Although Covid pushed off many activities, 2023 is bringing them all back. One of these activities is honor flights. The Honor Flights Network provides free transportation to United States Military Veterans to see the memorials in Washington D.C. that are dedicated to the wars fought. The national nonprofit offers veterans the chance to travel from across the nation, visit memorials, honor their fallen comrades, and reminisce.
Sun City Veterans Larry Wojtas, Mary Andruzzi, and Mike Seymour.
Larry Wojtas, a Sun City resident, was scheduled to take the honor flight in 2020, and it was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Wojtas is an Army Veteran and was on active duty from 1969 to 1971.
Wojtas said, “I was on the College Rifle Team and in the Army on the Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship Unit. I was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas. I was stationed in Vietnam from August 1970 until June 1971.”
By the conclusion of the United States’ involvement in 1973, over 3.1 million Americans had been stationed in Vietnam.
Wojtas said, “I was in the Army Reserve until 1996.”
Wojtas recently left for Washington D.C. on August 24, and he returned on August 27.
“There was a veteran from WWII. He was 98 years old. There were two other Veterans from Sun City. Mary Andruzzi and Mike Seymour,” he said.
Mary Andruzzi, a Sun City resident is a Marine Corps veteran. “I was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina,” she said.
She found out about the opportunity for the honor flight on TV.
Andruzzi said, “I applied, and a couple of months later I got an invitation to take the trip. It was such a well-planned trip. We all bonded. It was truly unbelievable.”
Many volunteers take on a variety of roles to coordinate all the honor flight events. Throughout the country, funds are raised throughout the year to cover costs for chartering flights, food, and all fees associated with the trip for veterans. Volunteer chaperones if needed are assigned to the veterans to cater and volunteer medical personnel travel with each group.
Mike Seymour, another Sun City Veteran, said, “I served in the Airforce for seven years and then I had a 26-year career with the Illinois National Guard. I was drafted in 1976 and I had a brother who had served in the Air Force so I joined and stayed.” How did he hear about the honor flight?
“I had a friend who had told me about it and he was on the flight also,” he said. “It was a memorable trip. Every year I write a Christmas letter, and I struggle with what to put in there. Not this year. I got so many memories to include.”
Wojtas had a few favorite moments of the trip.
He said, “The Pentagon Memorial Garden and also the Vietnam Wall. I found the name of a childhood friend on the wall. I saw some visitors making pencil rubbing of a name on the wall. There were items left in memory, photographs and letters.”
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in November 1982, and over 400,000 items have been left by visitors as remembrances and tributes. The National Park Service collects, catalogs, and preserves these items. They are part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial collection.
Seymour’s favorite was the “Arlington Cemetery and the Changing of the Guard. It was a tear-jerker. The routine is precision performed by sentinels.”
Soldiers were first assigned to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1926 to discourage visitors from climbing or stepping on it. In 1937, the guards were present 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, standing watch over the Unknown Soldier.
Andruzzi said, “My favorite was Iwo Jima, the Marine Corps War Memorial, and the National Museum of the Marine Corps.”
The United States Marine Corps War Memorial depicts one of the most famous incidents of World War II. The memorial is dedicated to all Marines who have given their lives.
Seymour said, “As we were flying back from our tremendous trip to Washington D.C., we were reflecting back on all that we had experienced. We then found there was more to come. We each received a packet of letters written to us by family, friends, and some even by strangers, expressing their thanks for our military service. Some so touching that we could almost hear God talking to us through them.”
Wojtas said, “At both airports, we received a great welcome. We were welcomed by an arch formed by people who were at the airport to greet us at both locations. When we returned from our trip there were police cars and about 100 members of a group called the ‘Warrior’s Watch Riders.’ They escorted us back to McHenry High School where once again we found a reception for us.”
Seymour said, “We are very grateful to everyone who made this experience happen and mostly to God who cared for us and watched over us.”
If you are a veteran and want to experience the honor flight, you can find information on their site www.honorflight.org/applications/
You can also donate on their website.
