Each veteran received a 15-minute flight at approximately 1,000 feet above the ground in the open cockpit aircraft, the same type of plane once used to train U.S. military aviators during World War II. The aircraft was piloted by Darryl Fisher, founder and president of Dream Flights.

A Flight Back in Time

Among those taking flight was 89-year-old Terry Priebe, a resident of Gilpin Hall in Wilmington and a former U.S. Navy lieutenant and pilot.

Gilpin Hall Executive Director Paul Smiley, a Marine veteran who served as a Marine Airwing ground support mechanic from 1984 to 1989, accompanied Priebe to the event.

For Smiley, the experience carried its own memories.

"It was so nostalgic," Smiley said. "During my time in the Marines in the 1980s, we would start equipment and watch it all running. We'd watch the fighter jets taking off.I forgot how great it was to be around airplanes!"

But watching Priebe climb into the Stearman was even more meaningful.

"He was over the moon," Smiley said.

As Priebe settled into the aircraft and looked at the controls, memories from his years as a Navy pilot came rushing back.

"He said, 'It all came back to me,'" Smiley recalled.

Priebe's son later saw video from the event and shared with Smiley how meaningful the experience had been for his father.

"There are few gifts that are special and wonderful in life," he said. "This was one."

More Than a Flight

That sense of rediscovery is at the heart of Dream Flights, which since 2011 has honored more than 8,300 former service members from long term care communities across the country.

"Our mission is to give back to those who gave," Fisher said. "These veterans gave us our freedoms, they fought for us, they sacrificed, and this is our way of saying thank you."

The event also gave family members, caregivers and members of the community an opportunity to recognize the veterans not only for their military service, but for the lives they have continued to lead and the experiences they carry with them.

DHCFA member communities identified veterans who wanted to participate in the event, bringing together residents from communities throughout Delaware.

Honoring a Lifetime of Service

The 9 veterans who took flight ranged in age from 66 to 95 and represented the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. Their military experiences spanned several eras, including the Korean War and Vietnam War era, with veterans who served as pilots, paratroopers, mechanics and in other military roles.

The event also honored veterans who attended but did not take flight, including 104-year-old Harry Grandel of Kentmere Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing, a U.S. Army and U.S. Army Air Corps veteran who served during World War II and Korean War eras, and 103-year-old Helen Knapp of Kentmere, who served in the U.S. Women's Navy Reserve during World War II. Also recognized was 89-year-old Harry Sharp of Kutz Rehabilitation and Nursing, a U.S. Navy veteran who served as a boiler technician aboard the USS Basilone during the Vietnam War era.

The veterans who took flight received signed Dream Flight baseball caps, while the World War II veterans had the opportunity to sign their names on the tail of the historic aircraft.

For DHCFA, the event represents an opportunity to honor the people at the heart of Delaware's long term care communities and to celebrate the experiences, accomplishments and contributions of older adults.

And for the veterans who climbed into the Stearman, the experience offered something that cannot always be captured in photographs or words: the chance to feel, for a few unforgettable minutes, the freedom of flight and the memories of who they once were.

Sometimes, a flight can take someone somewhere entirely unexpected.

For these veterans, it brought a little piece of the past back to life.