A 96-year-old woman who served during World War II got back in the cockpit of a plane for a "Dream Flight."
Pfc. Maybelle Campbell served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during the war, when she was 19. She said she helped get mail out to soldiers.
“Well, I’ve flown in a plane before because I was in the Women’s Army Corps, and we flew different places," Campbell said.
She was also part of the first group of African-American women to serve in the WAC.
“I was told, 'You are too young and we don’t accept black people,'” she said.
“If they were wrong, I told them," she continued.
On Thursday, Spring Hills Mount Vernon Assisted Living and the nonprofit Ageless Aviation Dreams put Campbell in an open cockpit for a ride through the skies.
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"The Ageless Aviation Dreams Foundation was established in 2011. We’ve given over 3,000 flights, and for the pilots and volunteers, it’s just an opportunity to give back and bring some joy and excitement to these veterans that have given so much to us," spokesman Christopher Wayne Culp said.
With a little help, Campbell sat in the front of a restored 1940s Boeing Stearman open cockpit biplane from World War II.
“Not afraid at all,” Campbell said of the experience.
The engine started and she was up in the sky above the Maryland Airport in Indian Head in a flash.
“You ok, Ms. Maybelle?" someone asked when the plane landed.
Her response?
"I made it."
