Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight departs
Veterans take flight to view memorials in D.C.
John Olmstead, of Fort Dodge, sat in his wheelchair with the U.S. Flag held high in his hands early Saturday morning as veterans made their way through the departure hangar at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
Almost 150 veterans were preparing to take the 15th Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., to view their war memorials. They left on a tour to visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the National World War II Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery.
Olmstead, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Korean War, said he has been greeting other veterans prior to the Honor Flights since he took the flight himself a few years ago.
He said the trip was memorable.
“The best part was seeing fellow soldiers enjoy the day,” Olmstead said. “They all deserve it.”
“The whole day was terrific and everything is so well planned for every flight,” he added.
Don Poggensee, of Ida Grove, was one veteran preparing for the trip.
Poggensee joined the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s.
In his first year of service, Poggensee’s mission was to transport troops and supplies to Vietnam.
He also had to transport wounded troops, he said.
Later in the war, Poggensee was assigned to a weather squadron.
“I had to watch for hurricanes,” he said.
The visit to see the war monuments in Washington, D.C., is one that Poggensee said is overdue.
During his service, Poggensee said he never made it out of the airport in Washington, D.C.
About two years ago, he submitted his name for consideration for the Honor Flight.
“It was about a year and a half before my name came up,” he said. “You qualify, and then you have to wait your turn.”
Jeremy Keefer and Tim Brinkley, both of Spencer, were looking forward to paying their respects at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Keefer, a U.S. Navy veteran, and Brinkley, a U.S. Army veteran, each served during the Vietnam War.
“I’ve got 18 people I know up on that wall,” Brinkley said. “And I’d like to say hi.”
“I want to see the wall,” Keefer said. “I want to see them all.”
Aside from their service, Keefer and Brinkley have something else in common.
“He lives a half a block away from me,” Brinkley said. “We golf against each other. Our kids went to school together.”
Denny Armstrong, of Algona, retired from the U.S. Army, but also served in the U.S. Air Force, he said.
He served in the Vietnam War.
“I missed the Korean by a year or so,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong is no stranger to the Nation’s Capital.
“I was stationed in D.C. and it’s going to be interesting to see how much it’s changed,” he said.
Steve Leonard, a U.S. Army veteran from Carroll, struck up a conversation with Armstrong.
The two hadn’t met before, but Leonard was happy to get to know Armstrong.
“We know each other now,” he said. “That’s what’s neat about this group. There is a lot of camaraderie because a lot of us have been through the same thing.”
Craig Conway, a Vietnam veteran from Webster City, was spending time with his wife, Wanda Conway, prior to the flight.
Craig Conway served in the Naval Air Force.
“I was in the world famous Fighting Falcons,” he said. “We trained astronauts that went to the moon.”
He credited his wife for getting him to the Honor Flight.
“If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
Wanda Conway said it was an emotional time to send her husband off on the flight.
“This is a real tear jerker,” she said.