They'll never forget By JEAN WISE -Bryan,Ohio Times Reporter 4/30/08 "I can't wait to go," 90-year-old Grace Kennedy said. She and four others from Bryan are in Washington, D.C., today as part of the inaugural flight of Honor Flight Northwest Ohio. The purpose of Honor Flight of Northwest Ohio is to fly America's Veterans to Washington to visit those memorials that have been dedicated to honor their sacrifices for our country. Other veterans from Bryan who planned to attend are George Thielan, Merle Altaffer, Harold Heller and Feroen Betts. Honor Flight began in 2005 and nationally has provided trips for more than 5,000 veterans. "I looked into it before, but I would have to travel to Akron," Kennedy said. "At my age, I can't travel that far by myself. Leaving from Toledo made it possible for me. They are even picking me up at my house." Kennedy served from April 1943 through December 1945 in the Women's Army Corps as a tech sergeant. She was a cryptographer, coding and decoding messages in MacArthurs headquarters. Her overseas duty occurred in Australia, New Guinea and Manila. "I am excited to go. I get to see what they are doing for all the people that served in the war," she said. "The members of the Greatest Generation have given so much and yet asked for so little," explained Dee Pakulski, the director of Honor Flight Northwest Ohio. "Giving them the opportunity to see their memorial is one way for all of us to say 'thanks'." Without Honor Flight, many World War II Veterans will never visit the memorial dedicated in their honor. While at the World War II Memorial, the veterans will have an opportunity to meet U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur and U.S. Sen. Robert Dole. The day's schedule also includes a visit to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery. Honor Flight is in a race against the clock. Thousands of World War II Veterans are on the programs waiting list, which takes individuals on a first-come, first-served basis. Those veterans are dying at an alarmingly high rate, so the Northwest Ohio chapter will attempt to schedule other flights throughout the summer. Honor Flight Northwest Ohio operates solely from contributions of time, effort and money from its associates, guardians and donors. The goal of the organization is to give all veterans who desire to see their memorial, a free trip to the nations capital. Special accommodations are made for those who need wheelchairs, oxygen and similar needs. Feroen Betts served in the Army from 1942-1945 as staff sergeant. For 27 months he was one of 11,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in Iran. Later, he was assigned to Patton's Third Army serving in Europe and fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. "It is a little known story from the war that we had American soldiers in Iran. We transported supplies such as food, medicine, trucks and tanks through the backdoor into Russia," Betts said. "Russia said we saved them as they were in desperate need of supplies." Betts has been contacted by the History Channel about this unknown aspect of the war. Much to his surprise, in 1995 he received a Medal of Honor from the Russian government on the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II. In 2006, a 60th anniversary medal also was sent. "At first I thought it was a joke, but when the second one arrived I knew it was serious," he said. I'm looking forward to this trip to Washington because I want to pay my respects to the heroes," Betts said with tears in his eyes. "I'm not a hero. The Lord brought me back safe and sound. I lost a lot of buddies in the war." editor@bryantimes.com
I found their site, this is great stuff. Take a look. (hope you don't mind that I posted this link, but I thought just in case people wanted to help out!) Home
Wow man!! thats really cool! I love it when opeople do things for Veterans, makes my heart smile! I helped a gentleman by the name of Col. Moncrief put together a book once, when I worked at OfficeMax. We made probably 300 copies of it, and when we were helping him put it in his car, he thanked us, and this other guy I worked with said "No, thank you". Col.Moncrief looked puzzled for a moment and said "For what?" and my partner said Thank you again, and at that moment, Col. Moncrief realized what he was saying, and the tears just welled up in his eyes. It was beautiful man.
