contributed photo Two dreams came true for Tom Gerds of Sartell on the Fourth of July when he had a chance to fly on a World War II vintage B-17 bomber, as well as a World War II N3N biplane. It happened when Gerds and his wife, Pam, (both pictured above) attended a fly-in event at the St. Cloud Airport. Dr. Pam Gerds and Tom are the owners of Advanced Pet Care Hospital in Sartell. “I got my birthday and Christmas presents early this year and checked two events off my bucket list, both in one day,” Tom said. The B-17 is a restored aircraft that was commissioned in 1945, too late in the war to be used as an actual bomber. The open-air biplane was a trainer plane used by the U.S. Navy in the early years of World War II (1939-1945). Gerds flew in the B-17 for a fly-by above Sartell, St. Joseph and St. Cloud.