On June 19, 112 senior veterans boarded Southwest Flight 8037 bound for Washington’s Dulles International Airport and their long-awaited Day of Honor, Thanks and Inspiration with Honor Flight Chicago. Four Korean War veterans and 108 Vietnam War veterans comprised that total.
The Corcoran brothers grew up on the far south side of Chicago in a family of 11 children. Jerome (Jerry) was number 9 and Richard (Rich) was number 10 of 11 children. There were seven boys and four girls in the family.
The eldest of eight children, Dan Rittenhouse learned early on how to adapt and serve – two themes that played major roles in his military career and throughout his life.
Sarge was on patrol in Vietnam walking point with his M-60 down a narrow trail. A tracer round whizzed, cracked, past him to his right. He immediately rotated his body to the left when a second round hit him in the chest exiting through his back just missing his lung.
Daniel Edward Sowonik was born on October 16, 1947. For the first 14 years of his life (as an only child) Daniel lived in a small town in Wisconsin, north of Wisconsin Dells, with his parents and grandparents.
When you drive up to the lovely Lemont home of Dick and Pat O'Connor, you are greeted by blooming flowers in a meticulously landscaped yard, a White Sox flag in the front garden, and the U.S. flag flying high.
Lessons learned in a war zone can last you a lifetime, assuming you make it home alive. Sergeant Dick Hanson learned quickly that taking pictures from the turret of a tank on the front lines of Korea can get you killed.
Jerome Koutny was sent to Vietnam as an infantryman and then volunteered for one of the more dangerous jobs as a tunnel rat, looking for the enemy by going into their tunnels.
Bob Walker’s father was a career Navy man who served on a minesweeper clearing obstacles before D-Day and then spent the days after the invasion recovering bodies and parts of bodies from the water.
Our 114th flight and the second of the 2024 season saw 115 veterans travel together to Washington, D.C., on May 15. Among them were one WWII Veteran, one Korean War veteran, and 113 Vietnam Veterans.
Suddenly, the still, black night exploded. Air Force Sgt. Greg Dittemore heard a big boom, as a flash that looked like lightning crackled across the sky.
Robert “Bob” Gatenby’s wife and family thought he was comfortably stationed in a base camp during his time in Vietnam. His reality, however, was the exact opposite.
Bob Carnagey arrived in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. Even though he was a non-combatant, he said death was all around him
This story begins with a young boy from the southside of Chicago. As he lies in his bed, looking at the church steeples just outside his bedroom window, he dreams of one day becoming a Catholic priest.
When James stepped off the plane from Vietnam and his feet touched the ground in Hawaii, he got on his knees and kissed the ground. He remembers thinking to himself “you are the luckiest SOB alive”.
Dennis' first deployment came in 1968, in Turkey on the Black Sea Coast. He was responsible for monitoring missiles and spacecraft. There was only one adversary when he was first deployed; there were two at the end of his service.
Guantánamo Bay, Cuba/Bermuda/ Pearl Harbor/San Diego/Norfolk/ Vietnam — Fortunately, Bill Holic, Jr., liked to travel and travel he did. Thirty years in the Navy certainly gives him the title of “lifer”.
Like most young men, high school graduation found Tom William Davidson vulnerable for the draft. He passed his induction physical and then enlisted in the Navy. "As a kid I always wanted to get in the Navy,” he said.
Mike was recognized for serving as an Army Sergeant from July 1967 to July 1969, serving a year in Vietnam as part of the Combat Infantry Division. Mike received a Purple Heart for an injury he suffered during his service.
On April 10, we opened our 16th flight season with HFC113 comprising three WWII, 11 Korean War and 101 Vietnam Veterans traveling together to our nation’s capital.