SWANTON, Ohio — While we've lost most of the men and women who won World War II, some of the machines that helped secure victory still remain.
A group called the Commemorative Air Force collects the dwindling number of aging airplanes and overhauls them to show around the country each summer. Engine parts have to be handmade so it gets expensive to keep these Warbirds in the air.
One of the group's planes is a B-24 called Diamond Lil.
The B-24 Liberator was the most-produced airplane of World War II and was used as a bomber over Europe. Over 18,000 were built. Only two remain in airworthy condition, including the Diamond Lil.
Another star of the show is the B-29 Superfortress FIFI. It's also only one of two surviving B-29s that continue to fly. Its pressurized cabin allowed the plane to reach a high altitude and it was able to carry large bomb payloads over the Pacific Ocean to Japan.
Production of the B-29 was actually more expensive than the Manhattan Project and subsequent atomic bomb.
Among the other planes in the fleet of flying history is a WWII-era trainer that was flown by a group of women called WASPS, or Women Air Force Service Pilots.
Cathy Olszewski's mother flew in that very plane in 1944 and had frequently ridden in it before passing away recently. It remains special for Olszewski.
"Oh, it's absolutely phenomenal. It touches my heart," Olszewski said. "I flew in it a couple of years ago and I always feel her presence and understand the joy of flying in it."
Her mother was able to sign the inside of the plane, leaving behind a permanent mark.
The Warbirds are at the Federal Aerospace Institute just south of the main terminal. The show runs from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Thursday. Ramp access is $20 for adults, $10 for children 11-17 and free for kids 10 and younger. A free cockpit tour of FIFI and Diamond Lil is included.
For more information, check out the CAF Air Power History Tour website.