Child becomes 'Pilot for a Day' Published June 5, 2007 By Senior Airman Aldric Borders 97th AMW Public Affairs ALTUS AFB -- The Pilot for a Day program helped another child earn his wings May 16. Altus native Lane Monday, 5-year-old son of Gena Monday and Dustin Monday, a mechanic with the 97th Maintenance Squadron, was treated to a tour of Life Support, a static C-17, the Air Traffic Control Tower and a flight in a C-17 simulator. The Pilot for a Day program is designed to allow a child with a life threatening illness to come out to the base for a day and experience what it would be like to be an Air Force Pilot. Lane, who has a nerve tissue cancer called neuroblastoma, was able to fly high as he, his mother and grandparents toured the base Wednesday. "We try to do a variety of things to make each child's day exciting," said Senior Master Sgt. Brian Williams, 58th Airlift Squadron superintendent and Altus Air Force Base Pilot for a day coordinator. The Pilot for a Day program kicked off yet again May 16 by meeting Lane and his family at the front gate. From there they were taken to the 58th AS for a mission briefing video highlighting the Altus mission. Following the video Lane received his very own flight suit with squadron patch. At this point, the tour and all the day's activities began. By the end of the day, after all was said and done, Lane was presented with a certificate and had his wings pinned on. The Altus Pilot for a Day program has helped approximately 20 children. "You can't beat the support of the personnel here on base, a.k.a. Team Altus, for the program," said Sergeant Williams. In addition to that, the Altus community outside the gate is just as supportive to giving these children an opportunity to be a pilot for a day, he said. "It's amazing, I thought I was doing something for these children by having them participate in the program, but those children have given me more I ever could have given them. To see them come out to this base full of energy with big smiles really puts life into perspective." "Our goal with pilot for a day is to allow a child to come out for the day and have so much fun he forgets about all his medical treatments and his illness at least for one day." "I once had a child go through this program and three months later due to his cancer he passed away, but his request was he wanted to be buried in his flight suit he received while going through the program, so it makes you realize the impact the program had on this child's life. He wanted to be a pilot even before he came through the program, and we were able to give him that opportunity for one day," said Sergeant Williams. "We've also had one adult to come through the program," said Sergeant Williams. Col. Michael Gould, the wing commander at the time, now Maj. Gen. Gould, called me up and said he had an adult who loved airplanes and wanted to know, could we put him through the program. It was an amazing day, he came through with his wife and son and daughter-in-law. We treated him just like a kid. He eventually lost his battle with cancer; but after he passed away, I'll never forget what his wife said to me. She referenced a picture we took of him while he was going through the program here. It's a picture of him sitting in the cockpit of a KC-135 and he is turned around looking back and he's got the biggest smile on his face. His wife told me after he passed away, that for four months prior to that picture until the time he died, that day was the only time they saw him smile because he was just so overcome by his illness and everything else. She said that one day and those pictures we took of him smiling are one of the most treasured things her family has." "Those are the kind of things that makes it all worth while," said Sergeant Williams. "They've given me a whole lot more than I could have ever possibly thought about giving them." For more information on the Pilot for a Day program, call Sergeant Williams at 481-7163.