Two Louisiana veterans soar the SWLA sky

JENNINGS, LA (KPLC) - Two veterans from Southwest Louisiana got the chance of a lifetime and took to the skies in a 1940′s airplane.

David Aubry, 59, and Frank Jones, 92, both veterans took to the skies in a 1942 Boeing Stearman; the airplane that used to train military aviators in the 1940′s.

They took off from the Jennings airport for a 15-20 minute flight, soaring 1,000 feet above SWLA.

Both veterans were born and raised in Louisiana and both served in the Navy. Jones, originally from Carlyss, says he joined at just 16-years-old.

“That was the first time I rode in an airplane," Jones said. “I saw was nothing in the air but crawfish ponds. I mean, acres and acres of crawfish ponds.”

“We were lucky," Aubry said. "We got to fly all around the Jennings area a couple of times and was able to see and watch what was going on and how Louisiana looks. A lot of land depending on where we were, but I got to see a lot of the crawfish they have down here. So it was very fun. Very relaxing.”

The two military veterans currently live in Welsh at the Golden Age of Welsh nursing facility. They were able to have this experience through the Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2011 to honor U.S. military veterans living in long-term facilities. To date they have been able to provide almost 2,000 flights to veterans nationwide.

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