92-year-old veteran takes to the skies on flight down memory lane

92-year-old veteran takes to the skies on flight down memory lane 
TCPalm, part of the USA TODAY Network; by Mary Ann Ketcham, Treasure Coast Hospice; 6/8/25 
At 92 years old, Korean War Air Force veteran and Treasure Coast Hospice patient Joseph Vespo recently took to the skies in a Cessna 172 airplane for a flight down memory lane. An ear-to-ear smile lit up his face as the aircraft taxied down the runway and took off from the Treasure Coast International Airport in Fort Pierce. During his time in the Air Force, Vespo monitored aircraft systems from the cockpit. ... For 40 years, he owned and flew Bonanza planes but had been unable to fly in recent years. ... "This fantastic opportunity to fly again came about because we get to know our patients and their families," said Treasure Coast Hospice Community Outreach Representative Jenny Fee. ... The Treasure Coast Hospice Veteran Care Fund and local pilot Jim Howard of Clearflight Aviation helped make his dream a reality.