It takes an army
Volunteers key to a successful Honor Flight
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <Br> John Priester, of Swea City, gets a hug from his grandson, Talan Priester, as he prepares to board the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight for Washington, D.C. Saturday morning at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Volunteer Jim Flaherty, of Fort Dodge, right, helps veteran Ray Kraus, of Carroll, get the right boarding pass Saturday morning as the veterans prepare to board the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight. The organization, including its board, is staffed entirely by volunteers.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Veterans take their seats Saturday morning as they prepare to depart on the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight from the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> With the sky still dark, veterans board the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., Saturday morning at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Maureen Powers, of Fort Dodge, was among the many volunteers who helped get the veterans safely onto their aircraft Saturday morning for the Brushy Creek Area Honor flight to Washington, D.C.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Navy veteran Carroll Olson, of Okoboji, poses for a picture with his partner Marilyn Point as he prepares to depart from the Fort Dodge Regional Airport Saturday morning.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Diane Schutt, of Clarion, is all smiles Saturday morning as she helps send off the veterans taking the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport. Schutt was there for her friends Larry and Raynee Delano.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> With the first light of dawn just over the horizon, the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight takes off Saturday morning from the Fort Dodge Regional Airport for Washington, D.C.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Family and friends wait in the Fort Dodge Regional Airport’s terminal to watch the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight’s takeoff Saturday morning.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> The Rev. Al Henderson, chaplain for the Fort Dodge Police, Webster County Sheriff’s Department, Fort Dodge Fire Department and Iowa State Patrol District 7, boards the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight Saturday morning to bless the flight before its departure.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <Br> John Priester, of Swea City, gets a hug from his grandson, Talan Priester, as he prepares to board the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight for Washington, D.C. Saturday morning at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Volunteer Jim Flaherty, of Fort Dodge, right, helps veteran Ray Kraus, of Carroll, get the right boarding pass Saturday morning as the veterans prepare to board the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight. The organization, including its board, is staffed entirely by volunteers.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Veterans take their seats Saturday morning as they prepare to depart on the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight from the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> With the sky still dark, veterans board the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., Saturday morning at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Maureen Powers, of Fort Dodge, was among the many volunteers who helped get the veterans safely onto their aircraft Saturday morning for the Brushy Creek Area Honor flight to Washington, D.C.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Navy veteran Carroll Olson, of Okoboji, poses for a picture with his partner Marilyn Point as he prepares to depart from the Fort Dodge Regional Airport Saturday morning.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Diane Schutt, of Clarion, is all smiles Saturday morning as she helps send off the veterans taking the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport. Schutt was there for her friends Larry and Raynee Delano.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> With the first light of dawn just over the horizon, the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight takes off Saturday morning from the Fort Dodge Regional Airport for Washington, D.C.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Family and friends wait in the Fort Dodge Regional Airport’s terminal to watch the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight’s takeoff Saturday morning.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> The Rev. Al Henderson, chaplain for the Fort Dodge Police, Webster County Sheriff’s Department, Fort Dodge Fire Department and Iowa State Patrol District 7, boards the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight Saturday morning to bless the flight before its departure.
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Getting 145 veterans checked in for their flight, onto an aircraft and in the sky for their flight to Washington, D.C., is something that requires a small army of volunteers helping out the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight.
A good part of that platoon was on hand Saturday morning at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
The volunteers include members of service organizations, individuals who give of their time, emergency services workers and members of the military.
Sandy Fletcher, of Fort Dodge, is part of a squad of Daybreak Rotary Club members who were at the airport by 4 a.m.
She was helping get the veterans their boarding passes and dog tags.
"I enjoy seeing them getting their dog tags," she said. "I think about today and wonder where they kept them. It must bring back a lot of memories."
While Fletcher helped the veterans get their dog tags on, her fellow Daybreak Rotary Club member Jim Flaherty, of Fort Dodge, was helping make sure that the right boarding pass went with the right veteran.
He was glad to be there.
"It's an honor to be able to help out the vets," he said.
Fletcher and Flaherty were the middle and end of a short assembly line. Maureen Powers, of Fort Dodge, was also at their table. Her job: checking their ID, giving them a big smile and some friendly words of "safe trip."
John Priester, of Swea City, served in the U.S. Army from 1971 to 1972.
"I was one of the last ones to get drafted in Kossuth County." he said.
Before he got in line to get on the plane, he got lots of hugs from his family.
"I think it's an honor to go," he said. "I never went to Vietnam. I was stationed in Germany."
Ray Kraus, of Carroll, served in the U.S. Army.
He was excited for the trip.
"It makes you proud to be American." he said.
Ron Newsum, Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight board member and flight organizer, said that the Daybreak Rotary Club members and other groups such as the Freedom Riders usually only have one question.
"What can I do," he said.
That spirit. mixed with teamwork, gets it done.
"Brushy is a team effort," he said. "It's all volunteers. Nobody gets paid."
Carroll Olson, of Okoboji, served in the Navy from 1970 to 1974.
He was ready to go, but had some slight reservations about the potential for one volunteer position that's filled by a paid professional.
"I just hope the pilot isn't a volunteer," he joked.
His partner, Marilyn Point, of Okoboji, summed up the volunteers helping out with only a few words.
"They're amazing." she said.