Dream Flight
101-year-old WWII hero soars over yuma
World War II hero, 101-yearold Clifford Updike, was among the residents from River Valley Estates Senior Living and Memory Care in Yuma who recently climbed into a restored Boeing Stearman biplane and soared through Yuma’s skies.
Seniors and veterans can experience the magic of a free Dream Flight only once – until they turn 100 years young. Once centenarians, the nonprofit Dream Flights will fly them every year.
This was Updike’s second flight. It was just as magical this time around, but, he said, “It was a lot harder to get in the plane than before.”
This year Dream Flights honored six other residents with the opportunity on April 25: Darrell Morrison, 96, a U.S. Army veteran stationed in Germany during the war; Bob Walters, 92, an airplane mechanic with the U.S. Navy; Ron Ackerman, 89, U.S. Navy; Eldon Janzen, 86, an aerial photographer with the U.S. Navy; and Dennis McKewon, 73, a pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps.
“Dreaming is ageless, and our team is trained to find new and creative ways to make residents’ dreams come true and create experiences – such as a flight in a WWII-era biplane – that will stay with them for the rest of their days,” said Sandi Pangerl, administrator of River Valley Estates.
“All of us are grateful to Cliff and his fellow veterans for their service and sacrifice. We’re proud to live in this great country and privileged to serve members of this greatest generation and fulfill our mission of caring people, serving people and improving lives,” Pangerl added.
Updike is among nearly 1,000 WWII heroes to leave his signature on the tails of Dream Flights’ fleet of Stearmans. He was born in Perry City, New York, on March 25, 1921. At the age of 21, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Buffalo, New York, on July 8, 1942. He had hoped to get into the Army Air Corp, but he was assigned as an infantry soldier.
He completed his basic
training at Camp Gruber, about 14 miles southeast of Muskogee, Oklahoma. At Camp Gruber, he trained in driving trucks and command vehicles to transport troops, supplies and military officers.
After training and a short leave, Updike was sent to Casablanca, Morocco, in North Africa. He was assigned to the 349th Infantry, 884 Division.
The Germans referred to these soldiers as the “Blue Devils.”
After a very uncomfortable, standing-room only, three-day train ride followed by a ship crossing over a very stormy rough Mediterranean Sea, along with a lot of seasick soldiers, Updike arrived in Naples, Italy.
He then began transporting troops and supplies to the battlefield frontlines over extremely mountainous terrain on often muddy roads – at night in the dark with no lights, of course, to avoid being targets for the Germans.
After a time on the mountainous frontline with head down in a fox hole for protection, Updike and another soldier volunteered to carry cables over a nearby ridge to repair communication lines. On their return, a German mortar shell landed close to them before they could safely reach their foxhole.
Updike was critically injured and carried by stretcher down the mountain. After being examined, triage doctors deemed he was likely not going to make it. They moved on to other wounded soldiers that they felt had a greater chance of survival.
The next morning, Updike awoke after periods of unconsciousness, and the doctors went to work on him to save his life. He was missing one rib and part of another and had severe damage to one lung. They removed a large amount of shrapnel from his chest, arm and neck but had to leave some that was too close to his lung and heart for removal.
Updike was finally transported to a hospital in Italy where he stayed for five months recovering from his injuries. He was sent back to the states to New York City and assigned to a Military Police Detachment.
After a short time, his injuries made it impossible to continue in the service, and he was honorably discharged on Dec. 11, 1944. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the European-African-Middle Eastern medal and Good Conduct Medal.
After many years recovering from war injuries, 74 years of marriage to Marian Voorheis, raising five children and enjoying a number of years RVing around the country in retirement, Updike landed at River Valley Estates where he recently celebrated his 101st birthday.
More than 5,000 seniors and veterans have been honored with free Dream Flights since 2011. Of those, nearly 891 were honored during Operation September Freedom, during which the nonprofit landed in 333 cities in 47 states to honor members of the greatest generation. The tour lasted 61 days, from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30, and was the largest barnstorming event in U.S. history.