The Wisconsin National Guard were not the only special guests at the "Salute to Veterans" reunion day July 29 at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2011 in Oshkosh, Wis. Some area World War II veterans visited for a glimpse of some familiar aircraft.

"It's a heckuva good airplane," 87-year-old Wayne McClellan said of "Fifi," the world's last operational B-29 Super Fortress, on display at AirVenture. The Horicon resident ought to know - he flew bombing missions over Japan in just such an aircraft from 1944-1945.

More than 65 years later, as he and roughly a dozen other WWII veterans neared the B-29, McClellan playfully muttered, "Uh oh - that looks familiar."

While stationed in Guam, McClellan flew to Japan 35 times aboard the B-29 as a radar officer - helping bomb more than 70 cities along the Japanese coastline. After McClellan flew the last of the mandated 35 missions, only four more missions were flown before the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thereby leading Japan to surrender.

Following his final mission, McClellan left Guam on a cruise ship and continued on with his life. He graduated with a degree in engineering, met his wife and began having children - though his overall sentiment toward his war contributions wouldn't allow his children to know of his actions.

"There were more important things in my kids' lives than 'Dad's war,'" McClellan said.

McClellan went on to work for John Deer for 35 years. He did, however, stay in touch with his flight crew. He still maintains contact with his ground crew, which he credits for keeping his B-29 flying flawlessly. McClellan even made his way to a few museums to see retired and restored versions of the Super Fortress that he once occupied.

Even as the B-29 veterans spoke last Friday, McClellan said the story-telling amongst them was limited.

"It's nice to see them," McClellan said. "Although, we don't go back to old war stories."

He walked around the operational B-29 for the first time in decades, examining it as if he were the engineer who'd built it. He ran his hands along the blades of the propeller, examined the nose gear and talked about the different armament configurations on the inside of the bomb bays.