John Ford, a resident of the Tennessee State Veteran’s Home in his early 90s and a former pilot, took off Friday afternoon from the Murfreesboro Airport.

Ford, a resident of the Tennessee State Veteran’s Home in his early 90s and a former pilot, took off Friday afternoon from the Murfreesboro Airport in the passenger seat of a 1952 de Havilland Beaver, a plane similar in style to the ones he flew in World War II.

Dr. Tony Johnston, a professor of agribusiness and agriscience at MTSU, as well as a member of the 118^th Airlift Wing of the Tennessee National Guard arranged the event. He became friends with Ford through his mother, who also lives at the Veteran’s Home.

“I’ve known him for years, and I was just surprised that he had a desire to fly again,” Johnston said. “Once I knew that he would like to do that, I set out trying to find a way to make that happen.”

When Barbara Cochran, the activities director at the Veteran’s Home, told Johnston of Ford’s wish to get back into the air, Johnston asked MTSU’s aerospace department for help. It provided the plane and Terry Dorris, associate professor of aerospace, offered to fly it.

“This is a great opportunity to do something for one of our remaining World War II veterans,” Johnston said.

Ford piloted B-26 bombers in World War II, flying mostly in Europe with the Army’s Ninth Air Force. He even flew 24-hours straight once for a mission on D-Day. The Army Air Corps awarded him their Air Medal 19 times.

“Some pilots never get one,” Johnston said. “He’s a very highly decorated veteran, but he doesn’t consider himself a hero. He’s very humble.”

After Ford landed, one of the Tennessee National Guard’s C-130 planes flew overhead in his honor.