April 13, 2018 – Washington Co., WI – There are 10 veterans from Washington County traveling Saturday, April 14 on the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight (SSHF).
This will be the first of three spring Honor Flights when the “WTMJ Radio Stars and Stripes Honor Flight” takes off for the nation’s capital.
“It is our honor to fly such an incredible group of local heroes, including so many Vietnam War veterans, to Washington to see their memorials,” said Paula Nelson, president of Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. “Our community is ready to give them the “welcome home” they have waited for, and to remind them that their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Two Delta Airlines MD90 aircraft will depart Milwaukee’s Mitchell Airport at approximately 7 a.m. on flight day, bound for Dulles Airport in Washington, DC with 153 local veterans (and their guardians) on board. On that day, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight will welcome 14 WWII veterans, 47 Korean War veterans, and 92 veterans of the Vietnam War.
Veterans from Washington County participating in Saturday’s Honor Flight include:
Colgate: Wayne Fischer, Vietnam War Army
Germantown: Greg Eggum, Vietnam War Army
Hartford: Brad Wing, Vietnam War Navy
Town of Erin: Dave Lowe, WWII Army Air Corps
Kewaskum: Thomas Kohn, Vietnam War Marines
West Bend: Jerry Goratowski, Vietnam War Navy, John “Pete” Pedersen, Vietnam War Army, James Meinberg, Vietnam War Air Force pilot, James Pogantsch, Vietnam War Army , William Crowley, Vietnam War Army.
Veterans who will be taking their Honor Flight on April 14 include a WWII veteran who was a member of the ’44 Packers under Curly Lambeau, a WWII Marine who was first ashore on Okinawa, and a Vietnam War Marine infantryman with a purple heart.
The flight is sponsored by WTMJ Radio, whose listeners donated $53,000 to send these local veterans on their Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. “WTMJ is proud of our longtime partnership with Stars and Stripes Honor Flight of Wisconsin. The ‘WTMJ Cares’ Campaign, led by John Mercure, inspired our listeners to donate more than $50,000 in support of April’s flight,” said Tom Langmyer, vice president & general manager of WTMJ/WKTI Radio and vice president, news/talk/sports for The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP). “It’s especially important for our Vietnam War veterans and other veterans to finally receive this kind of recognition for their service. Stars & Stripes Honor Flight, with the help of many caring people, does just that.”
After the planes land at Dulles Airport on flight day, the veterans will board coach buses to tour the WWII Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Air Force 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. A DC Park Police escort will ensure that the veterans do not spend time stuck in traffic.
“It is our honor and privilege to take these local heroes to Washington DC and to give them an entire day of thanks,” Nelson said. “So many of our veterans have never been thanked for their incredible service to our country so
many years ago. We need to not only thank and honor them before it is too late to do so; we also need to reassure them that their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Prior to the April 14th flight, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight has flown 5,524 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 $.96 of every donated dollar goes directly to flying and honoring veterans. The April 14th Honor Flight will be the organization’s 44th “mission.”
Honor Flight is a national program with more than 130 hubs from coast to coast. The WWII Memorial did not open until 2004 and many veterans are unable to visit Washington DC without assistance. The average age of a WWII veteran is 93 years old, and only five years separate the average WWII veteran from the average Korean War veteran. Nationally, hubs in the Honor Flight network have taken well over 180,000 veterans to see their memorials.
Timeline of activities for the Saturday, April 14 Stars and Stripes Honor Flight:
5:00 am –Veterans and their guardians begin check in at Mitchell Airport’s main concourse
5:45 am – National Anthem and boarding entertainment by local barbershop quartet the “Cream City Crooners” 7:00 am – Flights depart for Washington Dulles Airport, water cannon salute on runway
9:30 am (ET) – Flights arrive at Dulles Airport, load buses for DC tour
6:30 pm (ET) -Return to Dulles Airport, load plane for departure back to MKE
8:30 pm (CT, approximate) Return flights land at Mitchell Airport, veterans deplane for parade through the airport’s main concourse. The University of Wisconsin Alumni Band and the Brookfield Central High School dance team will provide spirit for the Homecoming parade.
