Emerald Coast Honor Flight was first on the scene yesterday and it seemed there were as many guardians and staff as Veterans. Congressman Jeff Miller of Florida was on hand to greet the Veterans. A particularly moving wreath ceremony was held centered on the reflecting pool with the Lincoln in the background. There were 130 […]
It was an epic day. Senator Dole and Congresswoman Marcie Kaptur visited with WWII veterans at the WWII Memorial today. Marcie Kaptur proposed the legislation and ushered it through Congress and Senator Dole made the rest happen by raising the 200 million dollars necessary to build the Memorial. They both must have felt enormous satisfaction. […]
Myron Nolish from California and his grandaughter Becky were at the WWII Memorial this weekend with Jim McLaughlin. It’s nice to see these generations together and to bear witness to the love that prompted these two to travel together. And speaking of love…Also at the Memorial this weekend were husband and wife in uniform Belle […]
Diane Sinclair, a member of the Honor Flight DC Ground Crew, lives out by Dulles and manages to get in to support us every weekend at the WWII Memorial. She had two of these artificial wreaths made up which can be used by the various flights in their flag ceremonies normally held out by the […]
Honor Flight Receives National Media Attention Springfield, OH. The Honor Flight Network (HFN), headquartered in Springfield, OH was featured on a national news broadcast. NBC News National Correspondent Janet Shamlian accompanied the first flight of 2008 from the Dayton International Airport on April 19, 2008. NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams aired the story last Friday. […]
To the sounds of a bagpipe, the twenty buses offloaded seven hundred veterans, one hundred volunteers and there were ceremonies for every state represented and always, a rembrance for those who didn’t get the opportunity to make the trip. Joyce Tarantino and her ground crew arranged for groups of soldiers to greet the vets at […]
JEFF MILLER’S FILM CREW at WWII MEMORIAL Jeff Miller, Co-Founder of the Honor Flight Network will have a professional film crew at the WWII Memorial putting together a virtual walk-through of the WWII Memorial. This project, shot in HD, will be available for WWII Veterans everywhere who are not capable of taking our trips. Jeff […]
This coming Saturday is going to be “opening day” for Honor Flight’s seasonal Flights. There are fifteen states sending 700 WWII veterans to the World War II Memorial and the forecast is for “Sunny and 82.” Senator Dole will be there and Earl Morse is going to be accompanied by an NBC National TV crew […]
Today, Honor Flight had three flights come in. I was just able to get down to the World War II Memorial to say hello and make some snaps. Jim McLaughlin brought a flight of Lone Eagles who joined a Cinncinati Group at the airport. With them were Thelma and Bob Worden and their son John. […]
Erwin Smith of Oneida, New York brought the first load of 52 veterans and guardians to the WWII Memorial today, Tuesday April 8th, 2008. The group is in for three days and this is the second year and the second trip for the Oneida Rotary Club. Like Honor Flight, the Vets were accompanied by guardians […]
Washington is at its peak. After a wonderfully mild Winter, the Cherry Blossoms are in bloom and the town is a riot of color. It’s time to bring those Veterans in and I am looking forward to Honor Flights coming into town. I will be reporting on every honor flight if you Honor flight leaders […]
Speaking of Al Bailey and the Air Force, I got a call from Susan Rubel at the Air Force Association and AFA Veteran Benefits Association asking for books for their online store. They are also presenting the “Jewel of the Mall” book at a special discount for their members and it will go out as […]
Susan Barr is the Public Relations Director for Honor Flight and an emergency room nurse and mother of two. Unflappable and ever-observant, I normally find her standing back, talking constantly on a headset to coordinate events while monitoring the health and hydration of every person involved in an Honor Flight. She’s up until midnight every […]
If you haven’t seen this video on Honor Air narrated by Andy Rooney, I recommend it highly and I can’t stand Andy Rooney. As I mentioned in an earlier post, CBS is the first national network sending a crew along with Earl Morse on April 19th, 2008. Tune IN!!! It’s good to see the networks cover […]
Dee Pakulski has taken to running the Northwest Ohio branch of Honor Flight like she’s been doing Public Relations work all her life. She and her Honor Flight Program have been written up six or seven times in the Toledo papers, she’s been on TV and has been speaking at dinners to raise money for […]
I set my google alerts for the WWII Memorial and am these days frequently rewarded with tidbits like this from the Cinncinati Enquirer “Alan Bailey will give a presentation on the Honor Flight program when the 741 Center hosts a Veterans Club meeting at 11 a.m. April 1 at 570 N. Ohio 741. The program […]
We all know about Honor Flight but there are groups and individuals working to accomplish the same task. John Brennan, Esq. and Joyce Oster Palmer took over a project in Oneida County with great success and are building their own WWII Memorial in Oneida. She wrote recently: “In all, between Herkimer County 200, Oneida County […]
Ray Kaskey is the internationally renowned sculptor who created the eagles, the bas reliefs, the ropes that join the columns, the water grates, the flagpoles and every piece of bronze in the WWII Memorial. Prior to the WWII Memorial, he was most famous for his statue “Portlandia.” He was chosen for this project not only […]
Jim McLaughlin is an Ohio based architect who retired so he can work full-time with the Honor Flight network. As Vice-President, he travels frequently to pick up the “lone eagles”, those vets whose health is so poor that an immediate trip is the only solution. He also heads up his own flights from Ohio and […]
Mary Cole of Bridgewater, New Jersey is shown here surrounded by veterans at the WWII Memorial. Last year, at the age of 16, she organized a “Tour of Honor”, raised the money and brought 67 vets to the WWII Memorial by bus. Joe Gromelski of Stars and Stripes who took the picture said “… it […]
Every flight seems to have a ceremony of one sort or another and they are all distinctive and usually focused around their state column. A lot of Senators and Congressman show up at the WWII Memorial when their state arrives and Kansas made a strong showing last Fall. Why there’s that Bob Dole guy again!!!! […]
Judy Lemmons works for the Air Force and she is in charge of PROTOCOL. She knows where the flag is supposed to be located next to a speaker, what pins to buy, where to buy gifts, bags, how to get fire engines to spray down the jets as the Veterans come into the airport, …as […]
This is a site dedicated to the WWII Memorial and the veterans who preserved our way of life during WWII. I’m Stephen R. Brown and the author of “WWII Memorial: Jewel of the Mall” . The book is available everywhere on the Washington Mall except the WWII Memorial. I post images of Memorial events, WWII Veterans […]
I photographed President Clinton last Fall at a signing for his book “Giving.” We had the chance to trade books. He’s a terrific person to be with and his enthusiasm for life is contagious and his memory for people is astonishing This is the note he sent me and I have it framed. He signed […]