LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- A fully restored, WWII-era B-17 Flying Fortress bomber is currently in town at the Clark County Airport. The Madras Maiden will be taking WWII veterans and the public on flights this weekend as part of the Liberty Foundation’s Salute to Veterans tour.
Among those participating is local WWII veteran Tech Sergeant Lee Hutchinson. Hutchinson, now 92, was a radio operator and gunner on a B-17 during the war.
“Morse code was the only way to communicate in those days, there were no cell phones, et cetera, and so we sat—you had to be able to send 20 words a minute and receive 20 words a minute in Morse code. So, 'dit da dit, dit da dit.' And when we made lead crew I could not leave the desk. I had to stay on there and I had to send position reports as we went in and if we saw flak he’d say 'tell them where that is,'” Hutchinson recalled.
Drafted out of high school into the 8th Army Air Corps and based in England, Hutchinson flew 20 missions over Europe before he was 20-years-old.
“Now once you start the bomb run, you go about 20 miles into the flak. The target’s there, the sky is full of exploding shells, and you have to fly into it. So that’s when you learn how to pray," Hutchinson said.
WATCH: Full interview with Tech Sergeant Lee Hutchinson
One of the men making these flights possible is volunteer pilot John Hess. Hess says the importance of what men like Hutchinson did is never lost on him.
“I am so honored. Literally, we are pinching ourselves when we’re flying this thing saying this is so neat that we’re able to do this now because here we are 75 years later and we’re able to still fly the airplanes and kind of demonstrate them to the public and give them the experience like this. But when we have--like we did today--when we have an actual veteran be able to go up on a ride, that is just phenomenal. That is so great to let him be able to relive that again."
WATCH: Full interview with Pilot John Hess
Hess added that they are always looking for more WWII veterans to join them at stops on the Salute to Veterans tour.
“We’re hoping to have some veterans come out and share their stories about B-17s and WWII and help pass this on to the next generation and help educate us all about what they endured to help win WWII," Hess said.
Seventy-three years after the end of WWII and no longer under orders to fly into harm’s way, Hutchinson can now enjoy flying in the plane he once flew on missions behind enemy lines.
“Well I just do it to—I like to do it. I try to grab the radio operator’s seat, set and look out my little window and go do it that way. So I enjoy it. This is a walk in the park."
WATCH: Take a guided tour of the WWII-era B-17 "Madras Maiden"
