Ron Evans, 78, completed two tours in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

He has never spoken to family about the second tour.

On Sunday, Evans joined seven other veterans who each received a Dream Flights ride aboard a WWII-era, open-air cockpit biplane.

Evans, the onetime U.S. Marines staff sergeant, was belted in as pilot Darryl Fisher told him it was one thumb up if having fun and one thumb down to shorten the flight’s 15-minute duration.

Evans’ smiling family, including wife, Lynda Evans, gathered at the biplane for photos before the aircraft taxied for takeoff into a sky dominated by blue.

“This is wonderful,” she said.

Evans and the other veterans participating Sunday are residents of Big Sky on Waterford Senior Living in Butte.

Cletis Gregory, 81, also a Vietnam veteran, was the

See Full Page