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Youngster serves as pilot for day
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Youngstown Warren Air Force Reserve Station base Commander Col Karl McGregor swears in Tyler Jordan, 8, of Niles as an officer for Pilot for a Day program.
Tyler rode in a C-130 airplane and was outfitted in an official Air Force uniform.
VIENNA — “Repeat after me,” said Col. Karl McGregor, commander of the 910th Airlift Wing at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, as he administered the oath of office to Tyler Jordan of Niles as an honorary Air Force 2nd lieutenant and 910th Pilot for a Day.
“I, state your whole name,” began McGregor.
“I, state your whole name,” dutifully repeated 8-year-old Tyler with a grin, drawing a laugh from his parents and others witnessing the solemn event.
“You got me,” McGregor said with a smile, before starting again.
Tyler’s tenure as Pilot for a Day began shortly before his swearing-in ceremony with a ride in a Marine Corps humvee.
And the surprises kept coming for the second-grade student at Jackson Elementary School in Niles, who Wednesday became the 910th’s 34th Pilot for a Day in the 10-year program.
The program’s purpose is to provide a fun-filled day of activities to children who live with a chronic or life-threatening disease or illness.
Tyler was diagnosed at 18 months with cerebral palsy, for which he receives treatment at Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley in Boardman. He goes for therapy twice a week at Forum Health Austintown Medical Park.
Tyler was outfitted in an official Air Force uniform, received a number of mementos, including lieutenant’s bars put on his shoulders by his parents, Mike and Glenna Jordan of Niles; dog tags with his name, which he proclaimed as “cool”; and a replica of the C-130 cargo plane that is flown by the 910th, presented by Fred Kubli, representing the Youngstown Air Reserve Station Base-Community Council, financial co-sponsor of the program.
Tyler also received a pilot’s coin and a coin from the 910th Aerial Spray Squadron, which he tucked away in one of the many pockets in his uniform.
His escort for the day was real-life C-130 pilot Capt. Brian Hodor, who flies with the 910th Aerial Spray Squadron, and was one of the pilots who sprayed 2.8 million acres for insect control in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Other activities included a visit to the Aerial Spray Squadron maintenance facility, a tour of a C-130 and then a ride around the runway in the plane, a tour of the base fire department and demonstration of equipment, and a demonstration at the small-arms qualification range.
Tyler, who has a twin brother, Nicholas, and a younger brother, Cody, age 3, leads an active life. He has earned a high yellow belt in karate training at the Northeast Martial Arts in Austintown, where he is student of the month, and he is a member of Cub Scout Pack 15 at the Knights of Columbus in Warren.
“We don’t coddle Tyler. If you do, he will think that is how life is. I’m just as strict with him as I am with Nick,” said his father, who works at Everbrite Power Sweeping and Paving in North Jackson.
“We tell him he doesn’t have a disability. He just has some limitations,” his mother added.
alcorn@vindy.com