The trip began early on the morning of September 11th. The veterans and their "guardian" escorts, about 110 in all, met at the airport for the Charter flight to Reagan International. One of the most memorable portions of the experience was the greeting the veterans received upon arriving in Washington and again on the return arrival at KCI. Groups of people waved flags, shook hands, and expressed their gratitude for the service of these men and woman.
The Honor Flight trip included a visit to Arlington National Cemetery where they observed the changing of the guard and were honored to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown. Several memorials including the WWII memorial, Vietnam and Korea memorial, as well as the Marine (Iwo Jima) and Air Force memorials were toured with many stories being told among the veterans at every stop.
The day was filled with lots of laughter, some tears, and memories for everyone involved.
Roy enlisted in the United StatesArmy Air Corp after the war broke out. He attended the Air Force cadet school as a pilotand received his 2ndLieutenant Commission on April 12, 1945.The graduation ceremony was postponed temporarily due to the death of Franklin R. Roosevelt. He flew AT6’s, AT11’s and C47’s.His love of flying has lasted throughout his lifetime.
Earl entered military service in June of 1945 immediately after graduating from high school. He was sent to Camp Roberts, California for a 17-week basic training program as an infantry rifleman. While in training both the war in Europe and the Pacific ended. Upon completion of basic training, there was a need for replacing servicemen in Europe, therefore he was sent there and assigned to the 252 Engineer Combat Battalion in Berlin, Germany and served as an administrator NCO in the Army of Occupation.
One of Carl’s highlights of his military service was at the war’s end. Due to the fact that he was a bombardier, all flying was stopped and there was nothing for a bombardier to do. He was assigned to the personnel office to interview about 50 Air Force members per day and prepare them for discharge. They had to decide if they wanted to stay in the service, enroll in the reserve program, or be sent home. They were also told how much money was due them upon leaving the service. He will always remember the look on their face as they were given their discharge papers and the money due them. This job lasted about 30 days and by that time most of the members had been sent home. Roy Steiner and Carl enlisted at the same time, and were together almost a year.
If you would like more information on how you can be involved with Honor Flight, visit www.honorflightkc.org
-FM 92 the Bullet
No comments:
Post a Comment