Airborne honor for Weyauwega veterans
By James Card
Two Weyauwega military veterans were honored for their service by getting to go for a ride in an open-cockpit biplane on Saturday, Aug. 15, at the Waupaca Municipal Airport.
The “Spirit of Wisconsin” is a 1940 Boeing Stearman that was used in WWII as a training plane. The plane is operated by Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation and it is flown by pilot Darryl Fisher.
Timothy Trull of Weyauwega served as an Air Force fireman from 1975 to 1996. He served in Daegu, South Korea, Egypt and spent many cold months in Alaska.
He was no stranger to airplanes but it was a first time for him and many others to fly in a historic biplane.
Other veterans that went airborne include: Russell Klug (Weyauwega), Paul Nebel (King), Charles Ellingson (King), Martin Hefer (King), James Anderson (King) and Dave Sarna (Manawa).
The Dream Flights are 20 minutes long and they range about five miles out, usually swinging over the Chain O’ Lakes and the Wisconsin Veterans Home.
Two firefighters from the Waupaca Area Fire Department were there to lend a hand in getting the veterans into the tight cockpit.
Other volunteers who helped make this event possible were the Waupaca County Caregivers Coalition, Bethany Home, ProMedica, Synergy Homecare, Crossroads Care Center of Weyauwega, Mat and Britney Klatt (managers of the Waupaca airport), the Brunner Family, Marty Bechard and Holly Bacon.