“Wonderful” is the word two senior veterans used to describe flying in 1940s planes.
At the annual Spirit of ‘45 celebration at Aurora State Airport on Wednesday, Aug. 14, senior veterans rode in small planes used for military training in the 1940s. And for the first time this year, veterans under 65 years old flew as well.
Spirit of ‘45 Day is a national holiday honoring those in the World War II generation and celebrations are held across the country in the second week of August — coinciding with Aug. 14, the day Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces in 1945, effectively ending the war.
Johannah Senn, executive director of the Vital Life Foundation, which organizes the Aurora Airport event each year, said the holiday originally supported and celebrated veterans from World War II but has evolved to celebrate all veterans.
The foundation is a nonprofit organization for Marquis Companies that works to bring “meaning and purpose” to seniors and senior health care workers, Senn said. She described seniors as vulnerable and sometimes forgotten.