Loveland – The last time Donnell Marsh of Aurora was in a B-17 bomber, a shell fired from a German fighter plane crashed through the cockpit, slicing the pilot’s leg and killing four of the 10 crew members.
Marsh leaped from the plane and parachuted into German hands, spending the remaining 18 months of World War II as a prisoner.
On Monday, Marsh was a passenger in a B-17. The crew included his son and his son’s wife, and the only shots to be found were in the bars of nearby Old Town as he landed at the Fort Collins/Loveland Airport shortly before noon.
“Despite having lost my hearing, it was still too dang loud,” the 86-year-old veteran said of his most recent ride, beaming shortly after the flight. He noted that when he was an airman, he wore earmuffs. “But it was peaceful (Monday). There wasn’t a thought of ambush. No enemy fighters. No flak to worry about.”
Marsh and company flew from Casper on the vintage plane as part of the “Wings of Freedom Tour” sponsored by the nonprofit Collings Foundation, which organizes “living history” events to educate the public.
In addition to the B-17 Flying Fortress, a B-24 Liberator and a B-25 Mitchell landed with a roar Monday as more than 150 onlookers gathered nearby.
“Doesn’t that sound awesome?” Rob Pehkonen, Colorado coordinator of the Collings Foundation, said as the B-24 rumbled by.
“Can you imagine the sound of 800 of them flying over England?” he said. “It tugs at my heartstrings and makes me think of all the veterans.”
Ron Hedien, 70, fondly recalled the time his dad, who used to be a B-17 pilot, sneaked him onto the plane in a duffel bag and took him for a spin.
He flew on the bomber Monday for the first time in 58 years.
“It was nostalgic,” he said. “I kind of felt my dad along with me. I felt him over my shoulder.”
The tour visits about 130 cities in 35 states annually and is a tribute to veterans, organizers said. The planes will be on display at the Fort Collins-Loveland Jet Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Thursday.
Flights on the B-17 and B-24 cost $425 a person. Rides on the B-25’s front fuselage run $400, and $325 for the plane’s waist-gun section.
Terry Marsh of Frederick, Donnell’s son, said he became a military aircraft buff mostly because of the pride he felt in his dad and other veterans.
“That generation is rapidly dying, and we’re losing an awful lot of history,” he said. “It was great to be able to share this with him.”
Staff writer Vimal Patel can be reached at 303-954-1638 or vpatel@denverpost.com.
