ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Thursday morning, 78 local veterans will take off for the nation’s capital on Upper Peninsula Honor Flight Mission XXIII. On Wednesday, they enjoyed a pre-flight banquet in their honor.
“Honor Flight is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for the freedoms we enjoy today,” explained Upper Peninsula Honor Flight President Scott Knauf. “Most of them have not seen these memorials and they were built for them, so it’s our way of bringing them out there so they can see their memorials.”
Of the 78 veterans flying to Washington, D.C., three served in the Korean War and 75 are Vietnam-era veterans.
“We were asked to go or volunteered to go, and we went,” said Vietnam veteran Verne Viger, who served from 1966 to 1968 and from 1970 to 1972. “Three-quarters of the country didn’t like the war, but we were there—period. We did what we had to do. It was an honor for me.”
Mission XXIII will make a special stop at the Women’s Memorial for the four female veterans on the trip.
“At the time that I served, only 1% of the military was women,” said Frances Smith, who served at St. Albans Naval Hospital from 1963 to 1966. “Now it’s up to 20%. When I went in, I didn’t realize that I couldn’t go overseas because I wasn’t an officer. St. Albans was a great hospital where the veterans came within 72 hours of Vietnam, and it was known for its plastic surgery. I’m glad I did it and then went on to become a registered nurse.”
Smith and Viger say they are touched to have the opportunity to go on the Honor Flight and to get the appreciation they never received upon returning from their service.
“The first time somebody said ‘welcome home’ was two years ago, and that was Scott,” Smith said tearfully. “I just wish my brothers could’ve heard it, because they never did. I had two brothers in Vietnam at the time I was in the Navy, so this is special. I think they should do this for every veteran.”
“When they called me, I almost fell out of the chair,” smiled Viger. “I’m just really happy. My dad was in the Navy, my oldest brother retired from the Navy, my kid brother’s in the Army, so it means a lot.”
Knauf encourages veterans who have not flown on the Honor Flight before to add their names to the waitlist. Veterans who served between 1941 and May of 1975 are eligible.
The Upper Peninsula Honor Flight is also looking for free agent guardians to go on the trip with a veteran without a friend or family member to accompany them. The guardian application and veteran waitlist can be found at upperpeninsulahonorflight.org.
WZMQ 19’s Washington, D.C. team will have Honor Flight coverage on Thursday’s newscasts. Click here to see our coverage of last year’s flight. Click here for an interview with a Vietnam-era veteran on that flight.
