Joe Biro (above and below right) and John Kigis (below left) visit Washington, D.C., as honorees on the Honor Flight. (Photos provided)
Joe (Julius) Biro (88) and John Kligis (90). Along with their “guardians,” they were taken by a beautiful McHenry County Veterans Assistance Group to Milwaukee to fly out on Southwest Airlines to Baltimore on Friday, Oct. 1. They were met in Baltimore and transported to the Hilton Hotel and treated to a wonderful dinner Friday night and given Honor Flight t-shirts.
On Saturday, they were given a breakfast buffet and boarded a bus with 22 other Vets and their guardians, along with the leader of the Lone Wolf group that headed up the Washington end of everything. On board the bus was a terrific film depicting the building of the memorial along with segments from the war itself.
Upon a police escort arrival at the memorial, the men were greeted by strangers shaking their hands and thanking them for serving. The memorial is in the center of line sight of the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. At the time, the AFl-CIO, the NAACP were having a peaceful march and filled the area, but all were very respectful of the honorees. After a few more visits to memorials, they went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where men from all the services were lined up on both sides saluting them as they passed through to witness up front the changing of the guards—quite an impressive sight. After seeing the Women’s Memorial and more of Arlington, they were taken to more sites and then to a restaurant for a buffet. By the time they arrived home, they were exhausted and exhilarated.
Sunday they were taken to the Baltimore Airport and arrived in Milwaukee to be taken to Fox River Grove for a homecoming celebration. There was a pit-stop in Libertyville at Austin’s bar and restaurant. There were about 20 motorcycles from the Road Warriors lining the parking lot with flags to welcome them in. They then escorted the van all the way to a bar named The Tinman on Rt. 22 and 14 to be met by the Senator, State Representative, and the Mayor, along with a hundred or more people welcoming them home to hot chocolate, hamburgers, hotdogs, and speeches.
If you were to ask me what I thought of it, being a guardian, I would say it was quite unbelievable, very emotional and an outstanding display of patriotism toward our country, World War 2, and what it meant to the United States, and, of course, an amazing tribute to the men who fought to preserve our freedoms and protect our Allies. It was like a dream…the emotion of those thanking the men, the work it took to raise the funds to pay for their trip, and the dedication of all the volunteers involved in taking the very best care of these Veterans possible.
