Today’s post is 1650 words, 16 photos, and an 8-minute read. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

This week, I take you on a very personal journey. I was honored to participate in Mission 66 of the Badger Honor Flight that took military veterans to Washington, DC, for a one-day visit to memorials in our honor. It was a special day for my fellow veterans and me. What follows are stories and photos of this meaningful day.

Before I begin, thanks to everyone who checked out my blog last week. If you missed it, click here.

A Bit of Background

I served in the Army from 1970-1973 as a medical laboratory technician, MOS 92B for you military folks. I was doing poorly in college and drew number 183 in the draft lottery that occurred on December 1, 1969. I figured my chances of being drafted were 50/50, although reality would prove otherwise. The selective service drafted up to number 195 that year. I decided to enlist, choosing the Army because it offered a 3-year enlistment with a guaranteed job. My first choice was Veterinary Technician, but they didn’t need many of those, so I moved on to medical lab tech. The Army needed a lot of those.

I went to basic training at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington, and advanced training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Near the end of the 16-week lab school, orders came down for our next duty station. Most of my lab school class was headed to Vietnam. A few were sent to other duty stations in the states or around the world. My orders sent me to Camp Drake Japan and the 249th General Hospital. I was in Japan for about 10 months when the three unmarried lab guys, of whom I was one, received orders for Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. I served out the rest of my tour there. Not bad duty for a three-year hitch.

You can read about my military experience in my forthcoming book, tentatively titled “You’re in the Army now.” It should be published this fall.

Badger Honor Flight

A few years ago, my Traveling Partner and I attended the free Veterans Day breakfast at our local Hy-Vee store. While we were eating, a couple of nice ladies approached our table and asked if I’d been on the Badger Honor Flight. I say, “No.” One of them handed me an application and told us a little about the program. That application sat on my desk for about a year until I finally filled it out. It was after I spoke with my good friend Wayne, an Air Force veteran, to see if he was interested. If we applied together, we could go on the same flight. It was a go. It took almost two years for our turn.

One of the questions on the application was about a guardian. Each veteran had to select a guardian who would travel with them on the flight. It couldn’t be a spouse because they are likely to be close in age to the veteran. The flight folks want someone who can be attentive to the veteran’s needs and who doesn’t have their own needs. After careful consideration, I asked our youngest daughter to be my guardian and travel with me on the May 30 flight to Washington. She agreed, and our oldest daughter would join us for the day. She lives about three hours away from Washington in State College, Pennsylvania.

Lots happens behind the scenes of Honor Fight that is performed by hundreds of volunteers. They provided training for both the veterans and their guardians in March. I was away and not able to attend. My guardian couldn’t attend either because of the distance, but did make up training the day before the flight. Everything seems to be carefully orchestrated from the pre-flight messages, the send off, the arrival in Washington, the stops at the memorials, Mail Call, and the Welcome Home. Plus, they raise funds to make all this possible. It costs about $140,000 per flight. All this to honor veterans who served, whether during peacetime or stateside, or in a conflict zone. All of us were treated the same regardless of rank or station. We all did something and went where we were told to go. The folks at Badger Honor Flight are to be commended for what they do to make this a special day.

Mission 66

It was an early rise, with a 2:45 AM wake-up and arrival at the Dane County Airport by 4:15 AM. As we entered the terminal, there were people there to greet us.

Inside, we were directed into the check-in line, where we received our name badge and a cap. Red for the veteran, blue for the guardian. Prior to the flight, all the veterans and guardians received an Honor Flight polo shirt and a windbreaker. Again, red for the vets, blue for the guardians. An easy way to tell us apart!

Next, a volunteer checked the veterans out before they had their photo taken. It was kinda like the drill sergeant in the Army! My Traveling Partner took this photo of me having my photo snapped.

We were then directed to sit in Zone 3 for the welcome program and send-off. While we were waiting, I took a few photos of the gathering crowd.

As someone was speaking, I noticed these volunteers standing at parade rest and an old dog having a real rest. One of my favorites from the day.

There were many dogs to comfort the veterans. Notice the man in the wheelchair; his dog accompanied him on the flight. There was another dog, Radar, that was the official comfort dog on the flight.

Soon, I found my friend, Wayne, and his son Bryan, his companion for the day. Bryan is a Navy veteran and will someday have his own Honor Flight.

Here’s a photo of my guardian and me waiting for the flight to begin.

After a prayer by a local minister, a Welcome by the Chair of the Badger Honor Flight Board of Directors, and a talk by the Deputy Adjutant General of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, we headed up to security to board our chartered airplane. Another group of volunteers with flags greeted us as we rode the escalator.

One of the many jobs of the guardians was to follow behind in case we fell backward. The only exception is that if we went down a stairway, they had to be in front of us to break our fall. Our guess was that all these safety precautions were implemented after an incident on a previous flight.

We did not have to go through security because it was handled ahead of time. TSA just checked our names off after we produced our identification. The fastest security check-in ever!

Arrival In Washington, D.C

After an hour and 45-minute flight on a JetBlue plane, we arrived at Washington National Airport. As we taxied to the gate, we were met with a water cannon salute by the airport’s Fire and Rescue Department. What a surprise and honor.

As we deplaned, a group greeted us with balloons and flags. Again, unexpected but very heart-warming.

After a pit stop, we exited security and headed for our bus. As we exited, we were greeted by yet more people, one of whom was our oldest daughter. She couldn’t ride the bus with us so she used public transportation or walked to the memorial sites we were to visit. I didn’t expect her to be at the airport, so it was another surprise.

We were assigned to the Blue Bus, one of four in our caravan. I should mention here that there were 74 veterans, all served during the Vietnam era, along with their guardians, medical personnel (a couple on each bus), bus captains, wheelchair wranglers, a Washington-based volunteer tour guide, and other helpers. We were well looked after.

U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial

Our first stop was at the Marine Corps Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial. The design of this memorial was inspired by the 1945 photograph of six Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. The memorial is quite impressive, with a lot of detail in the soldiers raising the flag after a hard-fought battle.

We had our group photo taken at this memorial. In this photo, we are saluting as directed by the photographer.

I was intrigued by the photographer who took the 1945 photo. Joe Rosenthal was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. He developed an interest in photography in high school and later became a reporter/photographer for the San Francisco News. He tried to join the Army in 1941 but was rejected for poor eyesight. He soon joined the staff at the AP and followed the course of the fight against Japan in the Pacific. On the day he took the photo, Rosenthal was working his way to the top of Mount Suribachi when he learned that a small group of Marines had raised a flag at the time. When he reached the summit, another group was raising a larger flag on a longer pole. This is when he snapped this photo, which is one of the most recognized photos from World War II. Rosenthal won the Pulitzer Prize for his photo. He was later made an honorary Marine and, when he died, given a Marine Corps ceremony. When asked about the photo later in his life, he said, “I took the photo; the Marines took Iwo Jima.”

After the photo and a close look at the memorial, we were directed across the field to a place where we could enjoy lunch from Arby’s. We were told that at the first Badger Honor Flight, the coordinator contacted a local Arby’s franchise for sandwiches for the veterans, guardians, and volunteers. Since then, Arby’s has made these lunches at the cost of supplies as a way to give back to veterans’ service. It was a pleasant meal. We sat on the grass under a nice shade tree and enjoyed our respite until it was time to move on.

I’ll leave here for this week. Join me next week for Part 2, which will feature more of the memorials and the Welcome Home.

Until next week, happy travels!

Tom

PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all who have plunked down your hard-earned dollars and read the book. TM