photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Veterans from Meadowlark Estates Gracious Retirement Living and through the VFW Foundation were invited to fly in a Boeing Stearman biplane on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.

Fred Aumick served in the U.S. Navy and flew in various aircraft, but he hadn’t flown in a small plane since 1978 — until Thursday morning, when he got to fly in a World War II-era biplane.

“I’ve been up a lot of times,” Aumick said. “I’ve been up in a glider, a helicopter, a little Bell helicopter. I loved to fly in the Navy as part of my job and off time opportunities. This was a little different … I thought it would fly faster. I’ve driven in a car faster than that plane.”

His flight was organized through Dream Flights, a national nonprofit dedicated to honoring military veterans with a flight in a restored Boeing Stearman biplane that previously used to train aviators in World War II. According to the nonprofit’s website, the goal is to inspire veterans to share their stories about their service and their lives.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Fred Aumick holds up a hat he got from Dream Flights after going on a flight in a Boeing Stearman biplane, a restored World War II-era plane.

After joining the U.S. Navy, Aumick spent four years in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1950 to 1954. He said he wanted to join the Navy because “I had a crummy job, no education and didn’t have any direction to head in.”

“The Navy did well by my older brother, and I thought well, might as well try it,” Aumick said.

Nine veterans from Meadowlark Estates Gracious Retirement Living and some affiliated with the VFW took flights out of Lawrence Regional Airport on Thursday. Some of them, including Aumick, said they wished the flight were longer and went farther. But Aumick also said that it was really fun.

“It flies real neat,” Aumick said of the biplane.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

People saluted the plane each time it took off at Lawrence Regional Airport on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.

Darryl Fisher, founder and president of Dream Flights, told the Journal-World that his family has flown these kinds of planes for generations. His grandfather purchased that type of airplane, and later his dad bought the same kind as well.

“I was in high school at the time, and so I fell in love with it,” Fisher said. “We were in the senior living business … that’s what I do full-time … so I grew up around older people and old airplanes. I fell in love with both.”

In 2011, Fisher’s dad had his plane restored in Mississippi and asked Fisher to help bring the airplane to Oregon. On the way there, they made 15 stops for fuel, and Fisher had the idea to give a local care facility a call and meet up with them to give a flight to a veteran. That flight was in Oxford, Mississippi and Fisher took a World War II veteran up on the plane.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Veterans from Meadowlark Estates Gracious Retirement Living and through the VFW Foundation were invited to fly in a Boeing Stearman biplane on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.

“And when I landed, there was a bus out on the tarmac and there’s 20-30 people out there, the newspaper’s there,” Fisher said. “… His wife came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I’ll never forget. I was in the cockpit, she put her hand on my shoulder and said, ‘You just have no idea what you’ve just done for my husband.'”

Fisher said the next morning, a newspaper was delivered to his hotel room, and he and the veteran were pictured on the front page. They ended up giving 25 more flights on the way back to Oregon.

“Now keep in mind, I had no plans for this stuff … (but) it was just so cool,” he said. He later kept talking about the idea of giving more flights to veterans with his wife, Carol, and together, they formed the nonprofit.

Dream Flights is on track to surpass 8,000 flights next year, Fisher said. The organization operates a fleet of seven airplanes and has flown in 49 states — all except Hawaii, which he said is next on the list and hopefully will be done in 2027.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Boeing Stearman biplane owned by Dream Flights was used to train aviators.

Attending as guests of the VFW, Sheriff Jay Armbrister and Undersheriff Stacy Simmons showed their support for veterans from the Douglas County area — and both later took a flight themselves after the veterans.

Armbrister expressed that the community not only owes local veterans gratitude for their service, but also should have the opportunity to engage with them personally. He said Thursday’s event offered a meaningful way to do just that.

“It’s nice to just be a part of it and just to share that experience with them,” Armbrister said.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Veterans from Meadowlark Estates Gracious Retirement Living and through the VFW Foundation were invited to fly in a Boeing Stearman biplane on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

People saluted the plane each time it took off at Lawrence Regional Airport on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Veterans from Meadowlark Estates Gracious Retirement Living and through the VFW Foundation were invited to fly in a Boeing Stearman biplane on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.