Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Flight To Washington, D.C., Honors Veterans
PRAIRIE GROVE — World War II veteran John Barr of Prairie Grove was one of 75 veterans to participate in the most recent Oklahoma & Arkansas Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., from Northwest Arkansas.
Barr, 90, has lived with his wife in Prairie Grove for 19 years and has been to Washington, D.C. before but the trip with area veterans was a new experience for him.
Barr served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and was on his way to combat when the war ended. He served in Japan and the Philippines as part of the Allied occupation. He began his service in December 1943 and returned home at Christmas time in December 1945.
Barr said he enjoyed the trip and the opportunity to see the memorials. His son, Leroy Barr, is a commercial pilot based in New Hampshire and met up with the group in Washington, D.C.
“I liked it,” Barr said. “It was nice.”
Barr said the one impression he brought home from the trip was this: “We better not have any more severe wars.”
Each veteran was assigned a guardian or partner to go along with them on the trip. Barr’s partner was Phil Yates of Springdale. In some cases, the guardian was someone the veteran knew, such as a relative. Many, however, did not know their guardians prior to the trip. Barr and Yates did not know each other beforehand.
Barr said his guardian probably had an “awful” time keeping up with him. He said he does not meet a stranger and every time he saw someone on the trip, he would stop and strike up a conversation with them.
“He would turn around and I was gone,” Barr said.
Yates left a handwritten note for Barr that said, “I sure did enjoy spending the day with you. You made it a great trip for me…I will never forget that day and the fun we had.”
On the night before the April 19 trip, all participants met at the Cherokee Casino in Siloam Springs for dinner and to spend the night. They left early the next morning for a chartered flight from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport to Washington, D.C. They returned to the airport about 10 p.m. the same day.
The group saw the World War II Memorial and Lincoln Memorial. They also saw memorials for the Korean War and Vietnam War. In addition, they were able to view the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, U.S. Air Force Memorial and Arlington Cemetery.
Everywhere he went, people would thank him for his service, Barr said.
“We’re living in the greatest nation in the world.”
Barr’s wife, Dorothy Barr, did not go but she said she was impressed by the organization of the trip. Dorothy said she read about the Honor Flight last year and encouraged her husband to apply to go.
“I have nothing but admiration for those who put it together,” Dorothy Barr said. “It was great. They went to a lot of work.”
Everywhere the veterans went, they were met by greeters. The biggest crowd gathered at the airport for their return trip home.
John Barr said it was a little overwhelming. The airport’s lobby was filled with people greeting and cheering on the veterans. Many waved American flags and the Singing Men of Arkansas sang patriotic songs.
Barr grew up in South Dakota and worked on his grandfather’s farm and for his grandfather on the railroad.
He was 17 when he went into the Army and said he landed in the Philippines on his 18th birthday. He was involved with work projects as part of the occupation and worked in a carpentry shop. Other jobs were as a cook and as a type of orderly in a hospital.
Cooking came easy to him, Barr said, because his father died when he was 9 years old and his mother had to work two jobs to take care of him and his three siblings.
“So I ended up doing the cooking from the time I was about 12,” Barr said.
Barr has had a multitude of careers over the years and has many skills. He worked in the fruit industry for 20 years in Oregon. He also has worked in carpentry, as an electrician and a pipe fitter.
“I’ve done everything connected to building a house,” Barr said.
Today, he spends about eight hours each day working in his shop repairing small engines and does this to help people, not for money. But he is thinking about a new career, he said, as a painter. He likes to paint and has painted several pictures.
Barr said he would encourage veterans to apply to go on an Honor Flight.
“If they have an opportunity, it is a wonderful trip,” Barr said.
The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created to transport America’s veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit those memorials dedicated to honor the service and sacrifices of themselves and their friends.
Top priority is given to World War II veterans but veterans from other wars also are chosen to go. In 2016, more than 20,000 veterans participated in an Honor Flight.
On the most recent trip from Northwest Arkansas, about 10 were veterans of World War II and Barr was the only paratrooper.