The United States Exercise Tiger Foundation launched their inaugural "Mask a Vet" campaign on Sunday, Sep. 15, 2020, in Fulton, Mo. The organization, along with volunteer pilots, flew thousands of masks from Elton Hensley Memorial Airport to rural areas around Missouri to provide for veterans in need. The USTF's goal is to provide a mask to every veteran in the state of Missouri. Armond Feffer/The Columbia Missourian
Volunteer pilot Steve Wendling gazes outside his window during a flight mission for the "Mask a Vet" campaign on Sunday, Sep. 15, 2020, somewhere over rural Missouri. The campaign flew from Fulton to Lee's Summit and Hannibal on Sunday to deliver tens of thousands of masks. Wendling is a member of the Kingdom Pilots Association, a non-profit based in Fulton that offers flight school scholarships to students who otherwise would not have the means to pay for classes.
Steve Wendling loads boxes of masks into his plane for the “Mask a Vet” campaign Sunday in Fulton. Wendling, an experienced pilot with over 1,100 hours in the air, volunteered for the mission without hesitation. “I was not able to serve in the military,” Wendling said. “This gives me the chance to give back and do a little something for well-deserving veterans that don’t have the access or means to get masks themselves.”
One of the two small-engine planes taking part in the “Mask a Vet” mission takes off from Elton Hensley Memorial Airport in Fulton on its way to Hannibal on Sunday, Sep. 15, 2020. The planes delivered more than 9,000 masks.
Pilot Steve Wendling marks down his speed and the distance to Lee's Summit, Mo., his destination, on Sunday, Sep. 15, 2020 somewhere over rural Missouri. Wendling and the USTF delivered 5,000 masks to the greater Kansas City area on the mission.
USTF volunteer Stuart Mott stands for a portrait on Sunday, Sep. 15, 2020, in Fulton, Mo. A veteran himself, Stuart heard about the USTF's work in Fulton a few days before the event and decided to come and offer his services. "I am here to honor veterans, as well as to help pass out the masks that are going out to the different areas," Mott said. "It is my civic duty, and it can help save a life."From left, pilot Steve Wendling, Susan Engle and Sgt. Larry Washington talk over the amount of masks they are getting for their respective organizations on Sunday in Lee's Summit, Mo. Engle is the Executive Director for the St. Michaels Veterans Center in Kansas City. Washington, a veteran of the 442nd Fighter Wing, collected masks for the veterans in his church and for the VFW lodges in his community. "Even without [COVID-19], a lot of veterans are homeless, man," Washington said. "So we serve the veterans who don't have anything, as well as the veterans who are doing well."
From left, pilot Steve Wendling, Susan Engle and Sgt. Larry Washington talk over the amount of masks they are getting for their respective organizations on Sunday, Sep. 15, 2020, in Lee's Summit, Mo. Engle is the Executive Director for the St. Michaels Veterans Center in Kansas City. Washington, a veteran of the 442nd Fighter Wing, collected masks for the veterans in his church and for the VFW lodges in his community. "Even without [COVID-19], a lot of veterans are homeless, man," Washington said. "So we serve the veterans who don't have anything, as well as the veterans who are doing well."
