By Ron Jackson
The Oklahoman
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE - Retired Air Force Maj. Weldon Waln plans to drive 211 miles from his home in Arlington, Texas, to attend Saturday's Altus Air Force Base Air Show.
Waln plans to see an "old friend" -- a B-17 Flying Fortress.
"It's part of my history," said Waln, who served as a B-17 crew chief at Altus and beyond during World War II. "Coming to the air show is a chance to stay connected. When you've been in the Air Force for as long as I'd been, you never really leave.
"And when you've been around the B-17 as much as I was, well, it's like coming back to see an old friend."
The World War II bomber will be among several heritage aircraft on display during the daylong show, which begins at 8:30 a.m. with a series of aerial demonstrations and ground entertainment. In addition to the classics, spectators will be treated to the U.S. Air Force's premiere aerial demonstration team, the Thunderbirds.
Admission is free.
Waln, 82, is among a couple dozen veterans expected to attend this year's show.
"Each show, we invite the veterans back so they can see the airplanes they worked with," said Sgt. Richard Guinan, the 97th Air Mobility Wing historian. "They love to talk about how small those old planes were. They'll say, 'Look how small this is and what we did in here.'
"And they all share this common bond of having experienced something great together -- even if they don't know one another. It's fascinating."
Guinan is so fascinated by the stories, he is compiling them for a history book on the 97th Air Mobility Wing.
Waln will be featured in the book. He served during both World War II and the Korean War, retiring in 1983 after active and reserve duty.
In World War II, Waln departed Altus Air Force Base and eventually landed in North Africa, where his ground grew was often bombed by German Stuka dive-bombers. He left the Air Force after the war, but re-entered when he received a direct commission as an officer before the outbreak of the Korean War.
During the Korean War, Waln was assigned to the occupation of Germany.
"A number of the old Stuka pilots worked for us because there were simply no jobs for them at the time," Waln recalled. "I then learned that one of the Stuka working under my command had bombed us in North Africa. He feared I would seek some sort of retribution.
"I told him, 'Heck, let's go have a beer. That was a different war.'"
