Honoring Those Who Served Our Country

By Renee Wahlen Tillema

It was a bittersweet event, with tears of both sadness and joy shed. There were memories of loss, memories of camaraderie, and many new memories created. It was an event some 60 years in the making, and an opportunity that is quickly slipping away for many. The Old Glory Honor Flight took off on its maiden journey October 27, 2009 with over 90 World War II veterans on board, including several veterans from the Dodge County area.

Mary Baerwald of Theresa was able to witness the event as an Honor Flight guardian for her father, Gerald Mulder of Waupun. It was an opportunity she will never forget, one that has created a deeper feeling of appreciation for all veterans and the sacrifice they have given to their country.

According to the Honor Flight website (www.honorflight.org), this program, provided free of charge to the veterans, was the vision of Earl Morse, a physician assistant and Retired Air Force Captain. The very first Honor Flight took place in May of 2005 when six small planes flew out of Springfield, Ohio taking 12 World War II veterans on a visit to the memorial in Washington, DC. This program has spread around the country, including five hubs in Wisconsin. With the support of many volunteers, as of November 2009, the Honor Flight Network has transported more than 35,996 veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam to see the memorials built to honor their suffering and sacrifice to keep this nation free.

The Honor Flight Network states that over one thousand World War II veterans are dying each day, so they believe that the time to express thanks to these brave men and women is running out. While the Honor Flight is open to all veterans, priority is given to those who served in World War II and veterans who are terminally ill.

"My dad was the one who first found out about the Honor Flight," Mary said. "He's a member of the VFW, so I'm not sure if it was through there that he heard about it. He started researching it in 2008. He had asked my brothers to go along, but they thought that I should go with him. I wouldn't change a minute of it; I had a very nice time."

Both Gerald and Mary submitted their applications and found out during the summer that they would be going on an Honor Flight in October. There is no cost to the veterans and Mary said that the guardians each pay $500. She was assigned one other veteran to be a guardian for and was ready to assist this gentleman if he needed any help.

They left Waupun at 3:30 a.m. for the Outagamie Regional Airport in Appleton. An honor guard was on hand to see the full planeload of veterans and their guardians on their way. The plane left Appleton at 6:45 and the group arrived at the Washington Dulles airport about 8:45 a.m. The Honor Flight is basically a whirlwind tour of monuments dedicated to the veterans. By 10 p.m. of that same day, this group was back in Appleton with many more memories to share.

"The veterans all discussed stories amongst themselves during their flight," Mary said. "When we arrived at the airport, there was a ceremony with water cannons that is done for a pilot on his last flight. It was an honor that they said the firefighters do for retiring pilots, and I think they do that on all the honor flights."

As each veteran deplaned, they were greeted by supporters and both retired and active military personnel. Mary explained that all throughout the airport these veterans were greeted with a thank you or a handshake and shown a great deal of respect. Those who needed a wheelchair were given this assistance, and Mary was impressed with the organization and planning that went into every detail of the day.

"You could just feel the camaraderie of all those people on the plane," Mary said. "Even if they didn't know each other they were all there for the same reason. It was a very upbeat group of people. It was just amazing to see all these men and women that are still here and think about what they went through."

The veterans were able to visit memorials dedicated in their honor including the World War II Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial, as well as Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. The World War II Memorial was recently dedicated in 2004, and many of the veterans from this war have never had the chance to visit their memorial.

"When we got on the plane for the trip back home I asked my dad if he was tired, he said, ‘I'm not tired at all,'" Mary said. "They were all upbeat, it wasn't quiet, it wasn't somber, and they were all talking about their experience. When we were almost home, they had a mail call for every vet on the plane. There were letters from family members, friends, and relatives."

Mary had known about this mail call, but it was to be a surprise for her dad. She had her children, nieces, nephews, and schoolchildren write letters for him and included a letter from herself.

"He never did tell me what was in those letters," Mary said. "I know that I wrote one, but I don't know how emotional that was for him. I think the whole experience did fulfill his expectations, he said he was very glad that he went and asked me if I was glad that I went and I was."

Gerald served as a private in the Army from August of 1943 to January of 1946. He was stationed in the Aleutian Islands as a cook and worked on building runways. Gerald proposed to his future wife, Julene, on his furlough home in December of 1944, and they were married shortly after returning from the service. They had five boys and their daughter, Mary. Gerald was a farmer most of his life and after retiring from farming, Gerald and Julene moved to Waupun.

"He doesn't talk a whole lot about that time," Mary said. "I think after this experience he thinks about it more and he talked about the trip when we first came back. I think it was a positive experience and it brought a lot of memories back."

Upon arrival in Appleton they were greeted by hundreds of people, including a band. Mary said, "It was the welcome home that they didn't get." Each veteran was given two commemorative coins on the flight home, a "Challenge Coin" which is used as a form of recognition for a job well done and a gold dollar.

After an almost 24-hour journey, these 93 veterans had many new experiences and memories to think about and to share with others. There were remembrances of fellow soldiers who did not come home, or who have since passed away, and awakened memories of a country at war. Each veteran on this journey was shown the respect and honor that they earned and deserve.

"It really opened my eyes on the sacrifice that they made," Mary said. "You don't realize how much was lost and how many men and women didn't come home. The memorial itself is amazing to see, everything has such significance. I'm glad we went and that my dad had that opportunity to go, it was well worth it."