Free flights for Veterans

Army veteran Stewart Childress, of Carterville, waits to board a Cessna 172 plane at the SIUC Airport in Murphysboro Wednesday. Charley Rodriguez, the unofficial adviser for the Rotor and Wing Registered Student Organization, said the group has been offering free flights to veterans on Veterans Day for the past four years. Rodriguez said he helped to start the tradition when he flew an old WWII veteran who was excited about being up in the air. “We thought, you know, why don’t we do this more formally? Open it up,” Rodriguez said. Rotor and Wing has been sponsoring the event ever since. President Scott Marquardt said he has been flying veterans for the past two years. “We like flying so much it doesn’t really matter,” Marquardt said about the cost the club pays to fly each veteran.