“This has meant everything to me,” said Dennis Betts, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Guthrie Center. “This is something I never thought I would be able to see.”

Betts was taking in the sights and sounds of rushing water as the fountains of the United States Navy Memorial cascaded skyward and then spilled downward in a never-ending display under a bright sun in Washington, D.C. The day was long and hot for many, but clearly one they will long remember.

This journey, as always, was brought together by the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight board. Veterans praised board members for the organization and attention to detail for every facet of the day, from the fundraising that made it possible to the welcome home when the day was done.

After a smooth flight, veterans streamed through Dulles International Airport in the Virginia suburbs of Washington where they were greeted with flags waving and cheers of thanks, even a violin troupe playing military anthems. There were school children, moms with their kids, and retirees, each taking time away from their own day to deliver a long-awaited wellspring of praise to these veterans for their service to the nation.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
There really are good people everywhere, and Jania Lee, left, of Washington, D.C. was proof of that on Wednesday’s Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight. As veterans prepared to board the bus to leave the National Mall, Lee came rushing over from her job at a nearby National Park concession stand searching for the owner of a credit card accidently left there. Merle Lane, of Creston, was the grateful veteran who thanked Lee for her honesty and quick effort to get the card back to its rightful owner.

While Honor Flights always receive respect in the metropolitan D.C., area, a step-on guide for one of the three buses that would be our home-on-wheels for the next several hours, said on this day the veterans were receiving an extra-special escort through the busy streets of Virginia that doesn’t always happen.

Police literally had traffic stopped at every entrance to the interstate to speed the journey to the first monuments of the day. At least eight motorcycle officers guided the procession until it reached the Virginia border at the Potomac River. Drivers waved and patiently gave right of way to these veterans, who were amazed at the greeting they received. Even foreign tourists at the airport stopped to join the applause and then get out their phones to videotape the cheering and flag-waving show of pride and thanksgiving.

Making new friends

Tom Arends, Milford, and Eric Conell, Fort Dodge, were seatmates on the flight and, like so many on the journey, simply enjoyed meeting new people and hearing of the veterans’ experiences.

Arends served in the Air Force security and spent one tour in Vietnam.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Lauren Schulze, Clive, comes from a Fort Dodge family long associated with the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flights. Schulze, a student at Illinois State University, escorted the flag of Sgt. Thomas Edward Albin, U.S. Air Force. She takes a moment to reflect for a moment at the last stop of the day, the Air Force Memorial. Schulze said it was her first visit to Washington, D.C., and thoroughly enjoyed talking with all the veterans.

“We intercepted Morse code and linguist communications in order to analyze and direct B-52 targets,” Arends said.

One of 12 children, he comes from a family with a long line of service to the nation.

“My parents sent five kids to the service, from World War II, to Korea, and Vietnam. We all came home, but I had a brother who lost part of his leg in France in World War II.”

Conell is a lieutenant in the Fort Dodge Fire Department who has assisted in send-offs and welcome home celebrations for many of the Honor Flights over the years. Wednesday’s trip was his first chance to go in person, serving as an escort for veterans. The flights always include at least one firefighter and one police officer. They are seated on exit rows of the airplane, where FAA requirements dictate strong hands be ready to serve in the event of an emergency. For Conell, the journey was an opportunity to deepen his service to veterans.

“I’ve just enjoyed shaking hands and getting to know people,” Conell said. “Made a lot of positive memories.”

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Matthew Shannon, Webster City, was proud to escort Navy veteran Gary Stewart of Jackson, Minnesota, during a visit at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Pondering Lincoln’s hands

The first stop of the day took veterans to the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Korean War Veterans Memorial. These three sites, where many other smaller memorials are also located, are within a short walking distance of each other on the National Mall.

Veterans were often short on words as they walked through towering spaces.

“Breathtaking,” said Barb Bianchi, of Fort Dodge, as she climbed the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Bianchi worked in air traffic control when she served in the Air Force from 1974 through 1983.

“It’s awe-inspiring,” said Daniel Hearn. The Fort Dodge veteran served in the Navy from 1974 through 1977.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
John Loder, a Marine Corps veteran from Estherville, pauses for a moment at the World War II Memorial.

Lincoln’s hands — one at rest, one seemingly clenched — on the towering figure of the memorial caught the attention of Jerry Bean, a 1966-67 Vietnam veteran from Steamboat Rock.

Cast from molds made of Lincoln’s own hands in 1860, the molds were originally both in a “loose fist,” according to the National Park Service. Sculptor Daniel Chester French chose to relax the right hand, while keeping the left hand in a clenched fist. The nps.gov website notes that the contrasting positions are often interpreted as showing strength on one hand, and compassion on the other.

A rising wall

It begins with barely a notice, just a low strip of black granite with one name, and then another, and another… From an initial height that is quite low to the ground, the black wall rises higher and higher, the list of names grows until it is almost over-powering for many of its visitors. With more than 58,000 names of men and eight women (all nurses) who gave their lives in Vietnam, it is often regarded as the most-visited site in all of Washington, D.C.

“It makes me very, very sad,” said Gary Stewart a 1970-71 Navy veteran from Jackson, Minnesota. “They were all so young.”

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Dan Larson was a volunteer escorting the flag of the late Wayne Elliott Martin, a U.S. Army veteran and father of Kathy Becker of Fort Dodge. “I’m not a veteran, but it’s an honor to do something like this,” Larson said.

Stewart served in the Philippines and Gulf of Tonkin aboard the USS Richard Bonhomme, an attack air craft carrier.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial, with its striking figures of soldiers slogging through the terrain, with more names, more images on walls of granite, and a stop at the Vietnam Women’s Memorial rounded out the morning. More than 7,500 women served in Vietnam. The nurses on the memorial are named for three virtues; Faith has her head bowed in prayer, Hope looks Heavenward, while Charity tends to an injured soldier.

World War II Memorial honors the Home Front

After a box lunch on the bus, veterans were able to step outside again at the World War II Memorial. Dedicated in 2004, long after memorials to more recent wars, one guide noted that after the war, veterans went home and built small memorials in their own states and communities. World War II veterans were also quite busy, rebuilding a nation and raising the Baby Boom generation.

As the guide, a retired teacher originally from Ohio who spent her career in Virginia described it, the World War II Memorial is different from most in that it does not honor just veterans, but also all Americans on the home-front. From Rosie the Riveter taking over the factories, to the school kids who did scrap drives, and homemakers who planted Victory Gardens, it took a united nation to lead the Allies to ultimate victory.

Unlike early Honor Flights, that were heavy on WWII veterans, there were no veterans from this era on Wednesday’s flight. However, the guide noted that the veterans of Korea and Vietnam who were children in the 1940s were indeed “home-front veterans” of WWII.

However, there was at least one flag from the casket of World War II veteran escorted by a local volunteer throughout the day and then returned to the family with photos of the journey.

The stillness of Arlington

One of the most anticipated stops of the day came at Arlington National Cemetery for the 4 p.m. Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The precision-laden procedure included two wreath layings by student groups and the solemn playing of Taps for each wreath.

The red shirts of the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight veterans ringed three sides of the large platform for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Honor Flight veterans are given premium access at Arlington and are the only buses allowed to drive directly to the adjacent amphitheater. Veterans stood in somber silence as the guards marched off 21 paces, inspected the guns of the new guards at the changing, and took their place at the Tomb. Service members saluted during the wreath ceremony, while civilians put their hands to their hearts.

Throughout the ceremony, the only sound came from songbirds. Even school children, who were the other major component of attendees at the Changing of the Guard, stood in respectful silence.

While veterans remained quiet for the duration at Arlington, other comments were captured elsewhere throughout the journey.

“It’s been a day filled with wonderful moments,” said Richard Shinn, of Rockwell City. Shinn was officially an escort for the day, but is himself a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Donald Burton, a Korean War veteran from Fort Dodge, said nothing can replace seeing all the monuments up close and personal.

“A picture is a wonderful thing, but to see all of this in person makes such an impression,” Burton said.

John Loder came from Estherville for Wednesday’s flight. He is a Vietnam veteran who served with the U.S. Marine Corps, 1969-72, who finally had a homecoming that was often lacking for his generation.

“I wish all veterans could have an experience like this,” Loder said. “It’s been an honor and a privilege, just an amazing adventure.”

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Dennis Betts, a Marine Corps veteran from Guthrie Center, enjoys a relaxing moment at the Navy Memorial.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Hamilton County father and son duo LeRoy and Rory Johnson made the Brushy Creek Honor Flight together Wednesday. Both father and son are veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps and took time to reflect at the Iwo Jima Memorial. Dad LeRoy served from 1958 through 1962, while Rory served from 1992-1996.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Gary Vasey, Nevada, left, and Steve Birchmier, Maxwell, search for a name on the Vietnam War Memorial.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Ed Irwin, left, and Jerry Bean enjoy a moment of relaxation along the National Mall with the Washington Monument as a backdrop. They are both Vietnam veterans. Irwin, of Twin Lakes, served with the Navy air wing, 1966-70, while Bean, of Steamboat Springs, served in the Army, 1966-67.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Brushy Creek Honor Flight veterans had ringside seats for the Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
A guard passes by the perimeter during the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
A guard keeps watch at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

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