Thomas Wysocki: Infantry and Combat Engineer
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:16:43-05:00Corporal Tom Wysocki knew from a young age he wanted to serve his country, inspired in part by John Wayne.
Roy Veverka: Boom Operator and Cartographer
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:16:24-05:00Boot Camp at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas was Roy’s initial introduction to the military.
Joseph Raftery Jr.: Demolition Specialist
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:15:53-05:00Joe was born and raised on Chicago’s southwest side and attended St. Rita High School, where he went on a basketball scholarship.
Howard Fry: Red Crown Shoots Down 15 MiGs
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:15:24-05:00During high school, Howard was a member of Junior ROTC. Thus, he learned basic military skills including marching and handling a rifle.
Robert Brown: Something To Prove and Everything To Lose
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:15:07-05:00Bob attended the University of Illinois for two semesters in 1961 but came home when it became clear he wasn’t ready for college.
Margaret Bernal: Flying With The Big Boys
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:14:49-05:00Life didn’t go the way 16-year-old Margaret Thomas would have liked it to go. Being the middle one of five sisters was always a challenge.
Robert Sussman: Live for 365 Days
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:14:27-05:00Before college, Bob Sussman had lived all over the country, but never in one place longer than a year and a half.
David Grauer: Gunner on the Destroyer
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:13:59-05:00David Grauer feels bad that he never saw combat in World War II. He is also very glad he never had to kill anybody.
John Lapo: Demolition Expert and Tunnel Rat
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:13:43-05:00John “Rizz” Lapo’s toughness, acquired on the streets of Chicago, served him well in the jungles of Vietnam.
Joseph Mata Jr.: Just a Grunt, and Proud of It
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:13:28-05:00Joseph ‘Jake’ Mata wanted to be a Marine. He quit high school at the age of 17 to enlist in the Marine Corps.
William Meloy: A Combat Intelligence Officer
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:13:14-05:00William Meloy is 74 years young and grew up in Oak Lawn, Illinois. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in 1968.
Highlights from our 98th flight
marc.zarefsky2021-10-13T11:30:42-05:00Ninety three Women Warriors traveled to Washington D.C. as part of Operation HerStory, the first all-women Honor Flight.
Bette Horstman: Leading Physical Therapy for Vets
marc.zarefsky2021-10-01T21:29:52-05:002nd Lieutenant Bette Horstman served as a physical therapist in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in the Pacific during World War II.
Priscilla ‘Kris’ Artz: Once You Serve, You Keep on Serving
marc.zarefsky2021-10-01T21:20:13-05:00Growing up in Iowa, Kris Artz read books about flying. After high school, she knew she wanted to move on from working at a local grocery.
Jane Moyers: “Craps” as a Recovery Method
marc.zarefsky2021-10-01T12:02:19-05:00When Jane Moyers graduated from Madonna High School, she was already determined to pursue a career in nursing.
Carol Macola: An Internal Desire to Serve
marc.zarefsky2021-09-29T20:55:04-05:00While growing up in Chicago, Carol saw her brother head off to Vietnam. She too wanted to enlist and do her part to serve her country.
Ervine Cunningham Clay: Military Life in the Fifties
marc.zarefsky2021-09-29T20:37:19-05:00Ervine Clay’s mother never dreamed the baby girl born on Christmas Eve in 1929 would someday become a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps.
Donna Glielmi: A Data Systems Technician
marc.zarefsky2021-09-29T20:25:00-05:00When Donna Glielmi and her fraternal twin sister were born in Chicago in 1955, her mother hadn’t known that she was pregnant with twins.
Carol Stegall: Helping People and Animals with the Same Passion
marc.zarefsky2021-09-29T20:17:50-05:00Carol Stegall wanted to be a vet but knew she couldn’t afford the extra years of school, so her second choice became her lifelong work.
Lane Knox: Jet Engine Mechanic
marc.zarefsky2021-09-29T20:12:14-05:00The interview with Lane Knox began with her saying quietly, “I don’t understand why you’re interviewing me. I’m not that interesting.”