POCATELLO — A 94-year-old veteran of World War II aerial combat said he was thrilled to ride in a B-25 Mitchell bomber on Saturday during recent flights provided at the Pocatello Regional Airport.

Don Ciccone of Blackfoot flew for about a half-hour in a restored B-25 bomber that was part of the Flying Legends of Victory Tour presented via the Airbase Arizona Commemorative Air Force and its “Maid in the Shade” B-25.

“Ever since he heard about it, he’s just wanted to fly,” said Ciccone’s son Tony.

Don said he was so excited the night before the flight that he could hardly sleep, and the flight brought back memories.

“It was so much fun,” Don said.

He said Tony found out about the rides.

“He got it on the Internet and he says, ‘Hey, you’ve got to fly it,’” Don said.

At first he wasn’t sure about it due to cost.

“But my two sons (Tony and Don Ciccone Jr.), they bought the tickets, so what can you do? Hug them and say thanks,” he said.

Flight tickets were $325 for the back and $590 for the nose in the B-25, which flew 15 combat missions during World War II over Italy and Yugoslavia in 1944. But the ticket price was well worth it.

“My dad the whole time we were growing up if we passed the airport we had to get to the end of the airport where the planes would fly over,” Tony said.

And Don said it was a good day for the flight. It was a great view.

“Beautiful,” he said. “Beautiful.”

And Don said he was surprised at the thrust of the B-25.

“Jets have some pretty good thrust, but that thing, holy mackerel,” he said.

He was told that it’s like getting used to driving a Cadillac or a Lincoln, then stepping up.

“The thing is you’re used to driving in a Cadillac or Lincoln or what have you, but when you get in that B-25 and it starts down the runway, it’s just like being in a Corvette,” Don said.

And Ciccone is used to fast aircraft. He was a bottom ball turret gunner in a B-24 bomber during World War II. He described it as intense.

“You got a .50-caliber machine gun down each leg and you’re laying right flat on your back with the gun sight,” he said.

The flight was part of a multi-day stop at the Pocatello Regional Airport by the Airbase Arizona Commemorative Air Force as an awareness flight and fundraiser, said ground coordinator John Roberts.

The organization provided 13 flights at the Pocatello Regional Airport, which is one more flight than it provided during an earlier stop at Idaho Falls, Roberts said.

The stops in Idaho were well attended.

“They were the most successful visits of the whole tour season,” Roberts said.

In fact, one flight on the bomber at Pocatello Regional Airport was completely bought out by one person.

The organization, which left Pocatello for its final tour stop in Heber City, Utah, raises money that keeps the planes flying and helps preserve history.

“The money raised by the all-volunteer group goes right back into the airplane and maintenance and restoring other aircraft,” Roberts said.

Why?

“To honor the veterans of World War II so nobody forgets,” Roberts said. “It’s to educate and inspire the younger groups.”

That’s the primary reason for their existence, he said.

“That’s the mission of the Commemorative Air Force,” he said.

The tour started on July 2 in St. George, Utah.

To learn more about the organization and the tours, go to www.azcaf.org/tour. The Commemorative Air Force Airbase Arizona’s phone number is 480-924-1940.