The nonprofit group Dream Flights has been honoring American heroes with WWII veteran dream flight experiences since 2011. The organization has helped more than 4,200 elderly veterans, many of whom live in long-term care facilities, take to the skies once more.
One such veteran is Cal Swagerty of Sioux City, Iowa. The World War II veteran spent most of his military service fighting on the ground across France, Belgium, and Germany. Now, decades later, his courage earned him a unique chance to fly over his adopted hometown in a restored WWII aircraft.
“I was mostly a ground-pounder,” Swagerty said of his wartime experience. That didn’t stop him from climbing into a 1942 Boeing Stearman biplane to enjoy a brief flight over Sioux City before safely landing at Sioux Gateway Airport.
Nearly 98 years old, Swagerty smiled and waved to family and friends after the landing. Volunteers from Dream Flights, the nonprofit behind the WWII veteran dream flight, were also there to support and celebrate the moment.
Dream Flights specializes in flights using Stearman biplanes, the same aircraft that trained military aviators during World War II. Swagerty’s flight was part of Operation September Freedom, a two-month campaign launched on August 1st, bringing flights to veterans in 300 cities and aiming to honor 1,000 heroes.
Other veterans in Iowa also received flights on the same day, including those from nearby Le Mars.
According to McKenzie Roeber, enrichment coordinator at Heritage Care Center in Emerson, Nebraska, the program came to her attention when someone asked if her facility had any veterans. Roeber immediately thought of Swagerty. After a conversation with his daughter and son, they eagerly signed him up for the experience.
Though initially hesitant, Swagerty was ready and excited by the time he reached the airport. He had joined the U.S. Army at 18 and served in the 35th Infantry Division, arriving in France just one week after the D-Day invasion in June 1944.
Swagerty later fought in the historic Battle of the Bulge and continued into Germany, reaching the Elbe River by Victory in Europe (VE) Day in May 1945.
After his flight, Swagerty stepped down from the aircraft and added his name to the tail rudder alongside other veterans who shared the same unforgettable journey. He then thanked his flight crew and returned home with his family—proud and uplifted.
Photo Credit: Dream Flights