SAN ANTONIO – If you looked up in the sky Thursday afternoon in South Bexar County, you might have caught a glimpse of a World War II era bomber cruising the South Texas skies.
The B-25 is in town for the Fourth of July holiday weekend and will be part of Stinson Municipal Airport's 100th anniversary celebration.
The Yellow Rose is a 1943 B-25 bomber just like the ones used to bomb Tokyo in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack.
The war plane never saw any combat action but trained plenty of pilots, like retired Col. Jim Peck, who took his last ride in a B-25 62 years ago.
"What I remember is that they're fairly noisy, and the engines are large for the size of the airplane and it moved really well," Peck said. "It was the multi-engine trainer when I came through cadets, and we went up and cheated death in the B-25."
The bomber was built for fighting, not comfort.
Getting up to the nose gunner position is a tight squeeze, but the views up there are spectacular.
The Yellow Rose is one of a handful of B-25s still taking to the skies thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Central Texas Commemorative Air Force.
"I think it's a very important part of our aviation history," said co-pilot Roger Sharp. "As you know, the U.S. was the pioneer in aviation, and this represents a whole era of aviation during the WWII phase of engineering of the country, and it's a testament to all the thousands of airmen who flew these airplanes during the war."
Today's flight was just a quick trip around South Bexar County, but for Peck it was a timeless journey down memory lane with his wife at his side.
"It was fun, it was a lot of fun. I remember the noise," Peck said. "My wife and will be talking about it for years to come."
If you would like to take a ride in the Yellow Rose, it will be out at Stinson all weekend long offering rides for a couple hundred dollars or a tour for $10. Tours are free for members of the military.