98 Year Old WWII Hero flies patients as a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic
Since his first flight, John Billings knew his place in this life was in the pilot's seat. As a young man, he volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 and flew over 50 missions. Now, at age 98, he is still flying, and still serving his community. As a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic, he has logged countless hours and miles helping 462 patients travel to desperately needed medical care.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Since its formation in 1972 by four volunteer pilots and a single airplane, Mercy Medical Angels has quietly become the nation's largest provider of charitable transportation for low-income children, Veterans and families to access critical medical treatment across the country. Based in Hampton Roads, the organization's motto is "the shortest distance between home and hope," and operates on the belief that access to quality medical care should not be limited by an individual's income status.
Last year the Organization provided 27,771 free trips nationally on the ground with gas cards, bus and train tickets and by air with flights flown by volunteer pilots and the commercial airlines. Of these trips, 8,131 were for our friends and neighbors in Hampton Roads and North Carolina, representing a public benefit of $516,850. These trips included many children and their families making repeated trips to CHKD, Veterans to travel to Texas to train with and acquire service dogs and individuals traveling across the country to receive specialized medical treatment.
Among the Mercy Medical Angels' 661 volunteer pilots, US Army Air Force, Ret. Capt. John Billings is a standout. He learned to fly in 1938, joined the service thereafter and flew 14 bombing and 39 spy missions during World War II, including one that inspired the Brad Pitt movie "Inglourious Basterds." Billings was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. When the Air Force became an independent military branch, Billings couldn't afford the new uniform. So he retired and went on to a 35-year career as a commercial pilot.
Today, celebrating his birthday at the age of 98, Billings continues to fly as a volunteer co-pilot for Mercy Medical Angels, transporting patients in his single-engine Cessna from Luray Caverns Airport to life-changing medical care across the eastern US. Billings has logged 461 volunteer flights for Mercy Medical Angels - so far. He was honored as the Organization's Pilot of the Year in 2018 and was presented with the US Air Force uniform that he couldn't afford way back when. Although he appreciates the accolades, it's the Mercy Medical Angels patients that keep him in the pilot and co-pilot's seat. "We fall in love with them," the tough, ex-bomber pilot once told a reporter as he choked back tears.
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SOURCE Mercy Medical Angels
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