Sentence:  Down in Concord , New Hampshire , <WSD>was</WSD> a flier in the right place at the right time : Robert S. Fogg , a native New Englander , had been a World War 1 , flying instructor , barnstormer , and one of the original planners of the Concord Airport . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have an existence, be extant