Centralia American Legion Post 446 and Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 2055 teamed up to become VIP sponsors for the annual Centralia Balloon Fest on 19-21 August 2022. The two veteran organizations sponsored Freedom Flight, Inc. to make the Prisoner of War – Missing In Action (POW-MIA) balloon available for the event.
The POW-MIA balloon was piloted by Wynn
Gustafson from St. Cloud, Minnesota. Kaskaskia College Women’s Softball Team
volunteers provided both ground crew and flight crew. During the event, the POW-MIA balloon made
three successful flights. The first flight launched from Centralia’s Foundation
Park on Friday evening with the pilot and two passengers. The flight tracked northwest out of the park
and passed over Central City, Hilcrest Cemetery, and landed in Junction City
for a crew transfer. The balloon
continued north of Junction City landing at sunset just south of Sandoval, Ill. The second flight launched from Centralia VFW
Post 2055 early on Saturday morning with American Legion District 24 Senior
Vice Commander Don Mattmiller. The flight tracked northeast passing over the
eastern portion of Centralia, Foundation Park, Raccoon Lake, and landing near
Odin Road north of Green Street Road. The
final flight launched Sunday morning for a short flight to the former Meadow
Woods Golf Couse.
Breakfast was provided by Irwin Macz Funeral
home on Saturday morning for all pilots and crew. The Centralia Chamber of Commerce provided
breakfast on Sunday morning following the flights. The event concluded on Sunday with award
ceremony and sponsor recognition. All
passengers were awarded certificates acknowledging the accomplishment flying in
the POW-MIA balloon.
World War II 72,000+
Korea 7,600+
Vietnam 1,500+
Cold War 100+
Global War on Terror 5
