Honor Flight provides closure to elderly veterans
Q: What’s the reaction from these vets who you’ve provided with this sort of end-of-life opportunity to do something that really means a lot to them?
A: It’s extremely humbling and very often they said that they did what they had to do and the real heroes didn’t come home. And many of them have put aside their emotions and their war experiences for the past 60 or 70 years and have never talked about it. And this trip provides the opportunity, first of all, for us to recognize them, to say thank you for what they did, because if they didn’t come home right away, they never got their welcome home. And it also provides them with the opportunity to speak about their war experiences — sometimes for the first time — with the only people who truly understand, those who were in harm’s way with them.
Q: When did you decide you had to be a part of this great program?
A: I retired from law enforcement and in the final years of my career I investigated crimes against our senior population ... I got off a plane in 2009 and I saw them on a flight from another part of the country and I called the national headquarters and asked them if they had anyone up from this area and they said that they didn’t, so I asked them if I could start the New England chapter and they gave me their blessing. And since then, we’ve had 1,771 heroes see their memorial in D.C.
Q: When is the deadline to apply to take part?
A: The deadline to get the applications in to the Randolph Savings Bank is Dec. 29. We will start our selection process in January and start making our calls for our flights in the spring.
Q: You are primarily focusing on World War II veterans and veterans who are terminally ill and the main idea is to make sure these folks have a chance to do this amazing trip and to get the recognition that they don’t look for. Is that right?
A: They describe it as one of the best days of their life ... I think the most important thing for all of them is just to be able to let it go. Their families have told us that they come back different because they finally have had the opportunity to let it go ... we’re often told they come back different people.