AngelFlight brings Vets to surf

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A lot of people will be traveling this Memorial Day weekend, but this is a very special trip for 37-year-old Stan Wells.

Flying in a single engine Sessna, Wells, a veteran of both the Navy and the Army, is leaving Gaithersburg, MD to attend the Wave Warriors Surf Camp in Virginia Beach on Saturday. He has only been surfing one other time in his life but he is used to challenges.

"I was serving in Germany when I was diagnosed with brain cancer,” Wells said.

But things are looking up. The tumor has been removed from his brain, and now Angel Flight of Virginia is bringing him to the beach so he can focus on surfing rather than his medical condition. 

Pilot J.J. Quinn began making these Angel Flights for about two years now.

"I got involved with that because (just like you said) I'm a veteran and I realized that we need to help our guys,” Quinn told WAVY.com

And a lot of veterans are being helped through the healing process thanks to the collaborative efforts of Angel Flight and a program called Air Compassion for Veterans.

"We've done about 24,000 flights since 2006 and primarily just helping these guys get where they want to go,” Gil McMillian with Mercy Medical Airlift said.  And the sky is the limit when it comes to meeting the veterans needs. 

"It's just more than awesome,” Wells added. “You know, really. I mean I can't believe that you know, there's all this stuff available to us."

The flight arrived in Norfolk late Friday afternoon but in plenty of time to hit the surf on Saturday.