COLUMBIA, S.C. — On this Veterans Day, South Carolina’s aviation community took to the skies to honor one of its legends. At 93 years old, 2nd Lt. Jim Hamilton, a Korean War-era pilot, instructor, and longtime leader in state aviation, took his final flight.

The ceremony took place at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation hangar, surrounded by vintage aircrafts and fellow aviators. Hamilton climbed back into the cockpit, smiling as he reconnected with the aircraft that started it all.

“This started it all for me right here,” Hamilton said. “And what a treat to see it and touch it and look at it and see that — hey, we’re still friends.”

The plan had been for Hamilton’s “fini flight” to be in a Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, the same model he flew during his Army days. But gusty winds kept the plane gr

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