April 29th, 2023 and October 14th, 2023, Blue Ridge Honor Flight embarked upon two new journeys flying our nation’s heroes to see their memorials.
Aboard the April flight to D.C. were 2 Korean War veterans, 89 Vietnam veterans and 5 Gold Star families. April’s flight was the first time in the 18 year history of Honor Flight that a WWII veteran was not aboard. A total of 16.1 million Americans served in the Armed Forces during WWII. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, LA, reported in September 2023 that only 119,500 WWII veterans were still living. They are dying at rate of 131 veterans per day.
The manifest for October’s flight was to include 2 WWII veterans, however one was not able to make the flight due to health concerns. Also aboard the October flight were 4 Korean War veterans, 85 Vietnam veterans and 5 Gold Star families. Julia Coffey, widow of USAF Captain Frederick M. Hall was one of the Gold Star family members aboard October’s flight. Captain Hall’s plane went down during the Vietnam War. After a long 54 years, Captain Hall’s remains were finally recovered a few months ago and flown into Spartanburg, SC . His body was laid to rest in Haywood county the week before our October 14th flight took to the skies. Lucy Steppe, also a Gold Star family member, was also aboard. Her father Captain John C. Kozuch’s plane went down 51 years ago during Vietnam. His remains have still not been found, but Lucy has a renewed hope knowing that Captain Hall’s remains were finally recovered.
Also aboard the October flight was Maurice Kalonaheskie. Maurice was an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a Tribal Elder and US Army Vietnam veteran. I met Maurice and his wife Pat in the lobby at our hotel the night before our flight. It was truly a privilege and honor to get to know him. I only wished I had more time getting to know him. Maurice was not one of the veterans on my team, but I would see him throughout the day and stop to say hello, then take his photo and text it to Pat back at the hotel. Pat shared with me that Maurice was MIA for 6 weeks during Vietnam. She also shared that Maurice made peace while at The Wall. She said Maurice had been looking forward to the trip for a long time and was glad he finally got to go. My heart was truly saddened when Pat called to tell me Maurice had passed away shortly after returning back home. Maurice, you have left an indelible mark upon my heart. I will always remember you! Pat, I think of you and pray for you often.
Also aboard both flights were the veteran’s guardians, EMT’s, medical staff, and Honor Flight board members.
The next scheduled Honor Flight is tentatively set for Saturday, April 27th, 2024. If you are a veteran or Gold Star family member, I encourage you to send in your application to come fly with us. It would be an honor to have you aboard! If you have a deep love for our veterans and would like to give back and show them how much you appreciate them, I encourage you to apply as a guardian. If you are interested in volunteer opportunities with Blue Ridge Honor Flight, please apply as a volunteer.
A sincere thank you to my veterans Bill Keck (April flight), Wayne Camp, and Jerry Smith (October flight) for allowing me the privilege to be your guardian and a very special THANK YOU to the Marine Corps League Cpl. Chris S. Ebert Detachment #1221, Father’s Vineyard Church, and all the behind the scenes people who generously donated to make it possible for me to fly these veterans to DC in 2023.
