Honor Flight models respect and gratitude for veterans

As a WWII Veteran, I was honored to take part in an Honor Flight and tour of the Washington, D.C. war memorials.

My sponsor on this flight was Johnston Fire Department Battalion Chief Richard Boehm. He picked me up at 4:30 on an April morning. We drove to Warwick Fire Department headquarters and were welcomed by about 25 Veterans of WW II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, Chief George Farrell of the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Association, and firefighters and supporters.

A police and fire escort guided our bus to T.F. Green Airport, where we were greeted by some 200 men, women, and children – strangers to us – who formed a double line of respectful and appreciative well-wishers. It was overwhelming to say the least!

In Washington, D.C., we toured the war memorials and visited Arlington National Cemetery. This last stop was the hardest for me – seeing more than 500 acres of plain white grave markers. At this point my imagination took over. Instead of grave markers, I saw brave warriors – men and women of all persuasions, standing at attention, saluting us. These veterans who made the supreme sacrifice were thanking us for paying tribute to them; for remembering.

I was overwhelmed with pride, guilt, and anger: Pride at being counted as a comrade; guilt for surviving a war that had taken so many; and anger for today’s Veterans who are in need, suffering, their medical and emotional needs neglected or ignored by our deeply troubled Veterans Administration.

At dinner that evening, the appreciation continued. As fans of the TV show “MASH” will recall, mail call was an uplifting event in a service man’s day. During our dinner, a young lady in the civilian dress of the 1940s approached each Veteran as his name was called. She carried an envelope adorned with a candid photograph of the Veteran during his war years; inside were letters of thanks and appreciation from the Veteran’s family and friends, as well as from school children, college students, and other Veterans unknown to him. This was among the most moving events in a very eventful day.

After dinner, we departed for home. At T.F. Greene airport, the pilot stood at the cockpit entrance. I told him that his landing was one of the best I’d ever had. He saw on my hat the WW II US Army Air Corp emblem. He asked about my job. I explained that I had been an assistant crew chief. He showed me the cockpit and then asked what I thought of it (possibly because of the expression on my face after seeing so much computer equipment overwhelming the few instruments I recognized). “It scared the **** out of me!” I said.

I can remember no day in my nearly 90 years in which I have been so respected, thanked, and appreciated, from before dawn until well after dark. I can remember no day in which I saw so many people so genuinely excited to see me, to thank me.

To the Honor Flight Network and the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Association; to Chief Boehm, and to all who made this event possible, thank you for a job well done and a day impossible to forget!

Thank you to those veterans who are no longer with us – rest in peace. Our freedoms come at a steep price. To those who are still suffering the wages of war – may peace and comfort find you. And may our Veterans Administration find its way back to its purpose.