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Dan Ragan took a look at a plane and started to cry.

It was 67 years ago the Navy Colonel was a radio operator in the combat information center on the Navy PV1W war plane during the Korean War.

On Friday in Tyler, Ragan had a tan jumpsuit on and was preparing to take the public up for rides on the same plane he flew successful missions on. Ragan will be around all weekend as part of the first-ever Rose City Airfest at the Tyler Pounds Airport and Historic Aviation Memorial Museum (HAMM).

“About 15 years ago I wrote the history of my Navy squadron and that’s when I found out one of these Navy PV1W still flies and survived the bone yard,” Ragan said. “Tears came to my eyes.”

Ragan is 87 and lives in Dallas. The Tulsa native flew during the Korean War time with patrol duties and a lot of missions in Japan.

While walking around his plane, Ragan explained he is still very active. He will attend four air shows this year and is in rotation as a qualified load master. There are four on the crew and they take turns giving rides to the public.

“I enjoy it, I like to tell people about the history of the aircraft,” Ragan said. “Typically, when you let people get in the aircraft, I can tell them about the history of the aircraft and to me, that is enjoyable.”

Ragan said finding the plane not only meant a lot to him, but his brother as well.

“When I first got back on the plane, I was a kid in the candy store,” Ragan said. “My older brother, Kenneth, was a B-17 pilot in World War II. So he got to see it as well. We buried him last December on his birthday.”

Flights can be purchased by the public through July 4.