Historical Footage: Japanese Surrender Signing Aboard Battleship Missouri Sunday Sept. 2, 1945. From Rick Sage in Michigan, I got the following information: “This is an actual film made of the surrender ceremony of the Japanese to McArthur in Tokyo Bay in September 1945. You can hear the actual voice of the General. Never been shown to the […]
Bob Morrison brought up wheelchairs and Glen Anderson and Don Wiedle showed off a new lightweight chair that is relatively inexpensive. Dan Curtis of RC&D (just back from Afghanistan) mentioned a program in Kansas where prisoners renovate bikes and wheelchairs for redistribution. Chairs are damaged in transit but necessary to get the job done. Bill Dukes has brought three Honor […]
Honor Flight is holding a Summit at the BWI Hilton for all of the regional hubs. It starts on Friday and winds down on Sunday. There will be lectures on starting an Honor Flight, non-profit status, safety procedures, fund raising, etc… and a great opportunity for old friends to get together. I am very much […]
Jeff Miller, our co-founder (the guy who got the charter operations on the roll) from North Carolina wrote to tell me the Asheville Airport is having a contest and if you vote for the Hendersonville Printing Tree, they get money to send two Honor Flights so….as it’s all in our family, ….VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN!!! Please […]
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From Judy Lemmons, Dir, Public Relations/Protocol Honor Flight Network CONGRATULATIONS to all the amazing, talented, selfless and dedicated volunteers who have time and again supported over 278 flights during 2009 with 17,832 vets and 8,704 guardians for a total of 35,996 veterans who have been blessed to visit their memorial over the past four years! […]
George Kerestes was interviewed by South Dakota’s Keloland Television and got a nice write up regarding his four years of greeting Veterans at the WWII Memorial. He says: “Now that I look back and realize these were my neighbors growing up and I never extended my hand,” Kerestes said. “So in my own way, this […]
Forwarded to Mary Pettinato, Honor Flight Chicago Hey Mary!! Today went amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had the store decorated in red, white, and blue and it looked great!! So many Veterans showed up and it was great to see them all sit together with their coffee and donut and share stories! The Des Plaines city clerk also came by and sat […]
Lona Ichikawa (Honor Flight’s DC Ground Crew Chief and Judy Wybenga, Dulles Ground crew Chief held an end of season fund raising for the DC Ground Crew at American Legion Post 180 in Vienna, Virginia this weekend and also took the opportunity to recognize some of their volunteers. I will post the pictures later […]
Honor Air may have begun a new chapter with Southwest Airways sponsorship arranged by Judy Lemmons who is the glue that holds Honor Flight together. She and Susan Barr brought twenty-one veterans from California and their guardians to visit the Memorial and …it was obvious it wasn’t California. It was a “NorEaster” with gusty winds […]
A salute to my father Edward Brown on this Veterans Day. Like many WWII Veterans, he never made a fuss about his military service either before the war on a Destroyers at Pearl Harbor or during the war in Brazil where he was on the crew of a PBY (submarine hunter). He used to joke […]
And so if you were wondering where I’ve been in the past few weeks, I’ve been working on my latest book on DC and saving my energy up for today when 800 veterans plus guardians…a total of probably 1200 plus assorted military personnel, motorcycle police and riding groups, mounted police, guardians, school kids and relatives […]
Tomorrow may be our last tent day for the Honor Flight season. We have two tents bundles rented and 3 hubs scheduled to use the tents as shown on Diane’s HF schedule and I have volunteers to staff it. I am not sure about the 7th of November. I don’t know what the funding looks […]
Central Illinois and Northwest Ohio came in today and were greeted by Senator and Mrs. Dole. As you will notice, I made the photographs of the Central Illinois group on the 17th Street (Washington Monument) side of the World War II Memorial. Photographing groups on the 17th Street entrance is WONDERFUL and I would like […]
There were buses unloading on 178th Street today as Central Iowa Honor Flight alone brought in 350 veterans. The weather was perfect and with the addition of Central Missouri and Siouxland Honor Flights, the World War II Memorial was jam packed with veterans in a variety of blues and yellows. All told, between veterans and […]
Photos and text by George Kerestes, National Park Service and Pittsburgh Native On another beautiful fall day in Washington 100 World War II Veterans, plus their volunteers, visit their Memorial. Although not part of the Honor Flight Network, the Pittsburgh numbers are very impressive. The Pittsburgh group originated with Jim Hilts, of Coraopolis, a Vietnam War […]
Dear Editor: Fred Klein, Jack Kelly and Pamela Atkins.wrote 3 letters in CST concerning the Honor Flight of Wyoming vets to WW!! Memorial in Washington, DC. I just wanted to add what little I can in expressing my heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped organize and finance this extraordinarily inspirational trip. There was […]
Chicago Honor Flight’s Documentary From Mary Pettinato in Chicago: “The Communications Committee is proud to announce that the documentary co-produced by Marty Kohr and Kimberly Grear and done by Don Pogany and Arturo Cubacub has been nominated for an EMMY tonight against stiff competition. Thank you so much guys for your amazing attention to […]
There were Honor Flights from eight states repsresented at the World War II Memorial today and rumored to be between 700 and 1200 veterans. Senators Robert and Elizabeth Dole were there as was Mike Marshall bearing news of a new boy in the family. Everyone was photographing and the weather held out nicely as everyone […]
North Dakota thundered into the World War II Memorial today lead by Tim Koski and supported by a group of guardians and supporters from past flights. North Dakota has been so successful in Fargo (due in large part to Lance Akers and Jennine Albrecht’s fund raising efforts) that they have been able to cover the rest of the state. Senators […]
Six flights (Fayette, Georgia; Rotary District 7680 (North Carolina); Honor Flight Dayton, Southeast Florida, Leatherstocking Honor Flight (New York) and Roughriders from North Dakota) came in today with a total of 380 veterans and some 150 guardians. Senators Robert and Elizabeth Dole were there to greet the veterans. The day was absolutely beautiful and Washington […]
Two years ago, Dee Pakulski (second from left) was in DC at the Honor Flight convention exploring how to transport the veterans from the Toledo, Ohio to the World War II Memorial. Obviously she has succeeded as she has brought over 250 grateful WWII Veterans to DC with a 100 percent safety record and has […]
Beth Zimmerman, her mother and aunt sent me these World War II posters which I think are very interesting. You can access them on the photo site. The quality of the illustrations is quite amazing and it looks to me like Norman Rockwell did a few of the illustrations. Pretty cool. Betty Hart who originally sent […]