Seven decades after flying the Convair-built OY-1 Sentinal (the Naval version of the Stinson L-5) over Iwo Jima, 91-year-old veteran Mert P. Hansen got another ride in his exact WWII aircraft thanks to a unique twist of fate, as well as one man’s commitment to restoring the warbird.
While bringing the aircraft back to life, restorer Duncan Cameron came across flight logs that led him to Hansen, one of the few surviving veterans that flew the OY-1 during the war.
