Read Ranch & Coast Virtually Anywhere
Issue link: http://ranchandcoast.uberflip.com/i/1535860
an Allegiant Air pilot, flew another Honor Flight group that same weekend from Florida to the same airport. From then on, it was a whirlwind weekend that began with a welcome dinner and color guard. We learned that Earl Morse, a retired Air Force captain and private pilot, founded Honor Flight in 2005 in Springfield, Ohio, flying World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., in small planes. Jeff Miller had a bigger idea: chartering a 737 to fly more than 300 veterans in 2006. e two men later joined forces, co-founding the Honor Flight Network, which to date has flown more than 300,000 veterans to D.C. On Saturday, veterans and their escorts embarked on the "Tour of Honor," visiting memorials for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy. e group also toured memorials commemorating World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. World War II Memorial Called the "Jewel of the National Mall," the World War II Memorial is located between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. It is composed of 17-foot-high columns representing each state in the union, and 24 bas relief displays depicting both the battlefield and home front. e Freedom Wall has 4,048 gold stars, each signifying 100 Americans who died in the conflict. "e gold stars representing the casualties, the cost you pay for being a free country, was the most emotional part of the trip," Russ Loftman later told me. Korean War Memorial Dedicated in 1995, the Korean War Memorial honors the 5.8 million Americans who served in the conflict. It includes "e Column," dramatic stainless steel sculptures by Frank Gaylord of 19 armed servicemen crossing a field, and a 164-foot-long Mural Wall sandblasted with photographs of troops by Louis Nelson. Here I spoke with Lee Coffey, an 88-year-old veteran who was a medic in Korea from 1953 to 1956 treating hundreds of veterans in a field hospital. Coffey says he is grateful for the memorial, although it brought back some painful memories. "ere are people we were charged with keeping alive who didn't make it," he said quietly. "We did our best." Coffey's battle buddy was his grandson Tristan King, who serves with Homeland Security. King wanted to learn about the Korean conflict and said he is proud of his grandfather's service and life- saving efforts. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Designed by Yale architecture student Maya Lin in a nationwide contest, e Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on November 13, 1982. Located between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, "e Wall," as it is known, is especially emotional for veterans and their families. Slabs of black granite are etched with the names of 58,276 dead or missing members of the armed forces. "Too many names," one veteran told me quietly, as we stood, staring at the wall. Robert omas, a Green Beret who spent three years in Vietnam, said he "broke down like a baby" when he saw the wall for the first time. "I was able to see it, feel it, touch it," he told me upon his return to his Valley Center home. "I feel so much better for having seen it. I got the hate out of me at the wall. I can't describe what that wall did for me, but it was good medicine." omas declined to talk about his painful experiences as part of his elite fighting force, but after seeing the wall he says he is now sleeping better than he has in years. Another Vietnam veteran in our group was a "Screaming Eagle," a member of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, a unit known for its daring parachute jumps into enemy territory. He found the name of his late battalion commander on the wall, a lieutenant colonel who died in a fierce, 23-day battle at Fire Support Base Ripcord, one of the bloodiest of the war. "He was a good officer," the veteran reflected as he stared at the names on the wall. "We were all good." en he shook his head. "And now they say the war was a mistake?" Coast Guard veteran Larry Brooks of Del Mar and his grandson Tom Gahan found another familiar name on the granite walls, Coast Guard Lieutenant JG Dave Brostom, Brooks' friend when they both attended the Coast Guard Academy. Brostom and Engineman detour destinations << The veterans and their battle buddies gathered at the World World II Memorial on the National Mall PHOTO BY DAVE SMITH