World War II veterans reunite with vintage warplanes in Peru, Illinois

The reunion brought aging World War II veterans back to the vintage TBM Avengers they once flew, turning Illinois Valley Regional Airport into both a spectacle and a living archive. In Peru, Illinois, about 90 miles southwest of Chicago, the emotional homecoming unfolded at the 11th annual TBM Avenger Reunion & Salute to Veterans, where the aircraft and the men who flew them met again on the same field.

The two-day gathering ran May 15-16, 2026, and organizers described it as the world’s largest gathering of TBM/TBF Avengers. The event opened Friday, May 16, with veterans, families and aviation fans moving among warbirds, static displays and rides in restored aircraft that now sit in private hands. The reunion has grown, organizers say, into one of the Top 10 airshows in the Midwest, a mark of how a niche remembrance event has become a major regional draw.

This year’s program also included the Friday night engine run-up known as TBM Glow, along with a Veterans Parade and warbird rides. A Veterans Expo, presented in partnership with the LaSalle County Veterans Assistance Commission, added a civic dimension to the air show, linking the celebration of military aviation to services for veterans in LaSalle County and beyond. Greg Witmer served as air boss for the 2026 event, overseeing the flying displays and ground operations at the airport.

The reunion matters because it captures a fading generation in real time. World War II veterans are dying at a rapid pace, and the chance to stand beside the aircraft they once flew is becoming rare. That makes the Peru gathering more than a commemoration. It is one of the few places where living memory, restored hardware and public history meet in the same frame, preserving stories that will soon survive only in archives, photographs and the planes themselves.

The scale of the event has also made it a reliable showcase for historic aviation. A 2025 report on the reunion said ten TBM Avengers were featured that year, along with the Titan Aerobatic Team and the U.S. Air Force Viper Demo Team. In Peru, that mix of wartime aircraft, modern demonstration flying and veteran remembrance has become the event’s defining signature, and the reason the reunion now serves as both air show and historical record.