Flag Day
We call it Old Glory, the Star Spangled Banner,
The symbol for Liberty throughout the world.
It beckons to hearts in an unsullied manner,
And quickens our pulses to see it unfurled.
The 14th of June is officially its day,
When patriot wisdom and pride are extolled;
It’s THE Stars and Stripes, and it honors us its way,
For we, as Americans, are in its fold.
The strength of its influence cannot be measured;
Revered by its people, it stands all alone.
It is in its own right remarkably treasured;
“Old Glory” says Freedom is our right to own.
R. Williams,
Honor Flight Chicago Veteran and HFC Poet Laureate
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
Memorial Day
Our Patriot’s Pride
To measure the depth that Memorial Day
Can play on our senses, our patriot’s pride,
Would find that it’s deeper than many would say,
When being American sets you aside.
No matter the reason, the place, or the cause,
They’re resting in peace, with us grateful above.
This day is their day, and for that we must pause,
To show we remember, salute them with love.
The red in our flag is the blood of those here,
The white for their purpose, uniquely refined,
The blue is our nation, which freedoms endear,
A star for each state, all united, one mind.
Memorial Day is a license to view
How all of us living give accolades due.
R. Williams,
Honor Flight Chicago Veteran and HFC Poet Laureate
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
A Brand New Start
R. Williams, Honor Flight Chicago Veteran and HFC Poet Laureate
January is a time of new beginnings when we look forward to the new year stretching before us. It is a time for optimism — the knowledge that we can accomplish much in this bright new year.
Honor Flight Chicago is looking forward to a great year, and we are hopeful that we can accomplish a great deal in our quest to get as many veterans as possible to Washington, D.C. this year to see their memorial. We know that with everyone’s help there is so much we can do. Our New Year’s resolution remains firm!
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
New Year, New Resolution
As each new year begins, it’s often tradition to come up with a new resolution. Whether eating better or exercising more, New Year’s resolutions are also often broken faster than you can clean up the balloons and confetti.
But this year, many Honor Flight Chicago volunteers are taking a different approach and going with a resolution they’ll be sure to keep throughout the year: to do everything and anything they can to help ensure as many veterans are possible are honored for their service to our country. They want to see every veteran onto planes to see their memorial in Washington, D. C.
It takes a large network of people to make an Honor Flight work. From raising money to spreading the word about Honor Flight Chicago, everyone can resolve to help more very deserving veterans head to Washington, D. C. for a day they’ll never forget. It’s definitely a New Year’s resolution worth keeping.
What’s your resolution this year?
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
Holidays Celebrated Near and Far
As we gather around with friends and families over holiday meals and parties, we look around and give thanks. We celebrate being together in a free country, thanks to our veterans.
But for many this year, the holidays will be spent apart as the veterans of tomorrow continue to fight. Soldiers around the world will spend these holidays separated from their families by thousands of miles. As you wrap up your shopping and mail out your holiday cards, remember our soldiers as well as our veterans. Consider sending a care package to someone fighting overseas, or addressing an extra envelope to a recovering veteran. And before you get overwhelmed by the holiday season, take a minute to say thanks for all of those friends and family members that help make the season special.
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
A Christmas Story
It’s just a small envelope stuck among the branches of the Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of the tree for the past 10 years or so.
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It began because a father hated Christmas — not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma — the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.
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Knowing he felt this way, his wife decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. As she reached for something special just for him, the inspiration came in an unusual way.
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The couple’s son was wrestling at the high school he attended, and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding together, presented a sharp contrast to the boys with their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, the wife was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear — it was a luxury the ragtag team could not afford. They were soon walloped, being beaten in every class. The husband shook his head sadly and said, “I wish just one of them would have won. They had a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”
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That’s when the idea of his present came. That afternoon, the wife went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, she placed the envelope on the tree, the note telling her husband what she had done and that this was his gift from her.
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His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas she followed the tradition — one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and so on.
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The envelope became the highlight of their Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and their children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
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As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. However, the story doesn’t end there.
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The family lost their father due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, the mother was still so wrapped in grief that she barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found her placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.
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Each of their children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further to include grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. The father’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with them.
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A local family has been doing this for almost a decade, spreading their “gifts” to veterans in honor of their 101st Airborne father. Their gifts include contacting the local VFW to find a veteran in need, donating gas, grocery, and restaurant gift cards. Another year the family provided a local Veterans’ Home with items from their wish list, and another was sending boxes of items to the families at Fort Campbell. This year, the family plans to find a veteran to spend Christmas day with them, enjoying dinner, presents, and the company of family.
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This Christmas, contemplate ignoring the hustle and bustle of the commercialization of the holiday season. Instead, think of what truly matters to you, and give a gift from the heart to someone in need. Consider sponsoring a veteran for an Honor Flight, or sending holiday care packages overseas to tomorrow’s veterans. Start your own Christmas Story, and continue a tradition that will last long after the tree is down and the directions are put away.
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
Your Day
You spent years away from your family, your home, your job — your life. You missed life’s little events — holidays, births, deaths. You spent years sacrificing in the face of danger, helping to create a well-oiled machine to lead our country to victory. You preserved a nation, a freedom, and a way of life.
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It is with deep gratitude we honor you this Veterans Day. Across the country, parades, ceremonies, exhibits, and tributes will happen on Wednesday, November 11 to represent just a fraction of how grateful we truly are for your sacrifice. At Honor Flight Chicago, we say thank you with a flight to your memorial because we believe you should be honored each and every day. There is no greater way to say thanks.
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On November 11, around the country we will honor veterans young and old. And every day following, Honor Flight Chicago will continue to honor you. Thank you for your sacrifice.
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
There is No Greater Time to Say Thanks
October
Engrossed in serving Nature’s quest As harbinger to Winter’s rest, October’s riotous display Bespeaks as much of life as May. With paintbrush lavishly immersed, Its splash of color thus dispersed, October calls in clarion voice: The year is ending. Come, rejoice! R. Williams, Honor Flight Chicago Veteran and HFC Poet Laureate
As the seasons change and it quickly settles into Fall, it’s clear that summer is over. The break is done and school is back in session. At Honor Flight Chicago, we know the feeling. Though we were busy with a number of flights over the summer as well as numerous fundraisers to make the flights possible, with autumn’s arrival we are even more active — we have four flights in eight weeks, flying 315 World War II veterans to see their memorial!
There is truly no greater time to say thanks — to the veterans for their sacrifice, or to our supporters who allow us to honor them. We’re still working around the clock, however, for enough funds to honor the 1,000+ WWII veterans aged 80-99 who are eagerly anticipating their day of honor with Honor Flight Chicago. Before you get lost in the hustle and bustle of Fall, please remember to take time out to say thank you to our veterans for the service and sacrifice they have made so that we can enjoy the freedoms so many take for granted.
There’s no better way than by donating to pay tribute to them with an Honor Flight.
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
POW/MIA Recognition Day
Friday, September 18, 2009 will mark this year’s National POW/MIA Recognition Day, a day to honor all those prisoners of war, and those who are still unaccounted for.
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Fighting in any war is a great sacrifice. Whether a soldier is on the front lines or in the mess hall, war carries immense risks to those who, most honorably, chose to defend our country and our freedom. On top of that sacrifice, some became prisoners of war, who had to endure things that most of us can’t even imagine. We honor them — and every World War II veteran — by thanking them with an Honor Flight. But there are those we can’t honor, because they are still missing in action. There are still more than 78,000 U.S. soldiers unaccounted for from WWII.
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On Friday you should see the National League of Families’ POW/MIA flag at military installations, national cemeteries, VA medical families — even your local post office. Take a minute to stop and remember the veterans and their families, or attend the POW/MIA Observance Ceremony at 6 p.m. at the VFW Post, 323 Old Hickory Road in New Lenox. If you can’t attend, consider donating to Honor Flight Chicago so that veterans — some of whom were POWs themselves — may see the memorial built in their honor.
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
Celebrating Labor Day
Our Labor Day has a significant theme; It bolsters and boosts the American Dream, It honors the blue-collar working class sect, The Industrial Might that the world must respect.
In practice, it could be our Family Day, For that’s how we see it–at work or at play. The American Spirit asks nothing for one; Together, however, it will have its fun.
Industrious mettle, above and beyond, Our signature values, our National bond. The fact that we pick a day praising this trait Does validate calling America “Great!”
R. Williams, Honor Flight Chicago Veteran and HFC Poet Laureate
When Labor Day was first celebrated more than a century ago, Americans lauded the strength and spirit of labor organizations. Without a labor force, little business could be completed.
The same holds true for Honor Flight Chicago. Though its labor force is all volunteer, without it, little fundraising and few flights could be completed. This Labor Day Honor Flight Chicago celebrates the fierce determination and passion of its dedicated volunteers. We thank you for your service so that we may thank the World War II veterans who sacrificed for us.
If you aren’t yet an Honor Flight Chicago volunteer, consider becoming a part of our labor force this Labor Day holiday. Put your talents and skills to good use by rewarding a vet with a trip to see his memorial before it’s too late. Without volunteers, we have no labor force.
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Donate. Volunteer. Sign Up a Vet.
Visit http://honorflightchicago.org
Or call 773.227.VETS (8387)
