PEABODY – Six veterans who live at Alliance Health at Rosewood were treated to 15-minute plane rides in World War II Stearman biplanes Wednesday at Beverly Regional Airport thanks to Dream Flights.
Dream Flights is a nonprofit organization that connects with assisted care facilities to provide veterans with one-of-a-kind experiences where they can feel the wind in their hair while flying in a two-seater plane with an open cockpit.
Dream Flights has seven airplanes that fly throughout 49 states, and according to Air Force veteran and Dream Flights volunteer Dave Schwark, there are currently plans in the works to reach Hawaii to cover all 50 states.
According to Jeff Klosky, Air Force veteran and Dream Flights volunteer, the plane each of these veterans had the chance to fly in was “a World War II trainer” that “was not in combat, but every combat pilot would have started on something like that.”
Schwark said Dream Flights is “probably the most amazing group of people I’ve ever worked with – very professional, all dedicated to what we’re doing.”
Sofia Rodriguez, activities director at Rosewood, said the experience was “very enriching.” She added it was “emotional, but a good emotional,” and “it was great to see all their smiles when they got off” the plane.
Larry Ross, a Peace Corps veteran, said the experience was “fantastic.
“I’ve been on a lot of planes … and this beat them all,” Ross said. “I don’t know if everybody appreciated it, but I sure did.”
