San Diego executive steps into top Honor Flight role
Eleven years ago, Rancho Peñasquitos businessman David Smith accompanied his father on an Honor Flight tour of national monuments in Washington, D.C.
His dad, who died in 2017, was a World War II Marine combat veteran, and the nonprofit group was hosting free trips to enable vets to see the memorials created in their honor in our nation’s capital.
“I told the Honor Flight national chairman, who was our host at the time, that I wanted to volunteer for the hub in San Diego,” Smith said. The chairman informed him that San Diego had no hub.
“We’re going to have one now,” Smith replied.
As soon as he returned home, the executive management firm founder started contacting friends and raising funds to start a program in San Diego County, home to thousands of U.S. military war veterans.
Later that year, I wrote a column about the inaugural San Diego group of 10 veterans and five guardian caretakers who flew to Washington, D.C. The local Honor Flight, an all-volunteer group that included Rancho Bernardo resident Pam Russell, has expanded to taking 80 to 90 vets (and their guardians) on chartered flights twice a year.
Smith’s role also has expanded. Late last month he was named president and chairman of the national Honor Flight Network, based in Arlington, Va. It facilitates the U.S. capital tours and coordinates with nearly 130 Honor Flight hubs around the country. In 2019 the program hosted 23,045 vets.
Smith has served on the national board for eight years and traveled on all 21 San Diego Honor Flights since 2010, plus on several
trips from other hubs.
“After every flight, I would stand at the door of the aircraft and shake everybody’s hand as they left,” Smith says.
Many vets told him they had given up. They felt they didn’t have much value until they took the flight to Washington, D.C., where they were recognized and honored. “It gave them a new lease on life,” Smith says. “That was very impactful.”
He also observed that the trips seemed to help veterans suffering from post traumatic stress because they talked to others who had lived through similar experiences.
As he starts his new role, Smith is making the resumption of Honor Flights his top priority, providing it’s safe to travel. When the pandemic broke out early last year, all Honor Flights were postponed at least until Aug. 15 of this year.
“We’re still waiting to evaluate if we need to postpone longer,” Smith says. “We’re basically following the (pandemic) guidelines in the capital area.”
With luck, the San Diego hub will be able to take its planned October flight to Washington, D.C. carrying about 90 World War II and Korean War vets. All a veteran need do to apply for the all-expenses-paid trip is sign up on the website:
honorflightsandiego.org.
The sad post-pandemic news is that several World War II and Korean veterans, who are fast dwindling in number, will no longer be around or healthy enough to take the three-day excursion.
“We’ve had a fairly large number who have passed,” laments Smith.
Durell Anthony will not be the next winner of “The Voice” NBC TV series. But the seasoned performer and past backup singer to Carrie Underwood and other stars had his moments in a spotlight of his own on national TV.
Two of the four celebrity coaches on “The Voice,” John Legend and Kelly Clarkson, turned their
chairs during Anthony’s blind audition in March to invite him to join their team.
Legend successfully wooed the San Diego contestant and then serenaded him by crooning his original tune which went, in part: “You made your choice, so let’s go and win ‘The Voice.’ Welcome to Team Legend.”
Anthony, 35, was raised in Kansas, but has lived and performed in San Diego for the past 11 years.
He moved here to work as a counselor for a La Jolla summer camp dedicated to weight loss and fitness. That job changed his life because it was here that he met his future wife, Kimberly, a fellow counselor.
When camp sessions concluded, Anthony started performing at weddings. Music took center stage about five years ago. In addition to songwriting and vocal projects, many in Los Angeles, he sings with The Mighty Untouchables, a corporate and special events band.
Anthony was eliminated on “The Voice” broadcast Monday night in a one-onone battle round duet with another John Legend team member.
In addition to Legend, the two contestants were coached by Brandy, who called Anthony’s falsetto “unstoppable.” She complimented both singers: “Why am I here? They don’t even need my advice.”
Despite his loss, Anthony remains upbeat, adhering to his philosophy that everything happens as part of a bigger plan.
“It was an incredible ride and I have no regrets,” he posted on Facebook that night. “I prepared vocally and mentally and left everything on the stage as I always do .... I didn’t bring this one home, but there’s more to come!”
Earlier he credited his wife with pushing him to audition. Kimberly, who works as a hospice nurse, admitted she was shocked when he got sent home Monday, but she sees “The Voice” appearance as “great publicity for his music career in San Diego.” She remains hopeful it will open up other opportunities.