Flashback Friday...Our Honor Flight

As I mentioned, watching the Honor Flight Film was inspiring and uplifting.

There was one particular man they interviewed who had been captured and taken Prisoner of War.
As they told his story, I looked over at my sisters to see the same look on their faces as on mine.
Dad's story was so similar that I would not have been surprised if I had seen him on the screen when they showed the man's picture.

It was also inspiring as it made me remember our own Honor Flight...

when our family was able to take Dad to Washington D.C. to see the World War II Memorial.

I imagine, if we had NOT done that...

watching this film would have not have been as easy.

One of the hardest parts of the film, is knowing that there are those Vets who made it home, but did not live long enough to see it built in their lifetime...
or even more heartbreaking...
died while they were on the waiting list for a seat on an upcoming Honor Flight.

If we had not taken Dad, this film, this organization, this experience....
no matter how wonderful, would be hard to watch...
due to the regret of not having experienced it with him.

But THANK GOD 

(and Sister Susie...our teller and getter done-er)....

we DID get him there!

look how happy!!

Directions to here:

On the return flight, this organization has a "Mail Call" for the Vets on the plane. This is when each Vet gets an envelope of letters from family, friends and volunteers. Some of them were astonished to see how much they mean to their family members. Susie mentioned that she wish that we could have done letters for dad. 

I reminded her that even tho we made a book of photographs for Dad to have as his own...

he managed to squirrel away the extra doubles of the photos into his pocket, one sunday dinner. He just kept taking them one by one and hiding them in his shirt. Later, on another visit to Whittenberg, I was moving stuff on his bed and found these pictures stuck in his pillowcase! So, yes, while letters would have been nice, He loved these pictures so much he slept under his pillow!!

Well done, family.

Well done : )