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Wally Dickerman
11-28-2010, 2:16 PM
Earlier this month I posted on another website a story about my Honor Flight trip to Washington DC to visit the WW2 Memorial. Steve Schlumpf has urged me to post it here. Many of you have fathers and uncles who were in WW2.

Many of you have not heard of Honor Flights. Honor Flights is a non-profit organization operating solely on donations, who flys WW2 vets at no cost, to Washington DC to visit their memorial and to honor them for their sacrifices.

Earlier this month I was part of a group of vets on an Honor Flight from Phoenix, Az. There 25 of us, along with about 10 volunteers to aid and assist us. My daughter went along as one of the volunteers. (I got lots of TLC). Several of the vets were in wheelchairs, several needed assistance to get about. Two were women. The youngest is 84 and the oldest 93. We flew in to the airport in Baltimore and they put us up at the airport Hilton. The next day, after a 6 AM breakfast, they got us all on a tour bus to visit the WW2 Memorial, which wasn't completed until 2004. The Memorial was beautiful and lived up to my expectations. During the day we visited other memorials and also Arlington Cemetary to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier.

Visiting our memorial and others was wonderful and impressive, but to me the most impressive part was the people. The volunteers who put the trip together, who met us as we arrived at the Phoenix airport, and got us aboard the airplane, couldn't have been more helpful. Throughout the trip the many volunteer helpers, especially those who accompanied us, were wonderful. When we arrived at the Baltimore airport a large group of people met us at the gate and clapped and cheered as we got off the plane. They made us feel like a bunch of heros. Everywhere we went we received the same kind of welcome. I think that the most touching to me was when we were visiting the Viet Nam Memorial. By that time I was getting footsore from a lot of walking, so I was in a wheelchair. At least twenty 9 or 10 year old children from a visiting school class came up to and put out their hand to shake my hand and to thank me for my service. Soon I was blinking back the tears. I still get choked up just writing about it.

The reception we received upon returning to the Phoenix Airport on Veteran's Day was amazing. There were hundreds of people at the gate when we got off the airplane. They clapped and cheered and many came forward to shake our hand and to thank us. There were Honor guards from a school ROTC and from service organizations. I doubt if there was a dry eye among the vets.

To all of who went on the trip, this didn't turn out to be just a trip to see our memorial, it was also a very emotional trip. It was a trip that all of us will cherish forever.

Of the sixteen million Americans in uniform during WW2, only about 2 million are left and an estimated 700 are dying every day. I wish that all of them could have the opportunity to share the experience that I had.

Wally Dickerman

Harvey M. Taylor
11-28-2010, 2:38 PM
Wally, that is a once a year thing, isnt it? I was in the navy in WW2.Would appreciate more info as I would like to go next year if well, you know.Max Taylor

Steve Schlumpf
11-28-2010, 2:40 PM
Wally - thank you for your service to our country and also for sharing your story! I hope that others will take advantage of the Honor Flights!

Steve Mawson
11-28-2010, 2:52 PM
Wally,
Thanks for sharing, I know it had to be a memorable trip. Nebraska has had flights going now for some time. The stories that come from these trips go along the one you related here. My Dad has been to the Memorial as I have family that is not too far from DC. My wife and I were out to DC two falls ago and a group was in from Ohio. Great to meet a few of them and see them having such an enjoyable time. We took the Memorial Night Tour and got to see the WWII Memorial for the first time at night and then went back the next day in the sunlight, quite a difference. Much quieter and more reverent at night. A beautiful memorial and fitting to honor all those who served. May God Bless America.

Wally Dickerman
11-28-2010, 2:55 PM
Wally, that is a once a year thing, isnt it? I was in the navy in WW2.Would appreciate more info as I would like to go next year if well, you know.Max Taylor

Harvey, I think that there are 39 points in the US where Honor Flights leave for DC. I believe that that flights are set up as donated money comes in. There were four flights this years from Phoenix. I suggest that you visit the Honor Flight website and get on their list.

I also served in the Navy. I was aboard a destroyer in the Pacific during much of the war.

Wally

Ken Hill
11-28-2010, 2:59 PM
Wally - thank you for your service to our country and also for sharing your story! I hope that others will take advantage of the Honor Flights!


Couldnt have said it better!

John Keeton
11-28-2010, 3:10 PM
Wally, fantastic event, and I am so glad you were able to participate. Your service, along with all those that served beside you, is so much appreciated. We all take for granted the liberties we have, and the price paid. My uncle, 95 years old, served during WWII, and most recently was interviewed regarding his experiences. I know he was involved heavily in the various missions, etc., but I have not yet had an opportunity to watch the video. He still drives, and gets around - it would be so neat if he were able to do this!

Thanks again, for the service, and for the thread. Thanks, Steve, for convincing Wally to post this here on the creek!:)

Charlie Reals
11-28-2010, 3:18 PM
I also served in the Navy. I was aboard a destroyer in the Pacific during much of the war.
Wally

Wally Thank you for your service. There is nothing like a Tin Can sailor!!:). In the 60's I served aboard a DE that was at the Palau Islands in WWII. My dad was wounded there. He wouldn't fly anywhere and passed a year ago.
Charlie

Bob Rossi
11-28-2010, 5:01 PM
Thank you for your service Wally. I served in the USAF during Vietnam. (Stateside).

I am very happy that you got to go to D.C. to see the memorials. I went around 1992 so the WWII memorial didn't yet exist.

Don Alexander
11-28-2010, 11:59 PM
i add my thanks for your service Wally and somehow thanks doesn't seem quite adequate

Keith Starosta
11-29-2010, 6:44 AM
Wally, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for posting that story, and for your service to our country.

The thing that struck me most was, "The youngest is 84..."

As a 40-year-old "kid", I wish that I had someone left in my life from YOUR generation to talk with and learn from. I will always regret not taking advantage of the time I had with those I most loved "back in the day".

Thanks again, Wally.

- Keith

Belinda Barfield
11-29-2010, 7:10 AM
Thanks for posting your story, Wally. It's always nice to hear from someone who has made the trip.

For those of you interested in Honorflight, or if you want to help out, there is a link in this thread.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=141295&highlight=honorflight

Ron Jones near Indy
11-29-2010, 2:15 PM
Thank you for your service to our country and for sharing that wonderful story. I'm glad that you were able to go.

Jim Rimmer
11-29-2010, 9:30 PM
Wally, thanks for the post and thanks to both you and Harvey for your service. And the same to others at the Creek who have served.

I wish my Dad had been able to go before he passed. He was a South Pacific sailor. I remember him saying to me once after Brokaw's book came out, "They're calling us the greatest generation. I don't know about that." The same humility you hear from them all.

Thanks for our freedoms.

Dave Anderson NH
11-30-2010, 12:39 PM
Congratulations on the trip Wally and thank you for your service to our country. My Dad, a WWII submariner, went on one of the Honor Flights in October 2009 from Rochester, NY and was really impressed by both the trip itself and the welcomes the group received. A month later in November, I was in DC for the annual reunion of the Marine Corps CAP VETERANS ASSOC and walked all of the monuments on the mall and got VIP seating at the Nov 10th Marine Corps Birthday review and concert at the Iwo Jima Monumet. The WWII monument is impressive and I got to talk with several Marines who were there on honor flights. I'm no longer amazed at how Marines from different generations and wars value and befriend each other. We truly have a brotherhood. Going to visit The Wall, is for me a very emotional experience. I knew too damn many of the names there as friends and members of the 2 units I seved with.

Jim Burr
12-02-2010, 5:04 PM
Hey Wally! Although I on occasion feel it, I am no where near that age. For the last...10 years I guess?...a few of us med folks in Ca have helped WWII guys get their lungs in shape for this event. No one here...to my knowledge anyway, takes a nickel for this. Both of my Grandfathers served in WW2, my mom's father on the USS Arkansas, and my dad's in the 82'nd Airborne. As a coincidence, while I deployed to Haiti during the earthquake, our security detachment was the 82nd! My wife was able to email some pic's of him and the guys really loved it...that, in a small way, made us brothers and the Commanding General, who's name escapes me saw to it that we were well taken care of. Needless to say, any 82'nd that crosses my path share more than an a shoulder patch. God bless and His speed...you have served well Sir!

Ken Fitzgerald
12-02-2010, 5:15 PM
Wally,

I glad you got to make the trip. Thank you for your service to this country. The day after you posted this there was an article in our local paper. A local junior high is holding an event to help sponsor local WWII vets to make that trip too.

Thanks again for your service.

Rob Cunningham
12-03-2010, 9:51 AM
Wally
Thank you for your service to our country. I'm glad you were able to make the trip to the memorial.