Armed Forces Day

I was fortunate enough to fly on the B-25 Bomber Miss Mitchell on Armed Forces Day May 16, 2026 at the Wausau Downtown airport. It was my second trip of a lifetime. My first trip was on the Never Forgotten Honor Flight out of Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee back in 2018.

The flight I was on included the flight crew and military veteran guests. We flew over the Wausau area to honor those the brave airmen that flew the missions during WWII and to learn more about the historic medium range bomber. I flew in the rear of the plane. The plane is quite cramped and I now see why the crew was probably younger than me and in shape. One of my favorite memories was crawling through the tunnel to the tail gunner’s position. It had a small seat under the dome with a great view. I would not want to be there getting shot at. I also sat in the radioman’s chair and next to the two side gunner positions.

I thank the EAA Chapter 640 in Wausau for giving me the opportunity to fly in the Miss Mitchell. The chapter is comprised of active community aviation enthusiast that build, restore, educate and fly aircraft. I also thank the Commemorative Air Force, Minnesota Wing for attending this event with the Miss Mitchell. The Commemorative Air Force has 80 units across the country and a WWII collection of 180 aircraft.

The Miss Mitchell is a part of Living History. It is an experience and it is educational. It flew 130 missions over North Africa & Italy. It took 12 years to restore and is maintained and operated by volunteers and aviation professionals. Its first flight was on April 16, 1992.