Posts Tagged ‘Senator Dole’
Senator Robert Dole Relaxing
Senator Dole has jumped into bed for a few days of rest and relaxation at Walter Reed Hospital. He was stricken with some kind of malady while surprisingly enough at the WWII Memorial greeting veterans. His law firm Alston & Byrd issued a statement saying that they were relieved to know “where he had […]
Central Illinois: Picture Perfect at WWII Memorial
Central Illinois showed up on what must be the most beautiful day of the year: about 82 degees, 10 knots of wind and nice fat dry clouds for intermittent shade. After a Springtime of rain, hopefully we are going to stay dry for our Summer flights. Don Niehart was leading 28 WWII Veterans and almost […]
Sun eventually shines on WWII Memorial!
I arrived at the WWII Memorial to see a clump of plastic raincoats and umbrellas and there was Senator Dole in the midst of the early morning crowd. The rain soon turned torrential and lightning began to strike and he and Mrs. Dole went to the car for a bit. We thought we would convince […]
Normandy Beach: 65 Years After
Senators Robert and Elizabeth Dole flew over yesterday to attend the Normandy D-day Festivities with President Obama today and tomorrow. Mike Marshall and Marion Watkins accompanied them along with some 80 veterans. Now that has to be exciting. And hopefully some good press for Honor Flight. I spend a lot of time with Senator Dole […]
May 30 2009: Long Island; North Carolina; Dayton and Canton, Ohio
As there were ceremonies later today at the Lincoln celebrating it’s restoration, most of the Veterans Groups made their trips to the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean Memorials to avoid the crowds. Jeff Miller and I started off at National Airport where US Airways honored the planes with music and festivities as well as the ceremonial […]
Memorial Day 2009, WWII Memorial
Fifth Anniversary of the WWII Memorial By George Kerestes At today’s program, Friends of the National World War II Memorial (http://www.wwiimemorialfriends.org/) joined with the National Park Service in a special program recognizing the 5th anniversary of the dedication of the Memorial. The program included music by the United States Marine Band, and a bugler and color guard from the […]
Oh So Sweet
Mr. and Mrs. Lacey of “Honor Bus” located in Mechanicsburg, Pa drove all the way down to DC today to present Senator Dole with his own five pound chocolate bar. The only other person to get this honor from Hershey Chocolates was Mick Jagger… so “rock on” Senator and make sure you share. The cover […]
The Usual Suspects
As I walked onto the Memorial grounds today, Lona and her crew of volunteers were getting ready to greet the Connecticut Honor Flight. As usual, the chairs were laid out, the food ready and the water in plentiful supply. They take turns escorting the veterans around the Memorial and then making sure they get food […]
May 16, 2009: A Gaggle of Vets at the WWII Memorial
Jay McMaster, Brian Duffy, Dan Finch, Bob Haggard, Jeff Miller, Bill and Bobbi Richards, and Faye Wisely showed up at the WWII Memorial as did Senators Dole and Dole. It was a terrific gathering of approximately 500 Veterans and half again as many guardians. Both Kari and Lea helped with the photography and if you […]
“F8 and Be There”…May 6, 2009
We DC photographers have a motto: “F8 and Be There” which means “…be there or you’re fired”. Well I’m “history” as I’ve been missing everybody in the past two days. Yesterday, I barely caught up with Al Bailey who was traveling with Central Missouri at the WWII Memorial. I arrived just in time to pass […]
“And that’s how we roll….”
What a day!!! The rain held off and Prattville Alabama’s schoolchildren turned out to welcome arriving eight hubs to the WWII Memorial. Serendipitously, their school trip to DC coinicided with the Alabama hub’s plans and they formed up to cheer the Veterans from all the hubs as they entered and left the Memorial. Great stuff! […]
Five Years
Thanks to Mary Pettinato for reminding me today that it was five years today that the World War II Memorial was opened. Twenty four hours before that I was riding around in a cherry picker 24/7 photographing the last scenics without people. It was pretty cool having it all to myself! Then all of you […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Go Navy!!
Dorothy Mary (Sudomir) Budacki passed away this Fall. I had the chance to meet her and her daughter, Denise Duke (both in Navy uniform) at the World War II Memorial in November of 2007. We exchanged some pictures and letters over the past year and this is one of my favorite images. Her daughter Denise wrote: […]
DC PHOTO BOOK
Today, 10,000 books arrive at the warehouse. A thousand are scheduled to be shipped to Amazon, two Honor Flight hubs and retailers by Monday so I am delighted that the production of this new edition went so smoothly. I am also proud that the new books are much stronger and exactly the same weight. The […]
Congressional Gaggle at WWII Memorial
Senator Dole, Chuck Hegel (new Secretary of Health?), Jeff Fortenberry and _____(help me out here) joined together to welcome these Wisconsin, Nebraska and Albany veterans on a cold but beautifully breezy day. Unlike Summer, people were staking out those nice sunny spots from which to look around the WWII Memorial. You can just begin to […]
Fall on the Mall
Kansas and Georgia arrived to cloudy but tolerably comfortable weather and as the Kansas group formed up for the “most organized picture of the year”, Senator Dole arrived. After we made the group picture, Senator Dole talked about the fact that the WWII Memorial was built by private contributions and that the government had nothing […]