WWII Memorial
Five Years Today – World War II Memorial
Mary Pettinato reminded me today that it was five years today that the Memorial was opened (top left). “…On April 29, 2004, the National World War II Memorial opened in Washington, D.C., to thousands of visitors, providing overdue recognition for the 16 million U.S. men and women who served in the war. The memorial is […]
Arrivals and Departures – WWII Memorial
Lona and Judi resting after a long afternoon at the WWII Memorial. Judi had two hundred and fifty people on hand to greet the veterans. Jewel of the Mall: World War II Memorial book is a 120 page full color book on the WWII Memorial.
The Season begins–DC Ground Crew Shines
With over 100 volunteers between Dulles, BWI, National Airports and the thirty at the WWII Memorial, DC Ground Crew is staffed up to take some numbers and Honor Flight brought them on. Over 1000 veterans from ten hubs pouring into the Memorial, DC lived up to its reputation for not only its beauty but its […]
The Kerestes Report
From George Kerestes, greeter, volunteer, bon vivant and good friend of the National Park Service, Honor Flight and the WWII Memorial generation. “…Today after you left and the weather cooperated for an hour the Honor Flight from Central Illinois arrived at the World War II Memorial. They were led by one of our favorite […]
Indiana, Illinois and preparations for the Fall
Tracy Briggs (noticed the tricked out shirts with the snazzy logos!….the usual North Dakota SWAG!) and Judy Lemmons were on hand today with Senator Dole, the Hoosier and Central Illinois Honor Flights at the WWII Memorial. Tracy and Judy are in town for the week planning some events for the Fall and will also […]
Honor Flight Chicago Rocks!…An Update
If you want to see a homecoming celebration, check out Honor Flight Chicago‘s amazing homecoming last week. It may have been raining cats and dogs here but Chicago was rocking for their veterans 1800 people turned out and it’s a well-documented event which is well worth a few moments to look at. Their images are […]
“Falling out of the sky”
This Saturday, April 18th George Kerestes told me veterans were “falling out of the sky.” And he was right! 450 veterans from North Carolina, New York, and “more” from North Carolina, the Winnebago flight, Faye Wisely from Michigan, and Dian Holland brought veterans from all over to see the World War II Memorial. The weather […]
Northern Valley Honor Flight Visits WWII Memorial
What a great day at the WWII Memorial! Master fund raiser Lance Akers showed up today. What a guy! He has formed a fund raising training company and if he’s giving courses on raising money, I’m on board! Lance methodically made sure that Fargo had plenty of money, volunteers and the best “SWAG” […]
1800 people show: Homecoming Celebrations for Chicago Honor Flight
Afer a rainy day on the Mall, I got this from Mary Pettinato of Chicago Honor Flight: “…The Welcome Home Celebration was our best yet. We had over 1800 people to greet our vets/ Rolling Thunder, Guradian Angel riders and many more scary looking bikers. To contrast that, we had little JonBenet Ramsey’s wearing crowns […]
Delightful for Ducks
The only critter today not wearing a raincoat was this duck which seemed eminently comfortable despite the waves of downpours which greeted Honor Flights from Chicago, South Carolina, North Dakota and Ohio. Having seen worse, the veterans got out to the WWII Memorial, posed for pictures and had a great time. Senator Dole showed up […]
Rain, Rain….go away…
Despite a heavy rain, Michigan, Ohio and Louisiana made their way to the WWII Memorial today. When I arrived Rick Sage, his wife and Bill and Bobbi Richards were at the WWII Memorial today and were soon joined by Senators Robert and Elizabeth Dole. While the weather was clearing, the Senators climbed aboard the buses […]
The Mall
I’ve been scanning seemingly zillions of photographs I’ve taken over the past thirty years. Today, I found this picture taken in 1997. It was made on an early Fall morning for an advertising poster for Australian Radio. At that time, the big reflecting pool was practically always empty and the Memorial’s original pool was a […]
Senator Elizabeth Dole greets Honor Air Knoxville at WWII Memorial
Nice to have two Senators in one family! Senator Elizabeth Dole greeted veterans of Honor Air Knoxville in the absence of Senator Robert Dole who was in Kansas today. She is pictured here with Ed Mannis and his father. There were approximately 110 veterans and seventy guardians at the WWII Memorial. The weather was brisk […]
Oneida, New York Veterans Third Year
For the third year in a row and my first group picture of 2009, Erwin Smith of the Oneida Rotary Club made a trip by bus with a group of fifty. Each year, they decide to extend their stay and this year they are here for three full days. The weather had just cleared as […]
Promotional excellence: Honor Flight Chicago’s video
I have the opportunity to work in an advisory capacity to Honor Flight Chicago and want to congratulate them on the release of a beautiful, moving and professional video on the Honor Flight movement. Narrated by Gary Sinise and with a beautiful guitar background by Jay Farrar, the piece was cut in Chicago and Los […]
Robert Tills Returns Home
Jeff and Tam Miller escorted Mrs. Viicki Lee, former fiance of Robert Tills, the first US serviceman to be killed in combat in the Pacific Theater, to attend his burial 68 years later at Arlington Cemetery. Defense Link has a brief synopsis of the Tills incident and why he was being buried sixty-eight years later. […]
Donate, Raffle, Fly for Honor Flight
Judy Lemmons asked me to post a notice about a very exciting Raffle. This is an absolutely rare opportunity and while I don’t normally gamble, I think I’ll be buying some chances!!! Flying with a demonstration team is the stuff of photographic legend and the photographer here had a really nice photo opportunity. And you’ll […]
Honor Flight Chicago’s Poet Laureate
From Mary Pettinato: “Richard Williams, a WWII Veteran who is legally blind and recovering from a heart attack, sent us (Honor Flight Chicago) this poem.” Now Listen Up Now listen up. you Guys and Dolls of WWII, This Honor Flight Chicago program is for REAL! I mean,they bust their butts to please and honor YOU, […]
Fountains and Posted Schedule
The fountains are on and the April schedule is posted. Senator Dole normally arrives at WWII Memorial at 10:30 and while he is supposedly there only to shake hands with veterans, I’ve never seen him turn down a handshake. He may be the most shaking guy on the planet! Jeff Miller and his lovely wife Tam […]
Signs of Spring at World War II Memorial
From the front lines!!! …Emails from George Kerestes and Kari Beasley are sure signs that Spring is on its way and the flights will soon beginning. Judy Lemmons wrote that three flights will be here April 23, 24th and 25th. The fountains are still off but the World War II Memorial is still crowded with […]
Stanley Wojtusik: Battle of the Bulge
Just prior to the opening of the WWII Memorial, I worked for a month on a large advertising supplement for the Washington Post Magazine. I had the opportunity to photograph a few of the veterans who testified before Congress and influenced the legislation to finally construct the Memorial. One of them was Stan Wojtusik (upper […]
The Sinking of the S.S. Leopoldville
I was down at the FDR bookstore this Saturday chatting with my favorite bookseller Linda Brown (not a relative) when Lenore Angelo walked in and stopped us in our tracks with a tale of a ship gone down and families not notified of how their relatives passed away for fifty years. The S.S. Leopoldville was […]
WWII Memorial Honor Roll
I took a few hours to put together a twenty-six page book of 200 images selected from the 5000 taken last year at the WWII Memorial. It’s a nice selection and on this cold February day in DC makes me look forward to the first visitors to the Memorial this year. You can see the […]
World War II Talks at the Memorial
Dan Arant has been a National Park Service volunteer sine 1993 and serves at the Vietnam Memorial and the WWII Memorial. His current topics are: Pearl Harbor, Midway, and Iwo Jima. Future planned topics are: The Battle of the Atlantic, Japan’s Kamikaze Force, and the Surrener Ceremony on the USS Missouri. Each talk is […]