TR Robertson – The 33rd Honor Flight San Diego Group returned Sunday to a large contingent of people waiting to cheer, clap, shout, and shake hands for the 90 returning veterans on the Fall Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. The Honor Flight San Diego trip to Washington, D.C., occurs twice a year, taking 90 veterans from WW II, the Korean War and Vietnam War to the nations capital to see memorials dedicated to their service. Honor Flight San Diego is a non-profit group run by a team of volunteers and directors. Since 2010, Honor Flight San Diego has flown over 2,000 veterans to Washington, D.C., to take part in this weekend trip. The memorials visited for that weekend include the WW II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Marine Corps War Memorial, the U.S. Navy Memorial, the Franklin Delanor Roosevelt Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Military Women’s Memorial, and the Changing of the Guard at the Arlington National Cemetery. The whirlwind trip involves several dinners with guest speakers and a non-stop Saturday visit to the memorials before returning home Sunday to a huge welcome, close to the Terminal 2 baggage claim area. Hundreds of people were dressed in red, white and blue outfits, holding signs, waving flags, applauding, and welcoming these veterans back, thanking them for their service. For many of the veterans it is a very emotional experience, especially for the Vietnam War veterans who had not received anything in the way of a welcome home after the end of that war. Vietnam veteran after Vietnam veteran said, “We finally got the welcome home we felt we deserved”.
There were not any WW II veterans on this Honor Flight San Diego trip, only Korean War and Vietnam War veterans. The majority of WW II veterans still alive are in their 90’s or early 100’s. Estimates say there are only a little over 5,000 WW II veterans still living in California and around 70-80,000 still alive in the United States. The physical limitations of these older veterans at times does play a part in their ability to take part, but Honor Flight San Diego does an amazing job of providing every accommodation they have access to in making sure they provide the ability for these veterans to continue to be honored by attending the trip. Each veteran has a chaperone for the trip and numerous Honor Flight volunteers are on the trip to assist. The buses used have adequate handicapped capabilities and the veterans are able to see every memorial the trip includes. For the Sunday celebration people began lining up around 11:00 am for the anticipated arrival time of 1:15 pm of the special chartered flight. Jill Leheo was set up at a table to hand out specially made crocheted red, white and blue blankets the veterans would receive at the end of the human tunnel the veterans would pass through. Jill said the 90 blankets were made by herself and 2 other ladies. The Combat Veterans Association members were starting to show-up, a group that diligently attends all of the Honor Flight arrivals. CVMA CA 33-1 and Honor Flight San Diego will be hosting the 6th Annual Heroes Luncheon on Saturday, October 10th at the Escondido Elks Lodge beginning at 11 am. Proceeds go to assist Honor Flight San Diego. You can register to attend at www.CVMA331.org
Lots of cheering welcomed the veterans home.
Walking down the line of people getting ready to honor the returning veterans, I spoke with 103-year-old WW II U.S. Army veteran Bill Ridenour and his 102-year young wife Betty. Betty had worked on B-24’s in WW II as a Rosie the Riveter. Bill had taken part in an Honor Flight in 2015. They said they try to attend the arrival of the veterans when they can. Further down the line of people American Pageant winners Ms. of America Catherine Price, Jr. Miss of America Bella Price, Miss Military Star Jessica Ashmore and Military Star Oklahoma Jr. Pre-Teen Kathryn Ashmore wore their sashes and were in their best Red, White and Blue outfits to greet the veterans. Close to where the veterans would be coming down from their arrival gate, four members of the Catholic service organization, the Knights of Columbus, were also attending to honor the returning veterans. Around 12:30 around 10 Navy active-duty sailors came in, lining up on the stairs next to the escalator the veterans would ride down to the waiting crowd.
One special guest in attendance,101-year-old Escondido resident U.S. Navy Captain (Ret.) Royce Williams, was recently awarded the Medal of Honor by President Trump for his service in the Korean War when he engaged 7 Soviet MiG-15 fighter jets, shooting down 4 of these jets. Captain Royce was very popular with many people, taking the opportunity before the veterans arrived, shaking his hand and thanking him for his service and to getting a picture with the Medal of Honor recipient.
As time inched closer to the arrival of the veterans, Honor Flight Homecoming Coordinator Gary Zeugsmidt amped up the crowd with practice cheers for the veterans. Gary introduced his 8-year-old granddaughter Anna who, with some assistance, led the large audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. She then sang the National Anthem to rousing applause. After this, two of the ladies in attendance, Debbie and Valerie, asked the crowd to join them in singing “God Bless the U.S.A.”. Just a little before 1:15 pm, Gary announced the charter plan had arrived and would shortly begin deplaning. As the first veterans began to come down the escalator with their chaperone, thunderous applause and yelling began, with patriotic music playing in the background. Veterans needing wheelchairs, about 30 on this trip, also began to come down the elevator next to this area. The chaperones were wearing their red Honor Flight T-shirts, and the veterans wore blue Honor Flight T-shirts and most wore hats of either their service or the specific unit they were attached to when on active duty. For this trip there were 89 male veterans and one female veteran. The lone female was Alice Andress, a Navy Vietnam War veteran, who was attending with her husband, Fred, also a veteran. As the veterans and their chaperones continued to descend the escalator or elevator, lots of hugs, handshakes, high fives, and the continual “Thank You for Your Service” took place. The line of veterans kept moving down the human tunnel toward the end where they would get their luggage, pick up one of the blankets and receive other gift items that were waiting for each of them.
Anyone wishing to honor these veterans who take part in the Spring or Fall Honor Flight trip are encouraged to join the hundreds of people who gather in Terminal 2, by Baggage Claim 2, each year. If you would like to donate or volunteer wanting to assist or any veteran from WW II, the Korean War or Vietnam War, interested in applying to attend Honor Flight San Diego, go to www.honorflightsandiego.org.
