One of the Honor Flights from Illinois
My mom, who grew up in a small town in south central Illinois, just sent me this message about her older brother, a World War II ETO infantry vet, and some members of the family:
"Uncle Don & John [his oldest son] had a wonderful day in D.C. last Tuesday, taking the 'Honor Flight for World War 2 veterans'. Patty [niece--whose dad was a Pacific War vet] had worked on this project for months, getting nurses to volunteer for this & other flights out of Midway airport, on Southwest Airlines.
Dutch [aka Uncle Don] said this was one of the best experiences of his life, & John agreed. Dave [Patty's husband] & Aunt Annette [Uncle Don's wife and daughter of a an ETO Dr.] met the plane when it returned that night @ 9:00 P.M.---expecting to see very tired old men. They found them laughing, crying, & so happy from their very long day. At least 35 of the Vets were in wheelchairs, so the logistics to get around all the scheduled sites was a miracle. The average ages were 86-88. Everyone agreed that they were treated royally including entertained by "the Andrew sisters" singing WW2 songs while eating breakfast @ the airport. Erv [my brother] met the group @ the WW2 monument & Cindy [Erv's wife] @ their arrival @ Dulles & joined the bus trip for the day."
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“A government big enough to give you everything you need is strong enough to take everything you have.” Thomas Jefferson--the first Democrat President
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