Built in the days before pilots could control an aircraft with the help of electronics and hydraulics, the only thing connecting the controls in the cockpit to the wings and tail were cables running along pullies, making flying the two-engine seaplane a physical challenge.
"If you weren't strong, you didn't last long," said Ward, who served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy in World War II and the Korean War. "You needed a strong co-pilot — a really strong co-pilot sometimes."
World War II veteran and Navy pilot Ward Wages of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, 99, looks at the controls while sitting in the cockpit of a PBY Catalina on the tarmac at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. The Commemorative Air Force Lake Superior Squadron has two PBY Catalinas that are undergoing restoration. Dan Williamson / Duluth News Tribune
Wages, of Coon Rapids, trained in the PBY in Corpus Christi, Texas. Saturday's tour of the plane brought back some memories of the early 1940s.
"I was scared to death I was going to kill my instructor," Wages said with a laugh. "No, it was a lot of fun in those days. I enjoyed it very much."
After completing training in 1943, Wages would go to serve in anti-submarine squadrons in the Caribbean during WWII and then in Alaska during the Korean War.
World War II veteran and Navy pilot Ward Wages of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, 99, right, walks through the hangar for the Lake Superior Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Looking on, left to right, are Wages' nephew, Richard Jacobson of Ogilvie, Brian Janssen of the Commemorative Air Force Lake Superior Squadron, and Wages' nephew, Jay Jacobson of Plymouth. Dan Williamson / Duluth News Tribune
While Wages seldom shared stories from his service, he's been more open about in recent years, said Jay Jacobson, his nephew that arranged the visit after he heard the type of plane his uncle trained in was being restored in Superior.
The Lake Superior Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force is restoring two PBYs in Superior — one to return to the sky and the other as a museum display.
World War II veteran and Navy pilot Ward Wages of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, 99, right, chats with Bill McMahan, commander for the Commemorative Air Force Lake Superior Squadron, in front of one of the PBY Catalinas undergoing restoration Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021 at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior. Dan Williamson / Duluth News Tribune
Wages' visit give them a chance to connect the person with the plane.
"This is exactly what we live for and why we're here," Brian Janssen, the development officer of the Lake Superior Squadron, said. "We're here to hear the story of somebody that served, we use that to educate and we're definitely here to honor him."
99-year-old World War II veteran and Navy pilot Ward Wages of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, center, is assisted by Bill McMahan, commander for the Lake Superior Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force, right, and Wages' nephew Richard Jacobson of Ogilvie exiting a PBY Catalina on the tarmac at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Dan Williamson / Duluth News Tribune
The experience was particularly moving to Richard Jacobson, Wages' nephew and Jay's brother.
"I will have that picture in my mind of him sitting up there with the window open and his face sticking out smiling about it, joking about. … It does his heart good, my heart good, my brother's heart good," Richard said.
World War II veteran and Navy pilot Ward Wages of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, 99, left, looks out an open window while sitting next to Bill McMahan, commander for the Lake Superior Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force, in the cockpit of a PBY Catalina on the tarmac at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Dan Williamson / Duluth News Tribune
The brothers hired a videographer to capture the day and interview Wages about his experiences. They plan on putting the video on a UBS drive as a way to preserve his stories for all of Wages' family, which includes many great-grandchildren.
"By the time (Wages' great grandchildren) get older, they're not going to remember, but because of technology you actually have moving color film and that really brings things alive," Jay said.
World War II veteran and Navy pilot Ward Wages of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, 99, prepares to enter a PBY Catalina on the tarmac at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. This PBY Catalina is being restored by the Commemorative Air Force Lake Superior Squadron as an exhibit for the museum. Dan Williamson / Duluth News Tribune
Having learned to fly in his father's small plane in Chippewa Falls before joining the Navy and serving in two wars, Wages has no shortage of stories.
For Wages, flying was all about "the thrill of being able to get off the ground — it's almost as big of thrill as getting back on the ground."
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99-year old WWII vet tours revisits the type of plane he trained in - Duluth News Tribune
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