Honor Flight - Part 3

And now for the exciting conclusion of my wonderful Honor Flight experience with my Grandpa B!  Over the last two parts I talked about us heading out from Springfield and our tour of D.C.  Something to point out about the Honor Flight trips is that these are all day trips. We were at the airport in Springfield at 5:00am on the day of our trip and then our flight left around 6:15am.  After everything we visited in D.C. we were right back on the buses and back to the airport so we could be back in the air by around 8:00pm (east coast time).  

It's important not to forget that of all the veterans my Grandpa was probably one of the younger ones.  My Grandpa enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 in 1944 and he is 84 years old today.  The veterans on our trip ranged in age from probably 83 to some who were in their mid-90's.  It was something else to see the level of excitement and just general good humor of everyone of these veterans right up to the very end of the long day.  Many of them joked about being asleep on the flight before we were even wheels up and that they would sleep well that night.  Little did they know that even on the flight home the surprises of the day were far from over.  I will also say again that the people who run the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight hub do an AMAZING job at making sure this day is a wonderful day for the veterans.  The level of thought, time, and effort they put into everything and they truly make it a special day for each of the veterans.

As soon as they could into our return flight the Honor Flight coordinators bring out the first of the last couple of surprises. One of the things that they do is an old fashioned Mail Call.  Before the flight each of the guardians is requested to make contact with the veterans' family and friends and ask them to send in letters, cards, or other small pieces of mail.  They then take all these pieces of mail and bundle them up in hand sewn bags for each of the 82 veterans.  Going down the list of names they call out each veteran, their current hometown, their branch of service, and where they served.  That was something interesting to listen to given the wide range of branches that the veterans came from.  On our flight the veterans covered the gambit of major battles and of fronts during the war.  We had several veterans who were in the Battle of the Bulge, including our only woman veteran who was a nurse in France during the Battle.  We also had a couple of Normandy and Iwo Jima veterans along with many other large battles.

The Mail Call was pretty easy for me given that it is my own Grandpa and I know his whole family.  My mom also sent out an e-mail to several of her cousins and some other friends of my Grandpa.  He received several letters and cards from many family members and though he was tired I made him open each of them.  I think at the time I may have been slightly more excited than my Grandpa but then again I knew it was coming and he was pretty much exhausted, which is understandable.  The one interesting story related to the Mail Call is that Tori and I along with my sisters and my Mom all sent him Christmas cards.  In the pre-flight interview with my Grandpa I asked him what a memorable experience from his time in the service was.  One thing he noted was that for years after he returned he couldn't hardly look at a Christmas card.  He went on to explain that during one night close to Christmas he remembered being up on the deck and seeing the the ocean as calm as a sheet of glass with the moon overhead.  He said that was a sight to see and pretty peaceful.  Then they had a Mail Call and all he got was 1 Christmas card.  As my Grandpa put it "there's nothing much more lonely than that."  And that about summed it up.  I will also note that my Grandpa does come from big family but at the same time my he was serving so were 3 of his brothers.  He had another brother stationed in the Pacific on LST's like he was, another brother in the Pacific stationed on the USS Maryland (who would survive a kamikaze strike on the battleship), and the third brother was with the Army in France.

Once we arrived back in Springfield it was time for the next surprise.  Upon leaving the airplane we all had to wait in the terminal before heading back through to the other side of security.  As everyone came off the plane each veteran was given a photo album with the large group photo at the WWII memorial, a commemorative book on the WWII memorial, and a letter from the Honor Flight organization.  Each guardian also received a letter and a photo of them with their veteran.

Once everybody had what they were supposed we were ready to head back through security.  We were lead out by a bagpiper and immediately upon coming through the other side of security we were met by an honor guard and a celebration.  The picture above is of the WWII re-enactors who were the first people we met.  They each stopped and shook every veterans' hand as they excited.  Opposite the re-enactors was an honor guard from several veteran organization including the VFW, American Legion, and Marine Corps League.  As we walked the line every one of those people shook the hands of each veteran.

Beyond the honor guard and the re-enactors were the families, previous Honor Flight veterans, friends of the veterans, and other members of the Honor Flight organization.  It was hard to get a good picture of this but you can see in the picture above that it was wall to wall people.  The entire terminal from one end to the other was filled with people.  People cheering and waving signs for their veterans and everyone of them saying thank you and another "Welcome Home"!

Each veteran and their guardian walked the gauntlet from one end to the other stopping to shake hands and greet family members as we moved along.  This is another picture when we were probably halfway down through the terminal.

This is a picture of the bagpiper who lead us out of the terminal and back through security.  He kept playing until every veteran had moved through the entire terminal and on to the baggage claim area to wait for family members.

Here is my Grandpa and I after we made it through everybody and were waiting for my parents and Tori and the kids to come meet us.  My Grandpa had no idea that everyone was coming to welcome him home and I know he was surprised and very happy to see everyone.

Here is our welcoming crew with their homemade signs.  Tori did awesome getting the kids ready and heading up the Springfield to greet us even though it was pretty late.  As you can see in Corbin's face we weren't the only ones that were tired at this point in the night.

Reagan and Corbin were watching the bagpiper come down the line and waiting for Grandpa B.  I'll note here that Tori took all of these pictures and while they were waiting I was on the other side of security still with my Grandpa.

Another shot of the bagpipers and some more of the welcoming team.

And last but not least a shot of Reagan and I.  I think we were both pretty happy to see each other.  Since we left so early that day I had come up to meet my Grandpa in Springfield the night before.  I think at this point it was almost 11:00pm and we were getting ready to head out.  After everything was said and done I think I got home sometime around 12:30am but I know my parents and my Grandpa got home even later than that.

That all being said I would definitely do it again.  The experience was something that even through the blogs is hard to summarize in words.  For every picture I took there were probably a dozen that I could have taken and for every story another dozen experiences.  What this organization provides is truly amazing and wonderful to have seen with my own eyes.  These veterans know that this was probably the last time they'll ever see D.C. and for many it was the first and last all in one.  That's sad to think about but WWII veterans pass on at a large rate everyday and so time is of the highest importance in providing the opportunity for them to see their own memorial.  

As I am not a veteran I can't share in the experience of what it means to serve your country.  What I can do is take time to honor those that have.  People like my Grandpa B, his brothers, my Grandpa Siron, my own father, and each of his brothers and sisters, my mom's cousins, my cousins, and my fraternity brothers and other friends who have served and continue to serve.  To each of you I was to sincerely say THANK YOU for serving, whether in wartime or in peace time or whether you ever saw combat or not you still took the time to put on the uniform and make a sacrifice that not everyone will make.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, to each of our men and woman who keep us free and keep our nation the great nation it is! God bless each of you and God Bless the United States of America!

(Ok I know the was a pretty cliche ending but seriously if you know me how else would you expect me to end this blog!)