8-Year-Old Cancer Patient Inspires Service Members as 'Pilot for a Day' at Air Force Base
Clyde Hicks stepped into an F-16 fighter jet and ate lunch aboard the First Lady's plane at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
Courtesy of Shelley Hicks; Courtesy of Nate Hicks
Clyde and Clover Hicks (left); Clyde Hicks (right)Eight-year-old Clyde Hicks donned a flight suit and stepped into a military training room at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
Then, he and his father put on virtual reality headsets, and Clyde took them on a simulation helicopter flight all over Washington D.C., soaring over iconic landmarks. The military technology made the flight seem real, and Clyde’s dad was terrified. But Clyde wasn’t.
On July 10, Clyde, who has two forms of cancer — grade 2 intramedullary spinal astrocytoma and grade 2 neuroblastoma — was an Air Force pilot: He received his marching orders at the National Harbor, went into the cockpit of an F-16 fighter jet, ate lunch aboard the C-40 plane used to transport the First Lady and received a police escort from Maryland State Troopers back to his hotel.
The rising 3rd grader from Severna Park, Md., was the 35th “Pilot for a Day,” an event put together by the Check-6 Foundation, an organization that helps military veterans as well as children with serious medical conditions.
For Clyde, an avid sports fan whose favorite movie is Minions, his deployment was a blast — and a day off from cancer.
He tells PEOPLE his favorite part was the military working dog demonstration — ”watching a canine attack a person!” — along with eating pork and mac ‘n’ cheese for lunch aboard the First Lady’s plane.
Courtesy of George Onyenyeonwu/Check 6 Foundation
From left: George Onyenyeonwu (Vice President, Check-6 Foundation) Rob Balzano (Founder/President Check-6 Foundation), Clyde Hicks, Nate Hicks, Shelley Hicks, Clover Hicks, Lt. Col Mike Knapp (National Director Pilot for a Day, Check-6 Foundation)Retired Air Force veteran George Onyenyeonwu, the Vice President of Check-6, tells PEOPLE the program “helps alleviate some of the pain these children and families go through. Folks on the outside often don’t know what it’s like to have a child who’s sick.”
“Our mission is to give them joy. And it gives us joy to see a smile on their faces,” he says.
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The organization's name, “Check-6,” is fighter pilot lingo for checking behind you for potential threats; its motto is “The wingmen that have your back.” At the end of the day, Clyde’s family was presented with a $3,006 check to help cover his medical bills.
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Clyde’s wingman for the day was Onyenyeonwu’s childhood friend from Nigeria, former NFL All-Pro running back Christian Okoye. Okoye wore number 35 as a Kansas City Chiefs star — a special significance for being the wingman for the 35th Pilot of the Day.
“Clyde was just magical, how he reacted to everything,” Okoye tells PEOPLE. “A very happy kid who’s a joy to be around."
(Okoye was one of Clyde’s wingmen. The other was his 9-year-old sister, Clover, who “has been Clyde’s wingman his entire life,” says their father, Nate Hicks. Clover tells PEOPLE her favorite part of the day was also the dog attack demonstration.)
Courtesy of George Onyenyeonwu/Check 6 Foundation
Christian Okoye, Clyde HicksLike Okooye, Clyde is a sports hero himself: His determination to play little league baseball this year despite his cancer and a related neurodegenerative condition has inspired his hometown, as chronicled in a report by local CBS affiliate WJZ.
Clyde’s condition prevented him from running at points during the season, and he used a wheelchair. But Clyde could still hit — and after he hit the ball, his teammates would push him in his wheelchair around the bases.
Clyde had his scheduled cancer treatment the day after his day at Joint Base Andrews. According to his mother, being "Pilot for a Day" gave him a boost to get through his day at the hospital, which can last up to seven hours.
“His confidence going into treatment was so high,” she says, adding that when Clyde was injected with an IV needle, “he didn’t cry and he didn’t flinch. He was strong and confident.”
The day uplifted Clyde and the entire family, says his father, Nate Hicks.
“It gives us something to look back on as a cherished memory,” Nate says. “For any kid going through a tough time, they have the opportunity to come on base and are made to feel untouchable.”
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