WASHINGTON, D.C. (WZMQ) – Of all 70 veterans aboard U.P. Honor Flight Mission XXIX, one joined another way.
For the entire trip, each veteran was assisted by a guardian. This could be a family member or friend, but Michelle Labadie of Gladstone was a free agent guardian, meaning she had never met her veteran before the trip.
Her assigned veteran was Dennis Ketcham of Gladstone. He had been registered for Mission XXIX, but passed away less than two weeks ago on September 1 at age 72.
Ketcham served in the Army as a radio operator in Alaska during the Vietnam War, and also rode in the Patriot Guard as part of the many veteran escorts around the Upper Peninsula. Labadie says while he was there in spirit, she learned about some very special connections they shared.
“I have chills right now for the whole experience,” she said. “I felt like I had some sort of connection to him but I couldnt figure it out… his daughter lives in Naubinway, I grew up in Engadine, and I went to school with his grandchildren.”
Labadie carried a large frame of Ketcham’s Army photo all day, and says the committee was very eager to memorialize him in group photos and videos.
“He was so looking forward to this flight, and we really wanted him to still be able to go,” she said.
More details from this week’s U.P. Honor Flight Mission XXIX can be found here.
