The WWII era transport plane made two flights with local vets from the Wellsville Municipal Airport
From the Salute to Allegany County Veterans, Follow them on Facebook
Belmont, NY – Saturday, July 19, 2025, marked a special occasion for 40 participants of the Allegany County Dwyer program for Veterans. Service members came together to experience a Veteran only flight experience on Whiskey-7, a C-47 delivered to the US Army Air Forces in 1943. Participants were invited to bring their families to tour the plane between flights and engage with volunteers from the National Warplane Museum’s crew to learn more about Whiskey-7’s origin and status of restoration.
Whiskey-7 was the lead plane of the second wave of paratroopers on D-Day and went on to participate in other operations during World War II. This plane was donated in 2005 to the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY, where it has been under restoration to return it to its condition as of June 6, 1944.
As each flight landed, family members and volunteers eagerly welcomed home Veterans of Allegany County. Photos and videos from the event have been published on the program’s Facebook page, @Salute to Allegany County Veterans. Program volunteers would like to thank Will Shutt, Airport Manager of the Wellsville Municipal Airport, for his warm welcome of our service-members and the Whiskey-7 crew.
Honoring the memory of PFC Joseph P. Dwyer and his legacy of service, the mission of our PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program is to empower Veterans to reconnect with one another. These connections create strong bonds which foster hope and resilience as they transition from military to Veteran life – and there is NO timeline for transition. The Allegany County program is co-directed by H. Robert Budinger III and Mallory Short. The program is run by volunteers who all, veteran or civilian, gratefully welcome the opportunity to be of service for our Veterans.
Our next event is a picnic in partnership with the Allegany County Veterans Organization (previously known as the Vietnam Veterans Organization) in August at the group’s camp in Willing. We request to have Veterans sign up on our website, so we have a general estimate of participants.
Our website is https://www.alleganyco.gov/salute/.
