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Former sailor's final wish: To return to the Midway

A Navy veteran checked an item off his bucket list Tuesday when he visited the USS Midway Museum. Bob Mountz served on the Midway more than 60 years ago, and hadn't seen the ship since.

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A Navy veteran checked an item off his bucket list Tuesday when he visited the USS Midway Museum. Bob Mountz served on the Midway more than 60 years ago, and hadn't seen the ship since.

From the moment he arrived at the USS Midway Tuesday morning, Navy veteran Bob Mountz was ready to go.

It's the moment he's waited for since he last saw the ship back in 1954. For two years during the Korean War, Mountz served as a corpsman aboard the Midway, caring for sick and wounded sailors in an area called the sick bay.

"It was so intricate and so many passageways. I learned where I worked, where I slept and where I ate," Mountz said.

Seeing the place he used to call home immediately brought back memories. Some bad, some good, including the time he helped save a young man's life who suffered a near fatal fall.

"The kid was from Iowa and he got better and then when his parents come aboard to see him, they came over and thanked me," Mountz said.

Now it's Mountz who's thanking people.

"I'm honored to be here," he said.

For him, this isn't just a tour, but a dying wish. Last June, the 85-year-old was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The devastating news inspired his three daughters to help make the most of the time he has left.

"His timing is limited and so we looked at his bucket list and said, what do we want to do? Where do we want to go? And this was once of the top things he wanted to do," daughter Laura Miller said.

After doing some research online, Miller came across wish of a lifetime -- an organization dedicated to granting wishes to seniors. Together with a company called Home Care Assistance, they flew Mountz and his family in from Indiana and arranged everything, including transportation, hotel accommodations and the VIP tour.

Tuesday's tour lasted about three hours, but Mountz and his family will be in San Diego until Saturday to experience all this city has to offer.

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