When 92-year-old Windsor veteran Joe Zito found out he had won an opportunity to fly in a World War II bomber, he was ecstatic. That made it all the harder when age and logistics prevented him from taking flight in Casper, Wyoming.
“They told him it would just be too much; they said he just broke down and cried,” said Jeneal “JR” McKinley, who coordinates the Wings of Freedom Tour visit at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport.
McKinley said Zito would’ve had to fly to Casper, involving long, difficult wait times for the man who requires a walker to get around. Though heartbroken, his children said it would be too hard on him.
“I asked the Collings Foundation if there was any way we could set him up with our media flight, and they said yes,” McKinley said.
That said, three steep steps leading to the rear end of a B-25 Mitchell “Tondelayo” couldn’t stop Zito from boarding the ride of a lifetime. Family, friends, pilots and engineers coaxed Zito’s unsure feet onto each rung, and loaded him through a tiny hatch, sitting him down near a large machine gun and window.
After banking around Loveland and Fort Collins, Zito made his way off the flight; he exited the plane to applause from wife and other family. He also received a cheek kiss from McKinley, who wore a spot-on Rosie the Riveter outfit on Friday to accompany the tour.
“It was wonderful,” he said. “Very good. The pilots were very good.”
Zito said he served in the Army in World War II and in the Air Force in the Korean War. However, he said he’d never been in a WWII plane.
Zito won the ride through Gail Fallen, host of Mornings With Gail on KFKA radio in Greeley. Fallen was also in attendance Friday, tearing up when Zito made his way on and off the B-25.
“I’m so glad they got him in,” she said, eyeing the tiny hatch. “I though there was no way.”
The B-25 marked one of five iconic war-era planes to stretch across the tarmac of the regional airport Friday. P-51 Mustang “Toulouse Nuts,” B-17 Flying Fortress “Nine O Nine,” B-24 Liberator “Witchcraft,” and P-40 Warhawk “Jaws” also provided ground tours and some flights to the attendees of the Wings of Freedom Tour, which will take place through Sunday at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport.
The Reporter-Herald was invited to tour and fly in the B-25 Friday. For a video of the flight takeoff, visit the Reporter-Herald’s Facebook Page.