Timeless Flight: Indiana Veterans' Home residents take to air in vintage biplane
Henry Wynstra was one of eight residents of the Indiana Veterans’ Home to take flight in a vintage airplane last summer. Wynstra is a veteran of World War II.
Keith Reinert perhaps feels most at home sitting in the sunshine, taking in the warm rays and reflecting on a life of service to his country and his community.
Now a resident of the Indiana Veterans’ Home (IVH) in West Lafayette, Reinert made his living as an architect in Gary, Indiana following a four-year stint in the United States Navy Air Corps during World War II. He was a plane captain who served on the USS Boxer, an aircraft carrier launched in late 1944 that spent the waning days of the war in the troubled waters of the western Pacific. During his service, he performed maintenance on various types of military aircraft.
As a result, Keith Reinert is no stranger to the seas nor the skies and even now, some 70 years later, he remains comfortable among the clouds.
“It felt well and I very much enjoyed it,” Reinert said of a late-summer program that allowed him to once again step inside the cockpit of a World War II-era aircraft. “[I have] lots of good memories of war planes.”
The retired architect was among eight IVH residents who boarded a 1942 Boeing-Stearman biplane in August that took off from the veterans’ care facility on a skyward journey intended to rekindle pleasant memories in former military service members.
Keith Reinert was all smiles as he took flight in a Boeing-Stearman biplane the afternoon of Aug. 4 in West Lafayette. Reinert was a member of the Navy Air Corps during World War II.
Darryl Fisher, founder of Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation, a Carson City, Nevada-based nonprofit that provides special flights to seniors and retired service members, took off from the Purdue University Airport and piloted the vintage aircraft around the IVH campus Aug. 4.
Focused on safety and committed to bringing smiles to the faces of those who’ve given so much, Fisher’s flights were met with enthusiastic responses from the distinguished passengers.
“It was thrilling to look upon the biplane before take-off,” commented Henry Wynstra, a fellow World War II veteran. “The whole experience was absolutely thrilling.”
Emily Larimer, IVH director of communication and technology, was perhaps as excited as the IVH residents about the flights, and she said she felt the event more than served its intended purpose.
“It’s tough to overstate how cool this event was for us,” Larimer said. “Our residents and their families had a magical day.”
It was a break from the norm that simultaneously celebrated the veterans’ service and provided an experience unlike any other. It was a brief flight that brought each of the men closer to Keith Reinert’s beloved sun than some had ever been, and a nostalgic trip that embodied Ageless Aviation’s ongoing coast-to-coast mission: “giving back to those who have given.”
Up in the air
Henry Wynstra followed his five-and-a-half years of service in the United States Air Force (then called the US Army Air Corps) by becoming a dentist in Wisconsin. A true “family man,” Wynstra’s greatest joy these days is spending time with his wife of 67 years, Margaret, known better to family and friends as “Susie.” The Wynstras have seven children and “a pile of grandkids and great-grandchildren” with whom they also share special moments. Henry’s experience Aug. 4 was attended by some of his loved-ones as he soared above IVH in Fisher’s 1942 Stearman.
It wasn’t the first occasion he’d donned an aviator hat, but this time the skies that welcomed him were certainly friendlier than they were when a teenage Henry enlisted in the US Armed Forces.
After his military service, Wynstra said he took some flying lessons, but those were in a Piper J-3 Cub, an aircraft of much the same vintage as the Stearman; the biplane, however, was still a new and altogether different experience for the 93-year-old Racine native.
While in the military Wynstra flew more than a dozen bombing missions aboard B-24 Liberators, ubiquitous bombing planes manufactured throughout the duration of World War II. Wynstra was a top turret gunner on those flights.
His Aug. 4, 2018 trip was likely far more pedestrian than any of those missions, but it was nonetheless something the retired dentist won’t soon forget.
Creating new memories for the veterans as well as for their families was part of Larimer’s goal when she led the way in organizing the flights, and everything panned out nearly exactly as she’d hoped.
“It was something special to see our vets and the aviators all interacting and swapping stories throughout the day,” she recalled.
Larimer sent in the application that allowed the program to take flight, and she had nothing but kind words for all who made it possible.
“AADF were amazing to work with,” Larimer said. “Their founder and organization president, Darryl Fisher, was excited that everything worked out perfectly and they were able to squeeze IVH into their 2018 flight schedule.”
That schedule has seen AADF crisscross the country, conducting flights in California, Oregon, Nevada, Indiana and 38 other states. Since its creation in 2011, AADF has provided around 3,500 flights for seniors, primarily for former military members but also for other deserving individuals.
Indiana Veterans’ Home (IVH) resident Ken Westerhausen served with the Navy for four years during the Korean War. He was one of eight IVH residents to be part of the Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation’s special program last summer.
IVH is home to many heroes, so it goes without saying that the men and women who live there were more than deserving of the honor offered by AADF. Only eight residents were able to make the flight in August, but those former servicemen were participants in some of the United States’ – and the world’s – most pivotal military conflicts: World War II and The Korean War.
Decades later their service is still celebrated, their sacrifices far from forgotten.
On cloud nine
Giving back to those who answered their nation’s call is a motivating factor in IVH Volunteer Coordinator Keith Baker’s work.
“I have met and continue to meet amazing people,” Baker, who joined the facility about 19 months ago, said. “[I’m] mainly referring to the residents, but being the volunteer coordinator for IVH, I get to help those who want to help our residents as well. So I have considered myself doubly blessed.”
Baker was a big help the day of the AADF program as well, assisting the veterans with entering and exiting the plane. The event came together quickly and time was of the essence, so making the experience something special for each honored flight participant took teamwork. Also lending a hand in various ways that day were IVH Director of Nursing Kathy Hall and IVH Superintendent Linda Sharp. In the end, it was a total team effort that clearly paid off for all involved.
“The smiles say it all, and the residents are still talking about it,” Baker said.
Baker is still smiling as well.
“I still say that I have the best job ever and this day was no different,” he said. “I was on cloud nine being able to help many of them participate in this.”
Both Larimer and Baker noted they are hopeful another round of flights can take place in 2019.
“We are hopeful that AADF and Purdue Aviation will be up for flying additional residents next year as well,” said Larimer. “Our residents are still talking about what a great day it was and now we have more who are excited to participate.”
A moment in the sun
Ken Westerhausen was another of the men who boarded the Boeing-Stearman on that special August day. Westerhausen, 86, was a member of the United States Navy for four years during the Korean War. The AADF event was the first time he flew in such an aircraft.
“I definitely enjoyed it,” the retired accountant said succinctly.
Westerhausen, a father of two, is a golf aficionado, counting that sport among his favorite activities. While in the Navy he was promoted to the rank of petty officer, second class, a rank comparable to sergeant in the Marine Corps and Army. He also earned the National Defense Medal and Good Conduct Medal for his service.
The five others who participated were Charles Gates (Air Force), Bruce Fry (Army), James “Dick” Wolf (Army), Thomas Marsh (Army) and Robert Greenburg (Air Force).
Much of the happy event was captured on video and in photos, which were later posted online. Readers can see the IVH video here.
The reactions recorded on that sunny August day show just how much the AADF experience meant to former soldiers who gave much to their communities and to their country. The flights were another way of thanking those men for their service.
Call it a well-deserved “moment in the sun.”
“All of our residents had a great time and anytime we can provide them a special opportunity like this, we jump at the chance,” Larimer said. “These are the types of experiences we always hope we can provide for our residents, and [they] certainly make everything we do here at IVH worthwhile when it works out so well for them.”
Photos provided by Indiana Veterans’ Home
Story by Brent Brown, INSPD