BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man who saves lives has been given the ride of his life.

Vince Vaden, a paramedic for Lifecare Ambulance in Battle Creek, was given a 40-minute flight with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds on Thursday. The 39-year-old was nominated by his wife for a program begun this year by the Thunderbirds to honor people who better their communities.

"It was outrageous," Vaden told the Battle Creek Enquirer after the F-16 flight. "We did a couple of barrel rolls and went over 600 miles per hour and I did get sick. But it was awesome. It was sweet."

Vaden estimates he's been on 33,000 ambulance calls. In a letter to the Air Force, his wife Nicki Vaden said "he has been an outstanding member of his community and is responsible for saving many lives in the town he represents."

Vince Vaden and his wife and son, Noah, 9, arrived more than three hours before the flight and before the full Thunderbird team landed at W. K. Kellogg Airport. The Thunderbirds are in town to perform this weekend as part of the five-day 2009 Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival that ends Sunday.

"We want to highlight the incredible good that is going on in our communities," said Lt. Col. Derek Routt of Buffalo, N.Y., the pilot for Vaden's flight.

Vaden told members of the Thunderbird crew the flight "fulfilled one of my dreams and it was a privilege and an honor." Nicki Vaden is expecting the couple's second child, and after the flight Vaden said: "I owe her."

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On the Net:

2009 Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival: http://www.bcballoons.com/

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Information from: Battle Creek Enquirer, http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com