Posts Tagged ‘Senator Robert Dole’
“Falling out of the sky”
"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
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…
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 […]

Fountains and Posted Schedule
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!!
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
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
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
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 […]

Senator Dole Public Service Announcement
Senator Dole Public Service Announcement

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, Michigan at WWII Memorial
Faye Wisely, Michigan at WWII Memorial

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 […]

Honor Flight Road Warriors
Honor Flight Road Warriors

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, WWII Memorial
Bobbi and Bill Richards, WWII Memorial

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…man of many cameras
Seth Watkins...man of many cameras

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 […]

A Wonderful Day at the WWII Memorial
A Wonderful Day at the WWII Memorial

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 […]

Brothers in Arms at World War II Memorial
Brothers in Arms at World War II Memorial

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 […]

WWII Memorial Volunteers
WWII Memorial Volunteers

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 […]

One Thousand Plus!
One Thousand Plus!

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 […]

South of the WWII Memorial
South of the WWII Memorial

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) […]

Ground crew readies for the big day at WWII Memorial!
Ground crew readies for the big day at WWII Memorial!

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 […]

Speaking of Senator Burr
Speaking of Senator Burr

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 […]

“The Dole Report”
"The Dole Report"

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 […]

Practice Makes Perfect at the World War II Memorial
Practice Makes Perfect at the World War II Memorial

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 […]

Nebraska’s Cutting Edge
Nebraska's Cutting Edge

  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” […]

Fall Flights Flying
Fall Flights Flying

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 […]