The Flight of a century!

Above pictured from left to right is Red Oliphant, George Helms, Me, and Paul Helms.

We participated in the very last Hoosier Honor Flight to be done, April 28, 2010

I know My veterans, pictured above, enjoed it immensely... Our leader was John W. Tilford a colonel, military intelligence, United States Army Reserve (ret.); former Monroe County veterans service officer; and founder and president, Hoosier Honor Flight, Inc.
  

Below is what Mr. John Tilford had to say about the events that occured on the trip...

Everything worked out in the end. The last Hoosier Honor Flight took off late — something about the Miami Air International co-pilot’s certification to land in Reagan National had to be approved at the last minute — but by 7:20 a.m. April 28 we were moving away from the Monroe County Airport terminal in our chartered Boeing 737. Every veteran, every guardian, and all three media folks had made it on board: 165 people.
The Indiana University Army ROTC color guard and other cadets saluted our veterans as we taxied for take-off. The pilot made up time on the way out, taking only an hour and 15 minutes. Two Reagan National fire trucks formed an arch of water with their high pressure hoses for our airplane on the way to our gate. Major General Jones from Andrews Air Force Base spoke to our veterans as our wheelchairs were brought up from the cargo hold.
One of our veterans collapsed a short way into the airport. We found out later in the day that he would be fine, but he was the center of attention for guardian Jim Buher (caught the veteran on the way down, preventing injury), the veteran’s son (his designated guardian for the flight), guardian Angela Parker (former policewoman, EMT, and partner with Andrews, Harrell, Mann, Carmin & Parker), and guardians Beverly Terry, Rose Ewing, and Carol Faulkner (registered nurses all).
Most of our veterans did not realize what had happened at Reagan as they boarded three tour buses for the ride to the World War II Memorial. Judge Steve Galvin commanded Able bus, filled with World War II veterans. Mike Pate had Baker, with Korean War veterans. I had “tail-end Charlie”, half-and-half. Former Sen. Bob Dole sent his apologies before our visit, but the Memorial itself was stunning in its solemn beauty. I finally found the “Kilroy was here” marking — a memorial to ubiquitous 1940s American whimsy within a memorial to American determination, sacrifice, and ultimate victory.
I believe ours was the first chartered flight from a community airport directly into Reagan National Airport since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The staffs of Hoosier Honor Flight, Transportation Security Agency, Miami Air International (our air charter corporation), Reagan National Airport, and Senator Lugar’s office worked for months to make it happen. It paid off. After a relaxed one hour-plus at the World War II Memorial, we had plenty of time for our veterans at the Lincoln Memorial. Most walked or were pushed in wheelchairs from Lincoln to visit the Vietnam War and Korean War memorials. Some sat in the sun on the Lincoln steps and looked at the Mall. I wondered what they were seeing. I suspect it was a lot more than beautiful buildings and tourists.
Hoosier Honor Flight was the first Honor Flight Network hub in the nation to take Korean War veterans without restriction. While World War II veterans continue to rightfully be the focus of the national Honor Flight program, our applications from nearby World War II veterans had declined to the point that we could open the last flight to veterans of the Korean War. (We took two Korean War veterans on earlier flights under special circumstances: one had pancreatic cancer and the other was expected to loose his sight within six months.) In fact, no local World War II or Korean War veteran who submitted an application and was physically able to go was left behind. We even took some Indiana veterans from the national Honor Flight Network waiting list.
Our next “drive-by” was the Marine Corps Memorial, where we exchanged greetings with Wounded Warriors who were biking D.C. They were eating a quick lunch in the park-like area surrounding the Iwo Jima flag-raising monument. Many were amputees. All were physically challenged in some way by their combat wounds. We then rode to Arlington National Cemetery to board our chartered Tourmobile to the Tomb of the Unknowns to watch the changing of the guard.
We had time to stop at the Air Force Memorial overlooking Washington, Arlington, and the Pentagon. Our driver then made a special effort to drive by the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial on our way back to Reagan.
At Reagan we were rejoined by Angela, the veteran who had collapsed, and his son. Jacqueline Key, Continental Air manager at Reagan, had seen their plight and personally driven all three to every one of the places we had visited! Two separate, “V.I.P.” security screening lines were set up for us at Reagan. I don’t think any of our veterans noticed the long line of other travelers being screened extending half way down the main Reagan terminal — not one of whom complained a bit about our special treatment. Our plane did not wait in line to take off — a first for me out of Reagan.
As the airplane’s sound system played 1940s popular music in the background, we conducted a surprise “mail call.” Guardian Cheryl Holladay (another RN), assisted by many others, had obtained letters from school children across southern Indiana for our veterans. She even allowed a few “thank you for your service” letters to be included from politicians. Mike Pate and I called out the veterans names, they “answered up,” and their mail was passed back to them, just as it had been over 65 years before.
We returned to Monroe County Airport less than 12 hours after our departure to see a welcoming crowd of 300. There were friends and relatives, Southern Indiana Pipes & Drums bagpipers, IU Army ROTC color guard, ROTC cadre in dress blues, and many cadets to help with crowd control and to assist the disabled veterans from the plane.
Two fire trucks formed an arch of water with their high pressure hoses over our plane as we taxied to the Monroe County Airport terminal. One veteran remarked that our airplane must have been very dirty to require two washings