Texas Female Veterans Celebrated on Honor Flight to DC

Texas' First All-Female Honor Flight Takes Off From Austin
TWC News
By LeAnn Wallace
Saturday, October 8, 2016

AUSTIN, Texas - An honor guard and an appreciative crowd are symbols of respect that go with every well-deserved honor flight.

But this trip was different.

It was the first all-women’s veterans honor flight in Texas and the third ever nationally.

"It feels wonderful. I never thought I'd be honored at my age, 93," said B.J. Garner, a WWII veteran.

For others, the honor flight brings back powerful memories, such as “Clark Air Base, triage, blood (and) bullets” for Frankie Dawson who was a Vietnam War medic.

The women are all World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans. They're off on an all-expenses paid trip to see the war memorials in Washington DC.
read more here

First All Female Veteran Honor Flight Brings Women Together

First all-women Veterans’ Honor Flight from Columbus visits D.C. war memorials
Department Veterans Affairs
Jennifer Sardam
September 21, 2016

“Most times, women were not wanted overseas unless you had a nurse’s degree, and you could take care [of] or nurture the men that were injured,” said Dorothy “Dottie” Wolfe, who served in the Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserve and Air National Guard. “But I served, and I was proud to have served. I would have gone had they sent me, under any situation. That’s what you signed the contract for, and I knew it.”

Honor Flights from across the country bring Veterans to Washington, D.C., several times a week.

But Sept. 10, the Honor Flight Columbus organization out of Ohio sent the group’s first all-women Veterans’ Honor Flight to the nation’s capital. While there, 81 women—Veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War—visited their respective monuments.

The trip to Washington kicked off with a hosted event at the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA) Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, and included stops at a number of sites: the Iwo Jima Memorial, the U.S. Air Force Memorial and the memorials for World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma L. Vaught—one of the most decorated women in U.S. military history—was among those who greeted the group at the WIMSA Memorial; in 1966, she was also the first woman to deploy with an Air Force bomber wing.

“It means so much to see this group of women come in and see what the memorial means to them, because it does mean something to them,” said Vaught. “It is seeing their service to our country paid tribute to by the nation. And yet with it all, there comes laughter and joy, and that’s the way it ought to be about serving our country.”

As the pioneers of their times, these women blazed a path that until then was only traveled for men. And yet despite their contributions, they weren’t so readily accepted as equals.

“My career field was supposed to be aerospace jet mechanic,” said retired Air Force Veteran Phyllis Collins, who goes by the nickname “Sunshine.”

“And the guys didn’t like me there … I was supposed to be working on a dead battery. They hooked it up, and I got zapped,” she said. “So I changed my career field real fast. I became a military cop.”
read more here

HonorAir Knoxville Flight 21 Filled With Vietnam Veterans

Service and Sacrifice
WBIR News
June 24, 2016

Throughout the month, we are sharing the stories of four veterans we followed aboard HonorAir Knoxville Flight 21. It was the first flight devoted to all Vietnam veterans. A total of 149 troops made the all-expenses paid trip up and back in the same day to Washington to see the war memorials.

After sneaking in his first solo flight at 13-years-old, Joel Pressburg was leading aerial missions in the Vietnam war by age 22.

He would skirt trees in the flight deck of a U-10 Helio Courier, going so low that on one mission he found bolts from an enemy crossbow stuck in the top of his small plane. Pressburg continues to remain humble about his service, though.

"I had it a lot easier than the guys who were down on the ground," Pressburg said. "They have my undying respect."

Pressburg is one of the veterans who received a free one-day trip to Washington D.C. to see the memorials built in their honor. HonorAir Knoxville Flight 21 said it was the first ever trip devoted solely to Vietnam veterans.
read more here

First all Vietnam Honor Air flight back from DC
WBIR news
KNOXVILLE - To hearty cheers and waving flags, some 150 Vietnam veterans returned Wednesday night from their all-day trip to the Nation's Capitol to see monuments erected in their honor.

Wednesday's HonorAir flight was unique in that it was exclusively for Vietnam veterans, and it is the third of 21 HonorAir flights that have included Vietnam veterans.

At least 10 Purple Heart recipients were aboard Wednesday’s flight.

It returned about 8:30 p.m. to dozens of greeters at McGhee Tyson Airport.
read more here

Some 150 Vietnam vets flew back into Knoxville on Wednesday night. It was the first trip that featured only Vietnam-era veterans.

Iowa Vietnam Veterans Take Honor Flight

First Honor Flight for Vietnam veterans announced
WQAD
By Ryan Jenkins
Jun 17, 2016

BETTENDORF, Iowa (WQAD) - Approximately one hundred veterans will experience the first ever Vietnam Veteran honor flight in September 2016.

The event, hosted by Honor Flight of the Quad Cities, will celebrate these veterans by providing an experience for them to enjoy a dinner before they take off and spend their day touring war memorials and monuments in Washington D.C.

While in Washington D.C., the veterans will take part in a special service near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

“They will join together, they will be able to talk to each other and share experiences, share laughter, maybe even a few tears…” said Steve Garrington, Hub Director of Honor Flights of the Quad Cities.

The flight will depart from the Quad City International Airport on September 15, 2016. The veterans will spend the day in Washington D.C. and return that same night.

Garrington said he hopes to see the community welcome the veterans home upon their return.

“They didn’t really get a welcome home the first time so this is our chance...” said Garrington.
read more here

Binding Sense of Brotherhood

Military friendships, losses remain deep, profound
Kentucky.com
BY PASCHAL BAUTE AND CHARLIE EYER
October 11, 2015

The military veteran's experience is intense, emotional, personal, therefore unforgettable.

The authors participated in the recent Honor Flight to war memorials. Paschal Baute, right, who served off and on from 1948 to 1972 with all four military branches, mostly as a Navy chaplain, is now chaplain to the Lexington Blind Veterans Chapter. Charlie Eyer was a medical lab tech with the 121st Evacuation Hospital near Seoul, South Korea.

Through training of all sorts, one arrives at a binding sense of brotherhood. Combat and the memories of lost brothers magnify the intensity.

"Never have I felt as close to my wife or kids as I did with my brothers in combat," confided one Vietnam veteran. There is nothing like this sense of closeness in civilian life.

Thus, for veterans a loneliness in civilian life is inescapable, which no civilian can understand. This may be one reason there are so many suicides of veterans today. The emotional transition is hugely challenging.

Research shows the disconnect is so strong it can be buried for 30 years and then emerge as post-traumatic stress disorder, as happened with one Vietnam veteran friend.
read more here

WWII Veteran Still On Mission

At 91, pilot, hero, still on mission
The Journal Gazette
Brian Francisco
Washington editor
October 8, 2015

“For many, many years I spoke every night in my dreams to the 16 guys who I flew with who were killed in World War II, half of my squadron,” he said. Yellen flew 19 combat missions over Japan.

Jerry Yellin stepped off a shuttle bus just before dawn Wednesday and headed toward an airliner when he was intercepted by a teenage girl.

“Thank you for your service,” she told Yellin, giving him a red, white and blue ornament with ribbons displaying the words “brave hero.”

Most if not all of the 86 military veterans boarding Tuesday’s Honor Flight received the trinkets from members of a Whitley County 4-H club. Yellin’s presenter likely did not know it at the time, but her gratitude was directed at the day’s celebrity.

Yellin, 91, was a P-51 fighter pilot who flew the final combat mission of World War II. His wingman on Aug. 14, 1945, Phil Schlamberg, disappeared in the attack over mainland Japan and is considered the last American killed in the war.

Wednesday’s trip was Yellin’s first Honor Flight to visit memorials in Washington, D.C., although the resident of Fairfield, Iowa, had seen them before. The group departed from the Air National Guard’s 122nd Fighter Wing and Fort Wayne International Airport, which began its life as a military air base during WWII.

While in Washington for the day, Yellin was scheduled to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“That, to me, is an honor beyond anything that I’ve ever been involved with,” he said in an interview at the 122nd Fighter Wing along Ferguson Road.

Yellin is the author of four books; a spokesman for Spirit of ’45, an organization that celebrates the WWII generation; and an advocate for aiding veterans who suffer post traumatic stress disorder. He said he battled PTSD for 30 years after serving in the Pacific Theater.

“I thought about suicide, and I stopped flying fighter planes because I knew if I continued to fly, I was going to die, by chance or by choice,” said Yellen, who had been a captain in the Army Air Corps. “I hardly could ever go up in a building, a 10-story, 12-story building, without standing by a window and thinking about jumping.
read more here

WWII Iwo Jima Pilot Takes Seat on Honor Flight

Fate leads to vet's first Honor Flight
Ex-fighter pilot met city man on Iwo Jima
Journal Gazette
BRIAN FRANCISCO
Washington editor
September 24, 205

He said Yellin and Hawkins became friends in part through their shared interest in helping veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Yellin co-wrote “The Resilient Warrior,” a 2011 book about PTSD, in which he said he suffered for 30 years before he began practicing Transcendental Meditation.

An ex-fighter pilot who flew the last U.S. combat mission of World War II has never boarded an Honor Flight for a group visit to war memorials in Washington, D.C.

That should change on the morning of Oct. 7, when retired Army Air Corps Capt. Jerry Yellin is scheduled to be a passenger on the Honor Flight Northeast Indiana jet that will depart from Fort Wayne International Airport carrying 85 other veterans.

It’s not as if Yellin, 91, rarely leaves his home in Fairfield, Iowa. He makes public appearances around the country for Spirit of ’45, a nonprofit organization that honors the achievements and sacrifices of the WWII generation. He attended the V-E Day flyover in Washington in May. And the author of four books returned in March to the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, where he and other fighter pilots were based in 1945 for missions escorting U.S. warplanes that bombed mainland Japan.

It was during a 2010 trip to Iwo Jima that Fort Wayne resident Dennis Covert met Yellin while both were riding an elevator at a hotel in Guam.

The next day, Covert took a photograph of Yellin near where Marines had raised the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

“One of the questions we ask: Can you walk the distance of a football field without assistance? And he said, ‘I can run it if you want me to,’” Covert said Wednesday in a telephone interview. “He’s in pretty good shape.”

The flight will depart Fort Wayne International at 8:30 a.m. and return about 9 p.m. Passengers will include 62 Korean War veterans and 24 WWII veterans, according to Bob Myer, president of the Honor Flight board. Two female veterans will be among the group.

Honor Flight participants fly for free but must be accompanied by volunteer guardians, who pay $400. Yellin’s guardian in Washington will be New York actress and film producer Diane Hawkins, a friend to both Yellin and Covert.
read more here

Honor Flight Veterans Greeted by Crowd at Sanford Airport

War vets return from Honor Flight to D.C.
13 News Orlando
September 28, 2014

ORLANDO
War veterans got a warm welcome-back Saturday night from loved ones.

The community gathered at the Orlando Sanford International Airport to greet the vets as they returned from Washington.

The vets were on an all day trip on Honor Flight; where the goal is to honor America's veterans for their sacrifices.

They are taken to Washington D.C. to visit their memorials.
read more here

WWII Navy Veteran Took Final Flight

Veteran dies after returning from honor flight
The Billings Gazette via AP
By Cindy Uken
May 1, 2014

For a weary, emotional and grateful Donald Buska, it was mission accomplished.

The 86-year-old U.S. Navy veteran fulfilled his longtime dream of traveling to Washington, D.C., on Sunday and Monday to visit the National World War II Memorial.

The once-in-a-lifetime trip with Big Sky Honor Flight of Montana afforded him opportunities he had only imagined.

And, it was an honor that came just in time.

On Tuesday, Buska, who had been in hospice care since Feb. 12, passed away.

“He had the time of his life,” said Buska’s son, Jeff, who traveled with him to Washington, D.C.

“What a way to go. He went out on a high note,” Jeff said.
read more here

Orlando Honor Flight WWII Veterans say lawmakers should be ashamed of themselves

World War II veterans’ trip to Washington dampened by shutdown
Veterans return to Orlando, say they are disappointed in lawmakers
WESH2 News
Oct 05, 2013

ORLANDO, Fla. —Local World War II veterans were greeted with American flags, public fan fair and the sound of bagpipes in Orlando when they returned from Washington, D.C.

However, during their trip the nation’s capital, the 25 veterans were greeted with concrete barricades at many of the national monuments because of the federal government shutdown.

They said lawmakers should be ashamed of themselves for shutting the government down. One man said he took down a sign posted about the shutdown.

“I am annoyed at our senators not allowing our troops to see their monuments that they fought for,” another veteran said. “They were given these monuments in honor of them.”
read more here

Emotions Flow at First Ever Honor Flight for Vietnam Veterans

Emotions Flow at First Ever Honor Flight for Vietnam Veterans
SOURCE: MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
MEG JONES
AUGUST 5, 2013

114 Vietnam veterans traveled to Washington, D.C., Friday on the first ever Yellow Ribbon Honor Flight for Wisconsin veterans.

Aug. 03--WASHINGTON, D.C. -- They came to visit their buddies, men who are forever 19 or 20 or 21.

Jim Zitzelsberger came to see Keith McEnany. Dick Young found Kevin Ferguson.

George Gilles looked for Thomas Cole and found him. Jim Schertz visited Douglas O'Neill.

The faces reflected in the shiny black granite have grown gray and wrinkled. Their memories of their fallen comrades remain fresh.

"Him and I were close buddies in Vietnam," Gilles, 64, said of Cole.

"He was my closest friend in Vietnam. He was engaged to be married. He was only 30 days away from leaving the war," Gilles, a Marine from Oshkosh, said of his friend killed by a rocket in 1968. "I never made friends in Vietnam after that."

Gilles and 113 other Vietnam veterans traveled to Washington, D.C., Friday on the first ever Yellow Ribbon Honor Flight for Wisconsin veterans. The group left EAA AirVenture in the morning and returned after the air show.
read more here

Vietnam veterans get special Honor Flight

Vietnam veterans get special Honor Flight
Journal Sentinel
By Meg Jones
July 20, 2013

The first thing Jim Schertz will do is find four names etched into the black granite.

They're not simply names to the retired Milwaukee firefighter and Vietnam veteran. They were his buddies and comrades. They did not come home from the war.

"Just the fact they're still missing in action is unbelievable," said Schertz, 62.

Schertz will head straight to one of the last sections of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, known as 2W, and his eyes will scan to Lines 128 and 129. That's where Douglas L. O'Neil, Larry A. Zich, Allen D. Christensen and Edward W. Williams are listed among the more than 52,000 other Americans killed in Vietnam.

Schertz has never been to the Wall or Washington. But he's flying to the nation's capital on Aug. 2 with 110 other Vietnam veterans in the first Honor Flight for Wisconsin veterans of that war.

Appleton-based Old Glory Honor Flight, whose motto is "It's never too late to say thank you," has organized numerous one-day trips to Washington for World War II veterans to visit memorials. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of hostilities in Vietnam, organizers decided to arrange a one-time-only trip for Vietnam veterans.

Old Glory Honor Flight's goal is to continue the free trips for World War II and Korean War veterans. With a waiting list of more than 500 names, it will be a few more years until the group can turn its attention to Vietnam veterans.

"Vietnam veterans as a group have been so incredibly supportive of our organization and really helped us get off the ground for our first flight in '09, so we thought this was a perfect way to give back to them," Old Glory Honor Flight President Drew MacDonald said.

The flight will leave Oshkosh early Aug. 2 with stops at the Wall, Smithsonian American History Museum and Arlington National Cemetery to see the changing of the guard ceremony. Veterans will wear special shirts and receive small tote bags filled with snacks, tissues, and pencils and tracing paper if they want to make an etching of a name on the Wall. The group will return that evening to EAA AirVenture to a hero's welcome and concert by actor Gary Sinise's Lt. Dan Band.
read more here

WWII Veterans Honor Flight Erupts Cheering Crowd

WWII Vets with Honor Flight spontaneously cheered by travelers at Reagan National Airport
May 23, 2012

On May 23, 2012, World War II veterans on an Honor Flight from South Carolina arrived in Washington DC to visit the WWII Memorial.

As some background, the person holding the newspaper and men by the flags were the small handful of volunteers officially greeting the veterans. The photographer and videographer seen in the video were actually on the flight and came off the plane first. The gate attendant joked when they came out of the jet way that Honor Flights come with their own Paparazzi.

The woman seen escorting the first veteran was the same US Air gate attendant who made the original announcements. What you didn't see was two airport firetrucks did an amazing "water cannon salute" making an arch of water as the jet arrived. The gate attendant told the crowd that such a salute is typically reserved for a pilot returning from their last flight before retiring.

Veterans take final Honor Air Flight to Washington

Veterans take final Honor Air Flight to Washington
By Jason Wheeler, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, September 30, 2012

Veterans on Honor Flight return to welcoming crowd

DAYTONA BEACH
Hundreds of World War II veterans from across Central Florida descended on Washington for their final Honor Air Flight.

Early Saturday morning, veterans from Volusia and Flagler counties met at Daytona Beach International Airport where they hopped aboard a chartered jet.

It was the tenth and final Honor Air Flight put on by a trio of rotary clubs in West Volusia County.

Over the past five years, volunteers raised more than $800,000 to send just over 1,000 veterans to the various war memorials in their honor.

“Well, this'll be the first time that I could, what you call, bear going up and looking at that wall. Because I've got quite a few friends up there,” said Charles Hargrove, Sr., a veteran.
v Hargrove fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
read more here

Honor Flight honors Vietnam Veteran's dying wish

Honor Flight veterans get emotional at Vietnam memorial
By CINDY UKEN
Billings Gazette
Posted: Saturday, June 16, 2012

Walter P. Calahan
Vietnam Veteran Tom Dagroo getting help from Matthew McDonnell to find Dagroo's uncle's name placement on the Vietnam Memorial.

WASHINGTON — Tom Dagroo is dying.

The 66-year-old Vietnam veteran has COPD and is hanging on to life with the help of half a lung.

“I ain’t got long,” he said. “I was a little scared of coming because of it.”

How long? He has no idea.

“That answer belongs with the big guy upstairs,” Dagroo said.

Because of his terminal illness, Dagroo was given a seat among a group of World War II veterans making the inaugural journey with Big Sky Honor Flight. Though there was a waiting list to get aboard the flight, priority was given to terminally ill veterans from any war or conflict.

Dagroo was among the 96 World War II veterans who traveled from Billings to Washington, D.C., for a two-day tour of the National World War II Memorial and other Washington monuments, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Iwo Jima, the Lincoln Memorial and Korean Memorial.

“It’s a great honor they let me come,” he said fighting back tears. “It’s the biggest thrill.”

Before he dies Dagroo wanted to see — and experience — the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was one of the items on his bucket list. He wanted to see the names of his fallen comrades.
read more here

Honor Flight takes veterans to see WWII memorial

Honor Flight takes veterans to see WWII memorial
Sunday, June 10, 2012


ORLANDO

It was a homecoming these WWII veterans may never forget.

You could see the signs and hear the cheers throughout Orlando International Airport Saturday night for the 26 veterans from Central Florida, just back from Washington, D.C.

Fellow vets, spouses, children even great-grandchildren were all waiting to welcome home the heroes, from a trip to see the National World War Two Memorial, built to honor their service.
read more here

26 WWII veterans take Honor Flight to DC today

26 WWII veterans take Honor Flight to DC today

Honor Flight of Central Florida
Left this morning with 26 WWII Veterans, 26 Guardians and 3 person support team.

This is the inaugural flight of a one day trip to Washington D.C. This special organization takes WWII and terminally ill veterans to see the WWII Memorial in person. In addition, the group may see Arlington Cemetery, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial Wall. See: Honor Flight of Central Florida on the internet for more information.

The oldest veteran flying today is 98 years old - Richard "Robbie" Roberts was a Navy Captain, a pilot aboard a carrier and a participant in 9 major engagements.

Clayton Smokie" Lowery celebrates his 86th birthday today - quite a way to celebrate! He is the only local African-American to make today's trip and served in the Army as a Quartermaster in the 4454th in the European, Africa and Middle Eastern Campaigns.

There is one Merchant Marine - Ken Sexton who is 85 yrs old. The Merchant Marines suffered the largest percentage of casualties from all of the branches, and with very little recognition for their service.

It has been only since 1988 that certain Merchant Mariners from 1941-1945 are considered to be veterans and eligible for benefits from the Veterans Administration (VA).

Jack Jarrell, 85, was a participant in the Navy in the Normandy invasion at Utah Beach, whose 68th anniversary was only a few days ago - June 6, 1944.

Others who are making the trip today to say goodbye to ghosts and "Thank you" to friends served as: a fighter pilot, bomb crew, a POW interrogator, a medic, a flight trainer, and other functions.

All of the veterans have a guardian assigned to them who will help to make the day comfortable by keeping the vets hydrated and helping, if needed, with mobility. A physician, volunteering from Port Charlotte, is also with the group and carrying a medical pack that can handle nearly any medical emergency - Today is the doctor's 11th trip of escorting Honor Flight veterans.

The group left at about 6:30 AM this morning - gathering at the airport at about 4 AM before going thru airport security at Orlando International Airport (MCO).

They will return tonight at 9:05 PM. They are returning on Southwest Airlines Flight 1154 out of Baltimore (BWI). You can follow the returning flight progress on the internet in case there are weather delays. Supporters and volunteers from the community will be welcoming them home with cheers, flags and appreciation for their service. Terminal A, Airside 2, Gates 100-129

Submitted by Cathy Haynes
Member/supporter of numerous veterans and military organizations

Anonymous donor funds D.C. visit for 50 Brevard veterans

Anonymous donor funds D.C. visit for 50 Brevard veterans
May. 21, 2012
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA TODAY

MELBOURNE — Air Force Lt. Jack Wilson, 25, listened intently as World War II veteran Ralph White shared stories about his service in the Navy.

Young airmen from Patrick Air Force Base joined World War II veterans, most in their 80s and 90s, for Honor Flight, which takes the veterans to visit and reflect at the monuments built in their honor.

“I’ve seen many of the monuments except for some of the memorials,” said White, 93, of Titusville, as he prepared for the start of the trip early Saturday morning.

“I’ve wanted to do this for years,” Wilson said. “I got the email about this and I literally replied in 30 seconds.”

The 25 World War II veterans (including three women), 24 airmen and one soldier made the trip courtesy of an anonymous donor of $40,000, enough to cover the cost of two trips.
read more here

WWII veteran honor flight takes him to Vietnam Wall and his son's name

Angelo Papale didn't have a way to get to the Vietnam Memorial Wall until a flight to take him to the WWII Memorial brought him to Washington. The other WWII veterans wanted to go to the Vietnam Memorial Wall where Angelo was able to see the name of his son. Arthur was shot down after the third trip to save the lives of Rangers.

A veteran's emotional goodbye to son at Vietnam Memorial
Oct 06, 2011
By Jeff Lawson
WASHINGTON D.C., (WLOX)
Angelo Papale was one of nearly 90 World War II veterans who traveled to see their memorial in the nation's capital in late September. During the war, Angelo flew 30 bombing missions as a gunner on board a B24. Somehow, he made it back alive and unscathed.

At 88, this was the first time he has ever gone to the WWII Memorial. Like the rest of the veteran's on the trip, he called it a great honor.

For Angelo and the other vets, the day also included a stop at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall, where they saw all those names of soldiers gone too soon. For Angelo, the stop was personal, because one of those 58,195 names, is that of Arthur L. Papale, Angelo's son.

It was 1969, when Arthur Papale was shot down while piloting a helicopter.

"He had gone in and picked up two rangers," Angelo said. "He went back to pick up more, and there was too much firepower. So he went back a third time and that is when they shot him down."

Angelo and his wife did not learn of their son's fate until several days later, while at their Biloxi home.
read more here

If you want to see a powerful video report on two heroes watch this video.

Veteran lifted by D.C. visit

Veteran lifted by D.C. visit
by Laura Freeman | Reporter

Hudson -- More than 65 years after serving his country, a World War II veteran helped to honor fellow veterans in Washington, D.C.

James Rothgery, 87, a 37-year Hudson resident, flew from Cleveland to the U.S. Capitol Aug. 17 as a member of Honor Flight Cleveland, a nonprofit organization, which takes World War II veterans to see the nation's memorials.

During the trip, Rothgery, who fought as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Battle of Midway, was chosen with three other veterans to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

"I think the greatest pleasure was pushing a fellow veteran in a wheelchair and the four of us putting a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," Rothgery said. "That was amazing."

Rothgery was accompanied by his guardian, Jennifer Cline, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, who is stationed in Washington, D.C.
read more here