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Honor Flight serves those who served in WWII
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After almost 60 years, Washington finally built a memorial to honor all of our World War II veterans. Editor Robert Dole was instrumental in getting the memorial built. It was finally dedicated in May, 2004. There are more than two million surviving World War II veterans.
The Honor Flight Network program was conceived by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain. Captain Morse wanted to honor the veterans that he had been taking care of for the past 27 years. After retiring from the Air Force in 1998, Captain Morse was hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs to work in a small clinic in Springfield, Ohio. After the World War II Memorial was completed and dedicated, it quickly became the topic of conversation among Captain Morse's World War II veteran patients.
Captain Morse asked his veterans if they would ever travel out to Washington, D.C., to visit their memorial. Most said that they hoped to make the trip but many veterans spoke about the reality of not having the finances or the health to get there on their own. Most were in their 80s.
Captain Morse was determined to find a way to support these senior heroes. In addition to being a physician assistant, Captain Morse was also a pilot and had a private plane. In December of 2004, Captain Morse asked one of his World War II veteran patients if it would be all right if he personally flew him to Washington, free of charge. His patient broke down and cried. He told Captain Morse that at his age, he would probably never be able to see his memorial through his own resources. So, he graciously accepted the offer and said that he would be forever grateful.
In January of 2005, Captain Morse addressed about 150 members of his flying club. He expressed his desire to create a volunteer program to fly veterans of World War II to their memorial. There were two other major stipulations to his request. The first was that the veterans had to pay for nothing. The second was that the pilots had to personally escort the veterans around the city for the entire day. After Captain Morse spoke, eleven pilots, who had never met any of his patients, stepped up to volunteer. That day gave birth to Honor Flight.
Soon after the dedicated volunteers stepped forward, a board was formed. Funds were raised and the first formal flight took to the air in May, 2005. By the end of the first year, Honor Flight had transported 137 World War II veterans to their memorial in Washington,.
By 2006, commercial flights were exclusively used due to the number of veterans on the waiting list and the adverse weather conditions which prohibited the smaller aircraft from participating on a regular basis. The mission and ideals of Honor Flight began to spread across America. In their fourth year, Honor Flight had safely transported 11,137 veterans to see their World War II Memorial at no cost to the veterans. This year it has established a goal of safely transporting 25,000 veterans.
Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Christopher Cosich and two of his volunteers who founded the Long Island chapter of Honor Flight in October 2007. He movingly talked about the need to express to the greatest generation, our appreciation and recognition for their heroic service during World War II. He pointedly shared that none of the senior veterans whom he spoke with were seeking recognition, but rather were grateful for the opportunity to serve our nation.
In that same interview, I was fortunate to interview Gil Blum, an 82-year-old veteran who served during World War II in his late teens. I asked him to describe his experience having participated in an Honor Flight from MacArthur Airport to Washington. He began to fill up with tears as he recounted that powerful experience.
He gathered with 20 other senior veterans at the Southwest terminal at MacArthur. They were the last to board the plane. The senior flight attendant shared with all on board who the last group of passengers to board was. As the veterans boarded their flight, those already seated began to cheer and clap for these unsung heroes. The veterans were overwhelmed, many of them fighting back the tears.
Once they landed, all the other passengers deplaned first. Unbeknownst to these veterans, as they deplaned into the main terminal, they were announced as members of the greatest generation — World War II veterans. The people in the crowded terminal began to cheer and applaud these men and women in their 80s and 90s. As they made their way through the terminal to the vans that were waiting, the applause and cheering continued.
As they were escorted to the memorial, the emotion on the part of the veterans and their escorts was indescribable. Mr. Blum said he did not expect to be so overwhelmed. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he spoke of all the memories that came flooding back as he touched his memorial. He talked about the men he had met while at war and those who had courageously died in the service of our nation.
At the end of the day, when they were ready to board the buses for the airport, all he and the others could say was "thank you."
Reverend Pizzarelli is the director of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson.
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