Figure 1: Kent provided a guided tour for the Tri-City World War II veterans. He certainly enjoyed the entire tour, which was full of pleasant, honor, remembrance and celebration. (The younger people in green shirts are volunteer guardians)
Figure 2: Kent stands on the floor of the museum and moves slowly and surely around the "Enola Gay", the single most complicated, sophisticated, and expensive weapon produced by the United States during World War II. Kent points to this spot and that spots on the plane and tells small stories, all about a living creature, gliding along smoothly, as though they shared their experiences together.
Serving Honor Flight Veterans
Time is of the essence. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 640 WWII veterans die each day. The Honor Flight Network helps veterans of the "greatest generation" make a free pilgrimage to the World War II Memorial and also to the Udvar-Hazy Center to see the World War II famous warbirds of their dreams. As a veteran myself, I'm proud to have an opportunity to be affiliated with NASM docent corps and to have served the Honor Flight veterans with more than 50 tours at both NMB and UHC at NASM.
Earl Morse, a Physician Assistant and Retired Air Force Captain conceived the Honor Flight program to honor veterans he took care of for over 27 years. Honor Flight originated in 2005 with six small planes flying 12 World War II veterans from Springfield, OH to Washington DC. In 2006, with an ever-expanding waiting list of veterans, commercial airline carriers were used to accommodate as many honorees as possible, as quickly as possible.
Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. They transport as many United States military veterans as possible to see the memorials of the respective war they fought and the related museums in Washington, D.C. at no cost to the veterans. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.
Currently these organizations are focused on bringing veterans of World War II to the National World War II Memorial and the UHC to see the memorial and warbirds of the war they fought in. The veterans on the honor flights are escorted by volunteer guardians, who help them on the flight and around D.C. Guardians are interested patriotic citizens that would like to escort these vets to see their memorials at their own expense.
An Honor Flight trip involves being away from home for 18 hours. Each Honor Flight day begins very early in the morning at the origin local airport. Volunteers begin to arrive around 3am in order to set up. Veterans begin arriving around 4am. Each veteran is paired with a guardian for the day. With their guardians at their side, the veterans make their way through security. Breakfast is served at the gate prior to boarding the plane. Flights depart at 6am, arriving at Dulles International Airport greeted by a water cannon salute and often met by cheering crowds.
A waiting bus takes Honor Flight participants to the World War II Memorial. Group pictures are taken and veterans are given the opportunity to experience the Memorial in whatever way is best for them. Lunch is served on the bus while the participants are taken on a bus tour of Washington, DC. Following the bus tour, Honor Flight participants arrive at the Korean, Vietnam and Lincoln Memorials. From there, our honorees are taken to the Iwo Jima Memorial and then to Arlington National Cemetery.
From there the group heads to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The UHC tour comes as a surprise to our veterans and is always a highlight of the day. Honor Flight Network has established an aggressive goal. Hundreds thousands Honor Flight veterans visited UHC to see the Enola Gay and other vintage famous warbirds.
I have learned a lot over the years and one point that stands out is that our Honor Flight veteran heroes aren’t asking for recognition. It is my position that they deserve it. The NASM program is just a small token of our appreciation for those that gave so much. Following the UHC visit, the bus takes participants to IAD Airport. They arrive in the origin local airport 8pm.
Due to the senior age of our heroes, and the prediction that we are losing approximately 640 of them daily, I am committed to do all within my realm to serve the Honor Flight WW II veterans and to make their dream a reality before it’s too late. Honor Flight Network also pays tribute to America’s other heroes who served during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, followed by veterans of more current wars. They, too, have given so much and it’s time we show them that their efforts are not forgotten.
I certainly enjoyed every opportunity to serve our veterans, who often return home from war to face their most difficult battles. I am pleased to know that most of these Honor Flight WW II veterans have a kindred spirit and love of flight. I am proud to say that all of our docents participated in the Honor Flight program all had an exhilarating experience that will remain with us for the rest of our lives. My heartfelt thanks to Honor Flight Network for the opportunity they gave us to honor their service and sacrifice.
Personally, I get a thrill every time provide a guided tour to recognize our WW II veterans and I certainly enjoyed the entire tour with which was full of pleasant, honor, remembrance and celebration. The only way to truly understand and appreciate the richness of the Honor Flight experience is to sign up for a tour for the Honor Flight. Please continue to help NASM to make Honor Flight WW II veterans' dream of visiting THEIR vintage warbirds, a reality. It's simple, but it can make an impact.