After waiting more than a year and a half since the christening of the seventh C-17 Globemaster III added to Hickam Air Force Base's fleet, the men for whom it was named finally got their ride.

A group of 40 surviving veterans from the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion shuffled onboard the "Spirit of Go for Broke" and took to the sky for a 45-minute tour around some of the Hawaiian Islands on March 13.

Not only was the flight a historic occasion for the World War II vets, it was a special flight for a father and son.

Chief Master Sgt. Irvin Yoshino, superintendent of the Hawai'i Air National Guard's 154th Wing F-22 Raptor Program Integration Office, was able to go on the flight with his father, 87-year-old George Yoshino, who was a rifleman with Company K of the 442nd.

"Being here with my father and accompanying him on the flight was a special time for both of us," the younger Yoshino said. "It has taken me an entire career to get my father out here to see what I do. This is a great way to honor these veterans and what they did for our country."

His father said, "We were in the European Theater of Operations and served in Italy. In August 1944 at age 23, I was a replacement soldier and much older than the earlier group, who were mostly 18 years old and just out of high school.

"To be remembered by the military is a great honor."

The flight was a mission of the Hawai'i Air National Guard's 204th Airlift Squadron, boasting a crew of all Guardsmen who fly the C-17 as an associate unit with the active duty 535th Airlift Squadron at Hickam.

During the flight, the veterans got to tour the cockpit for spectacular views of the Islands.

After the flight, the veterans were treated to a catered meal at the 154th Wing dining facility.

"This is a lot better than the Army chow of K-rations we used to get," said Robert Arakaki, the 100th Infantry Battalion association president. "A K-ration was usually packages of dried biscuits with canned meat and eggs, but they were better than nothing."

Chief Master Sgt. Alan Ogata, the 204th Airlift Squadron superintendent, thanked the veterans for their service to the country, for coming out and spending their day with the unit and taking the flight.

"You all are our heroes, we are proud to be in your presence here today," Ogata said.

George Yoshino, the 442nd veteran, said, "It's a great privilege to come into contact with younger members of the armed forces here today and represent our unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

"If I had to do it all over again, I would have a hard time keeping up with them, flying these great airplanes."