Washington Co., Wi – There are 17 veterans from Washington Co., Wi, taking part in the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight’s 81st mission on Saturday, June 21. This will be the last flight of the spring season heading to the nation’s capital.
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Local veterans include:
James Paul – Vietnam, Army from West Bend
Janet Paul – Vietnam, Army from West Bend
Gerald “Jerry” Smith – Vietnam, Army from West Bend
Gerald “Jerry” Niemeyer – Vietnam, Navy from West Bend
Daniel “Dan” Kopp – Vietnam, Navy from Hartford
Kenneth “Ken” Abbott – Vietnam, Army from Germantown
Thomas “Tom” Cook Vietnam, Air Force from Hartford
Lloyd “Bobby” Lynn – Vietnam, Navy from Kewaskum. Lynn was a diesel mechanic on the Mekong Delta riverboats.
Thomas “Tom” Hauser – Vietnam, Army from West Bend. Hauser served as a special forces scout dog handler.
John Frey – Vietnam, Army from Hartford, Wi
Daniel “Dan” Unertl – Vietnam, Air Force from Hartford, Wi
Thomas “Tom” Schlink – Vietnam, Navy from Germantown
Vernon “Vern” Blankenburg – Korea, Army from Germantown
Kurt Hintz – Vietnam, Navy from Germantown
Owen Brady – Vietnam, Army from West Bend
Clarence “Lee” Harmon- Vietnam, Army from West Bend
Dennis Riemer – Vietnam, Army from Germantown
Two Southwest Airlines aircraft will leave Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport at approximately 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on flight day, bound for Washington Dulles International Airport with 115 local veterans (and their guardians) on board.
On that day, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight will welcome 4 Korean War veterans, 110 veterans of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era, and 1 Desert Storm veteran.
Veterans taking their Honor Flight on June 21 include an Army Lieutenant Colonel who served in Vietnam, a 98-year-old Vietnam Air Force operating room nurse, and a Desert Storm veteran who also served four combat tours in Iraq.
After the planes land at Dulles Airport on flight day, the veterans and their guardians will board coach buses to tour Washington DC’s WWII Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Marine Corps/Iwo Jima Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall, and more.
The day will also include viewing the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Veterans’ families and friends and all members of the community are encouraged to attend the Homecoming parades at Mitchell Airport that evening.
The two planes are scheduled to land at 8:00 pm (alpha) and 9:20 pm (bravo). The Kettle Moraine High School Band and the Cudahy High School Varsity Dance Team will provide spirit for the Homecoming festivities.
Prior to the June 21 flight, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight has flown 10,705 local veterans on these trips to Washington DC since 2008, and has honored more than 50 veterans locally who were not able to fly.
As an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff and no offices, the organization is proud to share that $.97 of every donated dollar goes directly to flying and honoring veterans.
After June 21, the next Stars and Stripes Honor Flights are scheduled for Saturday, September 6, Saturday October 4 and Saturday, November 1.
Honor Flight is a national program with more than 130 hubs from coast to coast. Nationally, hubs in the Honor Flight Network have taken well over 275,000 veterans to see their memorials.
Timeline of activities for the Saturday June 21 Stars and Stripes Honor Flight:
5:00 am – Veterans and their guardians begin check in at Mitchell Airport’s main concourse
5:50 am & 6:50 am – National Anthem by Vietnam veteran and Brewers’ vocalist Bob Kozlowski
6:30 am – Stars and Stripes Honor Flight “alpha” flight departs for Washington Dulles Airport, water cannon salute on runway (weather permitting)
7:30 am – Stars and Stripes Honor Flight “bravo” flight departs for Dulles Airport, water cannon salute on runway (weather permitting)
9:00 am – 10:00 am (ET) – Flights arrive at Dulles Airport, load buses for DC tour
6:30 pm (ET) – Return to Dulles Airport, load planes for departure back to MKE
8:00 pm (CT, approximate) and 9:20 pm (CT, approximate) – Return flights land at Mitchell Airport, veterans deplane for parade through the airport’s main concourse.