We did it! With the completion of our 95th flight this month, the 2019 season is officially in the books. On a dark and rainy day in D.C., 101 veterans traveled to Washington, including a season-high 16 from World War II! Twenty-four Korean War veterans and 61 Vietnam War veterans rounded out the flight.
For the year, we honored 701 veterans – more than 100 per flight! Our final totals: 58 WWII, 263 Korean War and the first 380 Vietnam War veterans in Honor Flight Chicago history.
We are proud of how our volunteers rolled with change this year, especially as it came to construction at Midway. Our partners at the airport were phenomenal to work with, and our various teams were ready to adjust at a moment’s notice. To the veterans themselves, everything went like clockwork. We know because so many of them told us so in their after-flight impact surveys. In fact, of the 298 impact surveys we have received so far this year, more than two-thirds of them specifically mention our volunteers or how well-run the day was!
The October flight was a microcosm of the season in terms of change. The rain chased our itinerary inside, and all adapted quite well. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Women in Military Service For America Memorial for allowing us to host our ceremony indoors in their auditorium. We also owe extra thanks to the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center for allowing us to take our veteran group portrait inside in front of the SR-71 Blackbird.
The “word of the flight” as per one of our stalwart bus captains was “camaraderie.” This flight featured 28 members of the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Memorial Squad flying as honored veterans. Those flying with their comrades were especially close, and it showed throughout the day, particularly at the Memorials.
We had one veteran on this trip who became ill and was not able to return home with us. During what turned into a multiple-day hospital stay, our Washington D.C. guardians took turns visiting him and keeping him company until he was able to be discharged on Saturday. One of our Chicago red-shirts flew out early Saturday to escort him home, but before their flight our D.C. guardians stepped up again with a personal tour of the Memorials that he had missed on Wednesday. He then received a small welcome back at Midway. Tears flowed easily for him Saturday. It was yet another example of our volunteers coming together and going above-and-beyond for our heroes in such a selfless way.
When we began the season, a little more than 2,000 Vietnam veterans were on our waiting list. As we conclude, that number has swelled to 2,309, meaning that we have added nearly 700 names to the list in just eight months. There is so much more ahead of us and so many veterans still awaiting their Day of Honor!
The first step toward the 2020 season begins in just a few short weeks at our Bourbon Street fundraiser on Sunday, November 10, in Merrionette Park. Tickets and more information are available now at honorflightchicago.org/bourbonstreet. We can’t wait to see you there!
“Wonderful, wonderful!! Amazing – I have nothing to add to that. Everything was there and in place for us. My guardian was the best!”
— Lloyd Flanigan (Korean War)
“I don’t know where to start – I was amazed at the efficiency of the volunteers. Mail Call took up my whole day yesterday. The Korean War Memorial was beautiful!”
— Art Rogers (Korean War)
“ I just want to say thank you for everything and everybody. It’s the most fantastic thing that ever happened to me. I’ve been going through my mail call all morning. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
— Ken Ferstyl (Korean War)
“Oh my goodness!! Phenomenal. Very healing. I’ve never been to the Wall before. I was very touched to see the women who were honored on the wall. My Ambassador Dennis was terrific and was very detail-oriented. Nothing could be improved except maybe the weather! Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every one!”
— Tom O’Neill (Vietnam)
“One of the most memorable days of my life. The Welcome Home was great. It was the Welcome Home we didn’t get many years ago. I am still reading the Mail Call, I have to keep stopping because my tears are getting the letters wet. You can see statues and memorials and pictures of them, but the people around Washington and the volunteers are something I never expected. Everyone was respectful and so friendly. I can’t thank you all enough!”
— Tad Dymanus (Vietnam)
“I wish I could do it over again. From the time we got there until I got home it was non-stop surprises. I wish I could remember more of the names of my buddies from my platoon but PTSD has taken that memory away. I will tell every veteran I know not to miss this wonderful experience. Thanks, thanks to all the volunteers!”
— Mickey Lauderdale (Vietnam)
“It was overwhelming. It’s unbelievable really, all that work and effort that all the volunteers put in. I know you have been doing this since 2008, so you’ve got it down to a fine-tuned machine. It was very special to have my daughter as a Guardian. What was special was that we can’t single out one moment that was better than another. There are not enough adjectives to describe the day. The fact that 28 of us were from Abraham Lincoln made it even more special. There were some overwhelming moments, especially the arrival at Dulles airport. My goodness! The turnout of folks from military to police and fire and the band and this group of elementary students. Some of them were singing songs and it was just WOW. You do treat us like royalty for a day. When we got to end of the line at Midway coming back, it was like is this over?! We were on such a high.”
— Richard Yndestad (Vietnam)
“I was very impressed about the people greeting us in Chicago and also in Washington, D.C., I think that was very nice. There were so many people! Outside of the rain, being a WWII veteran, I enjoyed the WWII Memorial. I walked to the Illinois column and it was real nice. I found Kilroy around there, too. I remember in the service, no matter what latrine I went in, Kilroy had beat me there. The mail call was very nice. I was surprised to get the letters from my children and my grandchildren. I want to thank you for inviting me on this trip.”
— Dominick Castaldo (WWII)
“I was overwhelmed. I liked the Guardians and how they take care of you. At the airport when you are walking through all those people, all those young people, everyone is shaking your hand. Also at Dulles with all the kids and there was a band! When I got home, I was trying to figure out what all I saw. I really appreciate that I was on that flight. They really took care of you. We even had police on the motorcycles in the rain!”
— Larry Kummerer (WWII)
“I wanted to call to say thank you for all the services that you guys provided for the Honor Flight. Coming off the plane and seeing those fire trucks there, and the greetings I got from my family. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate up until the last half hour, but the museums were really nice. I’m advising every veteran I know and anyone who is allowed to take this trip. This was really something and really spectacular.”
— Paul Goldman (Korean War)
