The morning sky on Thursday, June 6, was slightly darkened by the low clouds that rolled in from the inclement weather that previous Wednesday night.

That might not be newsworthy, especially for a region where wet and muggy days are commonplace and wearing extra layers to stay dry is more than expected.

But the sky on that day was all that mattered for three members of the Rocket City Wing Commemorative Air Force Unit — a group tasked to fly one of the most valuable items located in the Athens-Limestone County area out of Pryor Field Regional Airport.

Jim Burch, “Kaz” Kasmai and Jim Covington were not worried about the safety of their 1948 Navion L-17B Korean War plane, which took years to find and restore to proper operating order.

The three men were not even concerned about their own welfare, as their years of experience in the air — in both the military and in flight training — ensured them of their safety regardless of any obstacle that could have been thrown their way.

The most valuable item, which was their main concern on that cloudy Thursday morning, was 94-year-old Lt. Col. Paul Reeves, a self-proclaimed Athens native who served one tour in the Korean War and two in the Vietnam War during his service with the U.S. Army.

“The first time I was in Korea, there was no war, it was 1948. The second time I went back was 1952, and I became the battalion operations officer when my battalion officer evacuated,” Reeves said. “I stayed there through ‘53, and came back home when the war ended. But, I stayed in the service.”

Reeves explained how his years in the service after the Korean War took him all around the globe, traveling to places such as Hawaii, Germany — and Vietnam.

“The first time I was in Vietnam, I went over as a battalion adjutant, and then promoted to group maintenance officer. Then I came back home as an advisor to the reserves in Montgomery,” Reeves said. “Then they decided to send me back to Vietnam, but as the engineer and logistics advisor to the Korean forces. I had three divisions of logistical command.”

These were the type of conversations that were being shared between the four men as they awaited for the skies to become clearer. As the hours passed, so too did the stories — some of which should not be repeated, but most of which brought hearty laughter to an otherwise bleak day.

Reeves told the story of how he met a familiar face in his second tour in Vietnam, in a meeting that he has not yet forgotten in the decades since.

“The funny part about the second tour was seeing one of my old truck drivers who ended up being the log commander I knew from my second time in Korea,” Reeves said. “That was quite the meet-and-greet, because he remembered me but I didn’t remember him; but we went on to become good friends.”

The flight on June 6 was scheduled for a 10 a.m. liftoff from Pryor Field, but as the minutes ticked away the likelihood of any flight felt dwindling until they checked one last time at noon.

“The conditions we are required to have is a 1,500 feet ceiling with a visibility of at least 10 miles,” Burch, one of the operations officers for CAF, said. “The visibility is fine, but we don’t know yet about the ceiling. Could we legally fly right now, yes, but with flying someone like Paul (Reeves) we don’t even want to risk it.”

As the sky cleared up around the afternoon time, the three men received the notification that they needed — the ceiling had reached 1,500 feet. A short celebration ensued and then the four men hurried out onto the tarmac to get everything ready for takeoff.

The first word of Reeves when he saw the historic plane which was used from his time in the Korean War was not of wonderment or awe, but of lighthearted and humorous disgust.

“I’m not getting in nothing with U.S. Air Force on it,” he said.

The group laughed as they prepped the plane and helped Reeves into the cockpit.

Burch and Covington remained on the ground as Kasmai would be the pilot for the flight on the day, revving up the plane engine and checking the wings until all three men gave the go-ahead.

“Typically our job is to inspire the next generation, but it has been an honor to do this and be inspired by someone who has given so much to this country,” Kasmai said. “Just being with him, and getting him in the air, was an absolute privilege.”

As the plane took off on the runway and headed into the sky, the two men on the ground dawned smiles that probably could have been seen from the two men hundreds of feet up in the air.

“One of our goals has always been to recognize our veterans any chance we get, and flying gentlemen like him makes any day better,” Burch said. “It’s astonishing how healthy and sharp minded gentlemen like him are, and just hearing his stories is amazing to say the least.”

After the 25-minute long flight that took Reeves around Athens and parts of Limestone County, the first thing he said as he exited the cockpit perfectly summarized the day’s events and the life of Paul Reeves.

“Well, that was one hell of a ride,” he said.