Ahead of Veterans Day, five King City veterans, including one celebrating his 98th birthday, flew over the Willamette Valley on Sept. 24 in a plane as old as they are – a restored World War II-era Boeing Stearman biplane.
Fortunately, the pilot was a lot younger – Ryan Weir, a Southwest Airlines captain who volunteers to fly veterans on the 15-minute-long Dream Flights. The organization is dedicated to honoring military veterans and seniors with the adventure of a lifetime and creating an unforgettable experience for 600 to 800 of them each year, including those below.
Don Miller
Don Miller was an Army corporal who served in the Korean War from 1952 to 1953. “I drove a Caterpillar for the artillery, moving the dirt around the guns,” he said. “There was one Caterpillar for the whole field, so they kept me pretty busy.”
Miller, who was born in Oregon City and grew up seven miles south of Canby, had the right skill set for the job, learning how to operate and drive farm equipment around Wasco in Eastern Oregon for his summer jobs. “I was the only person who volunteered to (drive the Caterpillar in the war),” he said. “I became famous.”
If his name sounds familiar, it may be because he owned Miller’s Homestead restaurant in Tigard for 30 years. His other career was driving an 18-wheeler for 300,000 miles. “I even went to Alaska several times before the highway got paved,” he said.
Miller lost his wife Evelyn three years ago after nearly 70 years of marriage and has three children, nine grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
Steve Brod
Steve Brod served in the Air Force from 1962 to 1965 and was stationed in several states, including 16 months in Hawaii. He also spent six months in Korea in 1964 and 1965. “I repaired microwave radios, which means a lot of floor-mopping,” he said. “It was mostly tune-ups and not many repairs. Being in the Air Force is probably as close to being a civilian as you can be because unlike the Army, we lived in Quonset huts and had latrine facilities.”
Brod was born in Chicago and raised in Kelso, Wash., spending 28 years as an elementary school teacher. He and his wife Yvonne have two sons, two grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Al McFarland
Al McFarland had the distinction of spending his 98th birthday on a Dream Flight. He served in the Marine Corps from 1943 to 1947, where “I trained to be an infantryman but ended up in supplies,” he said. “We were in Saipan waiting for the invasion of Japan, but then the Japanese surrendered, and I was part of the first occupational force for 1 ½ years. I was so fortunate, God was on my shoulder.”
Born in Chicago, McFarland’s family moved to Northeast Portland when he was six or seven weeks old, and he was only 9 when his dad died.
Married to his wife Anna for 71 years before she passed away several years ago, McFarland said one of the highlights of his life was traveling in a RV for “11 years of fun and adventures before we settled in Port Angeles (Wash.).”
He spent his career in the movie theater business, which included managing the Family Drive-In in Tigard where Costco is now located. Then he moved to Los Angeles and worked for a company with 84 theaters.
McFarland has three daughters, five grandsons, “about nine great-grandchildren, and I now have a great-great-granddaughter in Georgia,” he said.
Warren Grabinski
Warren Grabinski served in the Navy Reserves from 1954 to 1962 and spent one year in Vietnam. “Kennedy activated me,” he said. “I was sent to Vietnam to keep the Vietcong from infiltrating the South. You had to sign up or they drafted you, so I signed up for eight years but got out after 7 ½ years.”
Born in Sebrow Wooly north of Seattle, Grabinski grew up in Portland and worked for the post office for his career and also did taxes.
He and his wife Les have been married for 57 years.
Jerry Wick
Jerry Wick served in the Army infantry from 1955 to 1956, including 16 months in Korea.
Born in Wapato, Wash., his dad was in the restaurant business, and the family moved around a lot, living in Seattle, Kirkland, Lake Chelan and Issaquah, before moving to Forest Grove, Ore., where Wick graduated from high school.
He attended the University of Oregon briefly before going to work for Union Pacific Railroad for 5 ½ years, Continental Baking for three years and then Tektronix in Beaverton for 24 ½ years before retiring. However, he continued working for a while at Sunset Grove Golf Course mowing the fairways and greens, working in the clubhouse and as a marshal.
He was married to his wife Michelle for 61 ½ years before she passed away 1 ½ years ago. He has one son and two daughters, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Pilot Ryan Weir
After Weir completed the five flights, he chatted for a few minutes about what flying veterans means to him, noting that the week before, the 7,000th veteran flew on Dream Flights since its 2011 inception. “Nothing else compares to this,” he said. “When they go home tonight, there will be lots of smiles, and they will remember this day the rest of their lives. They are so nice, gracious, interesting and appreciative. I wish there was time to have a cup of coffee with each one of them.”
For more information on the non-profit Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation that provides Dream Flights, its sponsors and how to donate, visit dreamflights.org.
For more information, visit dreamflights.org.
