When veteran LeeAnn Joyce first heard of the opportunity to get a ride in an open cockpit World War II-era plane, she admittedly was a bit apprehensive.

“I’ve been on open planes before and got sick, so I thought, I don’t know - maybe I’ll come back green,” Joyce said with a laugh.

Joyce, 69, of Princeton, served in the U.S. Air Force from 1983 to 1987, stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where she worked as a charge nurse and house supervisor.

She was one of nine local veterans who took to the skies Tuesday morning at Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru as part of Dream Flights, a national program that gives veterans age 65 and older the chance to ride in a World War II-era plane.

While hesitant at first, Joyce said she decided to take the risk after hearing about the program from fellow residents at her nursing home.

“At first I didn’t know much about it – people were just talking about it, and then someone asked, ‘LeeAnn, are you going to go?’ And here I am,” she said. “But to be able to do this Dream Flight is really an honor, and I’m glad to be here.”

Vital Life Foundation Executive Director Johanna Senn said the program is a partnership between Dream Flights and the foundation.

“Dream Flights’ mission is to give back to those who gave,” Senn said. “They fly all over the country from March through November, offering veterans age 65 and older a ride in an open-air 1934 Boeing Stearman aircraft.

Another veteran who took the flight on Tuesday was 73-year-old Marvin Hill of La Salle. Hill was in the Navy from 1971 to 1975.

“It was an opportunity I knew I’d never get again,” Hill said. “Being up there was unbelievable – just absolutely beautiful. You see everything from a totally different perspective.”

When asked if he’d do it again, Hill didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Oh, in a heartbeat.”

Dream Flights operates eight planes across the country, flying nearly every day during the season.

“They’ll often go on weeklong stretches,” she said. “Right now, this pilot and crew chief are on an eight-day run, flying in a different city each day before taking a short break and starting again.”

The Vital Life Foundation is partnering with Dream Flights in six cities this year – Vacaville, California; Klamath Falls and Aurora, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; Peru, Illinois; and Las Vegas, Nevada.”

Each veteran spends about 15-20 minutes in the air, depending on weather conditions.

“This is simply an opportunity to say thank you for the sacrifices every veteran was willing to make – whether or not they were ultimately called upon to make them.”

For more information on Dream Flights, visit their website.