Pieces of History Fly High Into Ramona

After a year's absence from the community (thanks to lousy weather conditions), the Collings Foundation and three very large pieces of WWII history were back at Ramona Airport this week.

The Wings of Freedom Tour, which Patch covered back in 2011, is a national tour that flies three birds—a B-17, B-24 and P-51 Mustang—from airport to airport, giving the locals and veterans a chance to relive history and take tours of the planes.

I paid a visit to Ramona Airport this week to witness the giant, steel war planes in person and was treated to a new moment in history when WWII vet Joe Abernathy got to make his mark on the B-24 "Witchcraft."

Abernathy, now a resident of Riverside but originally from Tennessee, visits the planes each year as they tour. He was a flight engineer on the Witchcraft, the only plane left of its kind, and flew it on its 94th mission from 1944-45.

On the side of the Witchcraft, a bomb has been painted for each of its mission. A crew member for the Collings Foundation handed over a Sharpie to Abernathy and asked him if he would sign the 94th bomb, which Abernathy so humbly did.

Afterward, the 87-year-old vet, who, by the way, has more life in him (and far better humor) than a certain 20-something Patch editor, showed me his log he kept during his mission on the Witchcraft.

The hand-written notebook documents all he saw and experienced from December of 1944 to April of 1945. Abernathy told me it was illegal to keep such a log, so he hid it by sewing it into his mattress. The kicker?

"They sold these notebooks on the base!" Abernathy said, noting it was like the Army wanted the soldiers to document their experiences.

Other vets visited the aircrafts, reliving their time as pilots or paratroopers and even infantrymen—all with unique stories of bravery and triumph and experiences I can only imagine, though I wish not to.

I was fortunate enough while the Wings of Freedom Tour was in Ramona to fly up on the B-24. Truth be told, flying and me don't always get along, but this experience was different. I wore a smile on my face most of the flight, but halfway through, I couldn't help but stop and think about what it must have been like for soldiers to be aboard this plane.

Were they scared? Nervous?, I thought as I stood at the open window next to the machine guns. Excited to be a part of something?

Did they worry about not making it home, Or was their only focus the mission ahead? Did they sigh with relief as they landed back on base?

Emotions ran high with me while on the B-24—I can only imagine how they were for soldiers during WWII.

As Memorial Day approaches, I feel extremely grateful to have experienced such a once-in-a-lifetime event. I'd like to send a big thank you to the crew on the Wings of Freedom Tour and the Collings Foundation for preserving such a big piece of history.

I sit here and try to articulate the exhiliration I felt sitting in the tail of the B-24, but no justified words come to me. To any veteran or families of veterans reading this, thank you. I hope your stories of courage and your important pieces of history are forever preserved.

Did you visit the planes during their time at the Ramona Airport? Have you ever flown up in one? Tell us in the comments!