Trip to Normandy Evokes a Time of Action for Illinois World War II Veteran"

From the June 2, 2024, Chicago Tribune by William A. Ryan.

Since there is a lot of news about the 80th anniversary of D-Day, I will be writing about some of it here in this blog as well, of course, in my World War II blog.

In a nursing home about three hours northwest of Chicago near the Wisconsin border on the edge of Durand, Illinois, a town nicknamed "Village of Volunteers," three WW II veterans are talking about the upcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day.

One of them will be traveling to Normandy for the occasion, though he is increasingly frail at the age of 98.  Frank Kohnke is a bit anxious about the trip.

He straightens his 101st Airborne cap and holds up a sepia-toned photograph of him back then.

At the beginning of June, the Army kicks off 10 days in Normandy to commemorate perhaps the most iconic military maneuver in modern history:  the day America and her allies stormed the beaches of France to gain a foothold in German-occupied Europe.

Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to attend, but the guests of honor will be the nearly 130 World War II veterans like Kohnke who are making the the trip on two medically-supported Honor Flights.

--GreGen

Honor Flight Chicago-- Part 4: One Vietnam War Veteran's Experience

Bob Misevich, the Vietnam War medic. saw some of the worst of the war. and his memories of e war are vivid.  Being a part of Honor Flight Chicago this past July touched him deeply.  (See Honor Flight Chicago--Part 2 from November 13, 2019.)

 Nothing more than being greeted by five hundred people greeting them on their return from D.C. and there were even children in the crowd and many waving U.S. flags.  On their arrival, they were also greeted by representatives of the armed forces and National Guard and veterans.  Former Senator Bob Dole  is often in Washington, D.C. to greet vets when his health is alright.

All this "changed my life.  It changed the whole process of how you thought about the war," he says.

Going to the Vietnam Wall Memorial also meant a lot to him.  He carried a list of six names from his squad over there.  He didn't know what had happened to them.  Sadly, he found three of their names on the wall.

That wall is indeed a sombering experience, as are the traveling Vietnam Walls.

He is also impressed with the program and its volunteers and encourages all veterans to take part.  "Upon arrival at Midway they immediately put us in wheelchairs and we had a mentor every step of the way.

Honor Flight Chicago-- Part 3: How It Started

Co-founder of the Honor Flight Chicago hub is Mary Pettinatto, who took her step-father to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. shortly after it opened and encountered  one of te very first Honor Flights.

She was so moved that when she returned to Chicago, she co-founded the Chicago hub with the help of three other women in 2007.   The first flight took off in 2008 and now they have gone to D.C. 95 times.

With the aging of the orld War II veterans, they opened the flight to Korean War veterans in 2016 and this year to Vietnam War veterans.

"For our Vietnam  veterans, who returned home to open animosity and hostility, the day has proven to be one of healing and closure -- a true 'Welcome Home' that is 50 years overdue," says Doug Meffley, co-director of Honor Flight Chicago.

--Cooter

The National Honor Flight Origin

The whole Honor Flight idea originated with Earl Morris, a physician assistant with the Veterans Administration in Springfield, Ohio,  and Jeff Miller from Henderson, North Carolina, the son of a World War II veteran.  They did this in 2004, soon after the World War II Memorial was opened in Washington, D.C..

The first Honor Flight took place in May 2005 and took off from Springfield, Ohio, and flew World War II veterans to the memorial that was built in their honor.

The idea soon spread and hubs were added.  Honor Flight Chicago has become one of the largest hubs.

--Cooter

Honor Flight Chicago-- Part 2: So Far, 8,730 Chicago Area War Heroes Honored

"Since our founding in 2008 we have honored 8,730 Chicago Area war heroes," said Doug Meffley, co-director of Honor Flight Chicago.

Bob Misevich, an Army combat medic in the Vietnam War, grew up in Chicago in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.  He volunteered to serve in Vietnam at age 21.  he is now retired after working for Sears for 40 years and lives in Naperville.

"After 52 years, (the experience of serving in that war) never left me," he says.

When he first arrived in country, he remembers getting off a helicopter and seeing some body bags loaded on the same helicopter.  he later found out that one of the body bags contained the body of the medic he was replacing

Misevich participated in an Honor Flight this past July.

Honor Flight Chicago Opens Up to Vietnam Veterans-- Part 1

From the Nov. 8, 2019, Chicago Tribune "Next generation of warriors."

"They may not have felt like warriors in the years Vietnam veterans fought a thankless fought a world away.  But thanks to organizations such as Honor Flight Chicago, that has changed.

"Honor Flight Chicago, a not-for-profit, has for the past 11 years flown World War II and Korean War veterans to Washington, D.C., free-of-charge to visit the national war memorials built in their honor.  In 2019, the organization  began including Vietnam-era veterans in this Day of Honor."

A well-deserved honor.  I just can't believe how so many were treated when they came home during and after the war.  It kind of reminds me of the way Confederate veterans are being treated these days.

Honor Flights Extended to Korean War Veterans-- Part 4: A Special Fraternity

Tom Cafferty, 86, served as an Army medic in the 1st cavalry Division during the Korean War, said he is looking forward to seeing the names and statues in D.C. on the Honor Flight later this year.  During the war, he built roads and placed mines.

Lou Kueltzo, 81, filed his application in 2008 and is eager to meet his fellow veterans.  They are a part of a special fraternity.  "Us veterans like to talk about the good times more than the bad," he said.  "You know you'll be able to sit down and talk, and they know how you feel and why you feel the way you do."

For more information visit honorflightchicago.org.

--DaCoot

Honor Flights Extended to Korean War Veterans-- Part 3: History of the War

In 1950, communist North Korea, supported and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded democratic South Korea.  The United Nations, using mostly U.S. troops, struck back.  The fighting ceased after much back and forth movement, three years later and a buffer area, the Demilitarized Zone, was created between the two countries.

For the U.S. military, it was the first integrated war where blacks and whites fought alongside each other and had the first widespread use of helicopters and jets.  It also had new frontline army hospitals known as Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, or MASH units.  these saved countless lives and were featured in the famous TV show "M.A.S.H."

--Cooter

Honor Flights Extended to Korean War Veterans-- Part 2: A Busy Day

Mary Pettinato, CEO and co-founder of Honor Flight Chicago, said Korean War veterans never received the welcome they deserved.  "We need to honor and recognize them before it's too late," she said.

There are an estimated 35,000 Korean War veterans living in the Chicago area and more than 1,200 have already signed up to go to D.C..

Flights open to Korean War veterans this year are April 13, May 11, June 8, July 13, Aug. 10Sept. 7 and Oct. 5.  World War II veterans who have not yet gone will continue to be served.

Honor Flights involve an early morning flight from Midway Airport.  Honor Flight Chicago and a group of active-duty volunteers escort the veterans to the national monuments built in their honor.  They visit the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War memorials as well as the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.  Hundreds show their appreciation throughout the day and there is a ceremony at the World War II memorial featuring bagpipers and a color guard.  Their return flight lands in Chicago by 8:30 p.m..

Quite a Busy But Deserved Day.  --Cooter

Honor Flights Extended to Korean War Veterans-- Part 1

From the Jan. 28, 2016, Chicago Tribune by Matt McCall.

In 1952, Lou Kueltzo, was a 17-year-old high school graduate from Forest Park and joined the military.  By Christmas he was a Navy petty officer third class freezing on the deck of a destroyer off Korea.

Whenever a pilot would plunge into the water near his ship, the USS Hazelwood, he was part of a group who would race to his aid in a rescue boat.  Once after saving one pilot, he was asked what kind of ice cream they liked.  The next week, the Navy sent two 25-gallon steel tubs of strawberry and chocolate ice cream to the ship.  It was a huge hit with the sailors.

After eight months, the war ended with an armistice, and Kueltzo went home expecting a big welcome from the public, but he and the others were greeted with silence.  With all those deaths, he said it was like the war never happened.  At the end of World War II, it was all celebration, but not this time.  Said Mr. Kueltzo, now living in Aurora:  "There was nothing.  That's why it is called the forgotten war."

Honor Flight Chicago, the nonprofit that flies World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., for a free whrlwind daytrip to the national war memorials to honor their service, announced Wednesday that it would open 2016 flights to Korean War veterans in April.

--Cooter

Sad News: WW II Veteran Dies Before Visit to WW II Memorial in DC

T, Dan Benson, in the October 12th Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Bob Smasal, 82, died just before his Stars and Stripes Honor Flight to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.

In June 1943, the 17-year-old dropped out of high school and joined the Marine Corps in Milwaukee, One year later, he was at Iwo Jima to witness the historic flag-raising.

This past August, he learned of the Honor Flight Program that provides World War II veterans a free charter to DC to see the memorial and he was one of the first to sign up in Port Washington. On September 8th, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and died September 27th, two days after receiving notice of his acceptance on the flight.

However, the flag that draped with casket will make the trip this November 19th.


WW II VETS DYING

An average of a thousand World War II veterans are dying each day now as they enter their eighties and nineties. This program that provides quick, one-day trips to the World War II Memorial now has 52 hubs in 26 states. The one at Port Washington is Wisconsin's second, the first being at LaCrosse. The first flight from the Port Washington hub leaves November 19th and will have 113 aboard, including 80 veterans.

A Great Program, But Too Bad for Mr. Smaal. The Greatest Generation.