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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Senator Dole cut a PSA for Honor Flight a couple of months ago and hopefully you will be seeing it on your television screen by Veterans’ Day. WTTG Fox was gracious enough to host Honor Flight and produce the PSA. You can access a quicktime version of it at my WWII Memorial Book site. Jeff […]
Faye Wisely brought in 45 vets and 20 guardians today with Honor Flight Michigan, and Senator Dole and I had a chance to meet them mid-afternoon. They were joined by a Northern Virginia and Iowa group who made for a larger than expected group. The air was clear and cool and the day perfect for […]
Jim McLaughlin, President of Honor Flight, lead an intrepid group of RV’s from Ohio to Washington. They seemed like it was a relaxing trip and I expect we will see more of the RV groups. Tax-wise, it’s a great way to get to Washington!!! CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS Honor Flight is featured in Jewel of […]
Bobbi and Bill Richards of Columbus, Ohio are without doubt the most active Honor Flight recently and I see them almost every week and every week, they organize something with school children out of their area. Accompanied by Susan Barr, they brought in yet another plane load and plan to have two plane loads in […]
Seth Watkins parents, Bob and Gail Watkins joined us in the photo fray today at the World War II Memorial, as they were visiting from my home state, New York. The photo crew has been trying to not only get the group photo but also as you can see, Seth and Marion and Cary are […]
These Buffalo Veterans were the first to meet with Senator Dole who took up a new post by the WWII Memorial entrance today to accomodate the crowds and there were crowds! It went very smoothly and much of the credit goes to Judy Lemmons and the ground crew for their excellent work. The leaders of […]
Pretty casual about saving the country, these “brothers-in-arms” share a bond that goes beyond states, politics, religion, etc…and it’s deep. They survived the worst of times, came back, started families and businesses and whether they like it or not, paved the way for “rock and roll!” Photos from today can be found at http://srbphoto.zenfolio.com. Veterans Groups […]
Seth Watkins, Attorney, Patent Lawyer and photographer (and oh yeah…husband to Marion Watkins, Senator Dole’s attorney) joined us today at the WWII Memorial after a long struggle with an important appeal he is doing pro bono. He’s an expensive volunteer photographer and given his degrees in Law and Mechanical engineering, I’ve found that he’s got […]
Today, there were over 1000 veterans, guardians, members of Honor Flight, the Rotary of New Hampshire…citizens, soldiers, marines, navy, coast guard, etc at the WWII Memorial….and I pass this note on from Judy Lemmons Honor Flight’s unsung hero, flight coordinator and all around good friend and advisor. Without her, we’d be wandering all around the […]
Photos are available at Ohio was the first group to arrive led by Susan Barr These George Washington ladies were on hand to meet the Louisiana Flight and kept Senator Dole and a few vets amused for a bit. As Senator Dole pointed to the young ladies, he said to the vets “Remember!!!”. Chris Cosich(above) […]
Photos are available at October 4th was a most successful day as 350 veterans plus 125 guardians visited the WWII Memorial through Honor Flight. Michigan, Alabama, Dayton, Ohio, Long Island, New York, Columbus and Louisiana all had a perfect Fall day to experience the Memorial. Diane Sinclair and Lona, our two volunteer team leaders, are […]
Thanks to Susan Barr for passing this on: BURR APPLAUDS SENATE FOR PASSING BILL HONORING WWII VETERANS Contact: Chris Walker (202) 224-3154October 1, 2008 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) today applauded his colleagues in the Senate for passing S.Res. 695, a resolution he cosponsored along with Senator Dole (R-NC) to commend the […]
Senator Dole has missed a very few Honor Flights and always makes up for his absences with “multi-tasking.” Today (and this has happened before) a woman walked up to Senator Dole and asked him to take a phone call. It was classic Bob Dole. He got on the phone and chatted for a minute or […]
Four Honor Flight groups (Cleveland,Chicago, Iowa, Missouri) came in as did two surprise buses from West Virginia and Pennsylvania who were transporting Veterans to the World War II Memorial but aren’t part of Honor Flight. They will be able to download their pictures as well at the September 17, 2008 photo site. Senator Harken of Iowa joined […]
The Arlington Police Department has been a good friend to Honor Flight. They also have some beautiful artwork on their tanks!!! Their Motor Squad lead both Nebraska flights into the World War II Memorial. Then, the United States Air Force drill team showed up today to entertain the Nebraska contingent. Their feats of “derring-do” […]
Honor Flights from fives states came in September 10th, 2008 and there are flights expected every Wednesday and Saturday with a few Tuesday flights as well so it’s going to be a busy season at the World War II Memorial. The photographs from yesterday are on the book site. One of the interesting aspects of the […]