WWII Veteran flies over Dubuque for 100th birthday

DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) - A World War II veteran from northeast Iowa just turned 100, and he celebrated the day in style.

Max Wilson turned 100 last month, and got his gift Tuesday at the University of Dubuque’s Jet Center.

He got to spend about half an hour on a private flight around Dubuque, and down to his hometown of Maquoketa.

Wilson said he flew 43 missions over five countries during World War II as a bomber, flying B-17′s. He says he dropped more than 240,000 tons of bombs during those missions.

Wilson considers himself one of many who served during World War II, and doesn’t want to be labeled a hero.

“I don’t think that we’re all, we weren’t heroes,” Wilson said. “We just did a job. That’s what I want to be known as, doing a job.”

Wilson said the flight in eastern Iowa was very different from what he saw during the war. He said he flew in planes much larger than what took him up in the sky on Tuesday.

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