Local WWII vets tour national memorials
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RONAN — World War II veterans gleamed their now common nickname “The Greatest Generation” from journalist Tom Brokaw. Brokaw’s reasoning for bestowing such a weighty title upon an entire generation was fairly simple: This was a group of Americans who grew up during the Great Depression and, as soon as it ended, went to war to save the American dream. They went to war because it was the right thing to do, not for glory. After winning the war, these brave men and women came and immediately went to work, rebuilding America into a superpower and sending men to the moon.
For these veterans, it was simply something that had to be done. Now, more than 70 years after the official end of the war, the nonprofit organization Honor Flight is sending veterans from across the country to the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C., to thank the greatest generation one more time.
Honor Flight Montana’s local director Kathy Shannon said the latest honor flight left Bozeman Saturday morning for Washington, D.C., carrying veterans Don Siers of Dixon, Bob Cook and Andrew Winter of Ronan and Dale Foust of Charlo.
“It’s a great trip and it’s great to see,” Shannon said. “It’s neat when you call them and you tell them they’ve been selected. Most have had an application in with us for six months to a year and they say, ‘I didn’t think you were ever going to take me!’ It’s a good thing to take them out to the WWII memorial itself.”
Once in D.C., veterans will see the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, the Iwo Jima memorial and will conclude the tour at the FDR memorial.
Unbeknownst to the servicemen, their bus will have a police escort for much of the tour.
“It’s almost like a president going through,” Shannon said of the police escort. “That’s one thing (the veterans) just love — they feel so important with the police escort going through town.”
Upon their return, the veterans will have 300-400 people including delegates, families and marching bands waiting for them at the airport.
“It’s a very emotional, tear-jerking trip,” Shannon said. “It’s a great ride for them and everyone involved ... We just make them feel like heroes the whole time they’re gone, and we let them know how much we appreciate everything they’ve done.”
The veterans leave from Bozeman on a privately-chartered, 160-seat plane. Renting the plane for a single trip costs $155,000, and the veterans will not pay a dime.
Because the veterans are passing away quickly, Honor Flight has stepped up its timeframe to get as many members of the greatest generation to D.C. as quickly as possible. Flights are scheduled for April, May, June, August, September and October of this year.
“We’re trying to get them there as fast as we can,” Shannon said.
Dixon resident and WWII veteran Don Siers will be 92 years old in May, but isn’t going to let a little thing like age get in the way of a trip like this.
“I’m kind of excited,” Siers said. “I wasn’t thinking on going the first place, but my buddies kept telling me to go.”
Siers fought through most of Europe during the war, participating in the Normandy Invasion, Battle of the Bulge and many more historic battles.
“It should be fun,” Siers said. “I haven’t seen anything in D.C.”
Andrew Winter’s son Dennis will act as an escort to assist the veterans while they are in D.C. A 31-year retired Navy Captain, Dennis said part of the reason he joined in the first place was because of his father.
“When I asked dad if he wanted to go he said, ‘Oh yea, I’m up for it.’ We’re both excited,” Dennis said.
His father served in WWII but has never seen the monument in D.C. A bomber pilot, Andrew flew B24 Liberators, taking them into bombing runs everywhere from Ugoslavia, Northern Italy and Southern Germany. On his 19th mission, Andrew was shot down over Hungary and spent two weeks as a prisoner of the Russian Army. He and most of his crew escaped and made it back to Italy, joining back up with his unit and finishing the war with 25 successful missions.
“Most of these guys haven’t talked about it a lot,” Dennis said of the WWII veterans. “It was just something they did, and I think part of it was the culture and the way people were. Having just come out of the great depression and being thrown into WWII, it was just kind of something they had to do.”
