World War II veteran's wish comes true

Published May 15, 2011
By Staff Sgt. Peter Miller
440th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

POPE FIELD, N.C. -- A World War II United States Army veteran celebrated his 89th birthday by fulfilling his "wish of a lifetime" which was to stand out on a runway and marshal an aircraft into a terminal.

Dressed in a custom fitted 440th Airlift Wing flight suit, complete with a name tag, Saturday, May 14, retired Army Sergeant Steven Meyer was named an honorary Combat Airlifter, received training and ushered a C-130 Hercules aircraft into position on the Pope Field flightline tarmac with his family and friends there to watch.

Mr. Meyer has had a fascination with aviation since the beginning of his military career and at one time, he applied to become a military pilot. Though his plans to become a pilot did not work out, his passion for aviation never faded.

"I have spent thousands of hours watching and admiring the folks on the ground of the runway," said Mr. Meyer. "I have always wanted to experience the feeling,"
Born in Germany in 1922, Mr. Meyer fled his homeland due to Nazi persecution in 1939. He escaped with his entire immediate family intact; his wife however, was the only member of her family to survive.

Drafted by the Army in 1943, Mr. Meyer served with the Army Corps of Engineers in the European Theater of Operations. During his military career he worked as a planner for the D-Day invasion of Normandy and was responsible for finding suitable housing for service members in England, France and Germany.

While in the service Mr. Meyer gained his American citizenship and following the War, he worked for Koppers Industries in Pittsburgh, Penn. As a salesman, he was able to constantly fuel his fervor for all things aeronautic by routinely flying to South America, South Africa, Spain and Europe. His frequent flights began and finished with his family at the gate. Upon moving to North Carolina, he would take his two sons to the Raleigh-Durham airport on weekends, where they would spend hours watching the aircraft movements. He practiced arm and hand signals with his sons.

"Dad would use marshalling signals to guide us out of the garage as kids to make sure we did not drive into a wall or the bush," said Mr. Meyers' son Andrew. "It became sort of a family joke."

The joke developed into a family hobby and aeronautics became a family passion. Mr. Meyer, his son and grandson Adam built model airplanes and travelled to local air shows together. Two of the Meyer men have computers with flight simulators and virtual flight capabilities. Anytime a member of the family is traveling by airplane, the others keep track of the flight and listen to tower-to-aircraft communications.

Mr. Meyers' lifetime wish was a collaborative effort of the Raleigh, N.C. Heritage Raleigh Brookdale Senior Living retirement community, the Airmen of the 440th Airlift Wing and 'Wish of a Lifetime,' the foundation created by Olympic skater and former National Football League player Jeremy Bloom.

Brookdale Senior Living and Wish of a Lifetime have a partnership that grants wishes for seniors nationwide. Both organizations had previously granted wishes to seniors independently.

"I created Wish of a Lifetime to change our views about aging and remind future generations about the value, wisdom and dreams of older adults," said Bloom.

"Joining together with Jeremy Bloom's Wish of a Lifetime will motivate our residents to expand their opportunities to live an Optimum Life," said Sara Terry, vice president of Optimum Life for Brookdale. Optimum Life is the Brookdale concept that helps cultivate whole-person wellness through fulfillment in six key dimensions: physical, emotional, purposeful, social, spiritual, and intellectual.

"Thanks to the scope of this program, more Brookdale Senior Living residents than ever won't let 'someday' become a code word for 'never, '" said Terry. "They will have an opportunity to fulfill those dreams they had placed on the shelf, and take action as a result of our mutual commitment."

When asked about the opportunity to guide the airplane, Mr. Meyer said he was "extremely grateful."

"This event signifies the culmination my life of business travels," he said. "This is beyond my wildest dreams."