JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - U.S. Air Force pilots work for years to earn their wings. But for one special local boy, all it took was a single day.
Eleven-year-old Carl Hornbeak-Hess is a kid with a wish.
"I wanted to do something unique that no one has chosen before," he says.
He's also a history buff and an old soul at heart. So when the Make-A-Wish Foundation said he could do anything - be anyone - he knew exactly what to say.
"Be a World War II pilot who's stationed in Pearl Harbor, who is shot down and has to survive with only the things of a World War II pilot," says Carl's stepfather, James Sullivan.
It won't be easy training - but nothing's impossible when you've got guts.
"Carl was diagnosed in June 2011. With ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia)," says Sullivan.
Carl has 2½ years of treatment down - with two years still to go. But on Sunday it wasn't about cancer - it's about a mission. His Objective A - co-pilot a c-17 Air Force jet simulator over Hawaii.
He deals with all the ups and downs - even makes an emergency landing when he loses power in the engines.
"I made it go upside down. Without permission - just sphhh," says Carl.
Objective B was to complete parachute training, then brave the elements.
"I'm going to go out in the woods over there and survive," he says.
He makes a fort, builds a fire, even gets some rest after a long hard day.
"It's not that bad," he says.
So what's next for Carl?
"Well, it's a big secret. I can't say," he demurs.
But KOMO News will declassify the info for you - Carl headed to Hawaii to see Pearl Harbor himself and fulfill his dream of coming face-to-face with history.
Eleven-year-old Carl Hornbeak-Hess is a kid with a wish.
"I wanted to do something unique that no one has chosen before," he says.
He's also a history buff and an old soul at heart. So when the Make-A-Wish Foundation said he could do anything - be anyone - he knew exactly what to say.
"Be a World War II pilot who's stationed in Pearl Harbor, who is shot down and has to survive with only the things of a World War II pilot," says Carl's stepfather, James Sullivan.
It won't be easy training - but nothing's impossible when you've got guts.
"Carl was diagnosed in June 2011. With ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia)," says Sullivan.
Carl has 2½ years of treatment down - with two years still to go. But on Sunday it wasn't about cancer - it's about a mission. His Objective A - co-pilot a c-17 Air Force jet simulator over Hawaii.
He deals with all the ups and downs - even makes an emergency landing when he loses power in the engines.
"I made it go upside down. Without permission - just sphhh," says Carl.
Objective B was to complete parachute training, then brave the elements.
"I'm going to go out in the woods over there and survive," he says.
He makes a fort, builds a fire, even gets some rest after a long hard day.
"It's not that bad," he says.
So what's next for Carl?
"Well, it's a big secret. I can't say," he demurs.
But KOMO News will declassify the info for you - Carl headed to Hawaii to see Pearl Harbor himself and fulfill his dream of coming face-to-face with history.