TBM Avenger Reunion, air show featuring WWII vets and planes, takes off in Peru, Illinois

The TBM Avenger Reunion, an air show featuring historic World War II planes, kicked off on Friday in Peru, Illinois, about 90 miles southwest of Chicago.

The event is also a special reunion for veterans who once flew the warbirds.

Weathered warbirds from World War II still have life and lift under their wings as they put on a show at the TBM Avenger Reunion.

"Every airplane that you see out here is a veteran military airplane," said coordinator Tim Gillian.

But more impressive than the planes is one veteran hanging in the hangar.

Alvin Gould is 100 years old now, but he was once a 17-year-old in the Navy – more nervous around girls than torpedo bombers.

"I'm not that shy around them now," he said.

A lifetime later, he still lives for the feeling of flying in a warbird.

"I probably have thousands of hours, as old as I am. I started at 17; been flying for 83 years," he said.

His plane of choice hasn't changed – the TBM Avenger, the Navy's main torpedo bomber during World War II, particularly in the Pacific theater.

Gould swears he's in better shape than the aircraft.

"I'm not that rusty yet," he said.

During the war, Gould was a turret gunner, and he can still show off exactly what that was like.

Every year of the TBM Avenger Reunion, it's like a tight squeeze back in time, and suddenly, a 100-year-old is 17 again – almost.

"I was a lot younger then, and more resilient," he said.

It's hard to imagine anything more resilient than a veteran or the vintage planes they once flew. The TBM Avenger Reunion reunites them both.

Is there an air show like it anywhere else in the country?

"I don't believe so that really honors veterans quite as much as we do," Gillian said.

Peru will keep the show going for vets like Gould as long as there's life to live and lift under wings.