by TR Robertson
The most recent Honor Flight San Diego trip to Washington, D.C., returned several weeks ago to a welcome that brought tears to the eyes of many of the 90 veterans that were on the flight. Honor Flight San Diego sponsors two trips to Washington, D.C., to see the various monuments and memorials built in honor of the men and women who died while fighting in the military during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The weekend trip is a quick turnaround for these veterans, all over 80 years of age.
Leaving on a Friday morning for Washington, these veterans and their guardians would get to meet for the first time, and the stories begin to fly as they began to find out who was in what branch of service, in what war, what they did in the service and much more. Saturday would be the busiest time for them, beginning with a breakfast buffet served at 6:00 am. They had to meet in the lobby of the Baltimore Hilton BWI Airport Hotel at 6:45 and on the bus at 7:15 am. Their first destination was the Arlington National Cemetery, arriving at 8:30 am. The six Women Veterans on the trip were dropped off at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. The Veterans at the Arlington National Cemetery witnessed the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at 9:00 am. Back on the bus at 9:30 am the veterans headed for the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, arriving at 9:45 am. They departed at 10:30 am for the U.S. Navy Memorial. Touring this memorial, they would leave at 11:45 am for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. They would stay here until 1:30 pm and while there they were served box lunches and, on their itinerary, they were reminded that this would be a good time to take any medications needed. If time allowed, they were also able to see the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Boarding the bus at 1:30 pm, the next destination was the World War II Memorial. It was at this memorial a group photo was taken. On the bus at 2:45 pm, the next stop would be at the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The groups stayed at this site until 4:40 pm when they boarded the bus to return to the hotel, arriving around 5:30 pm. Veterans, guardians and Honor Flight San Diego members then were allowed a break until 7:00 pm when the group met for dinner and closing ceremonies. Ending at 8:30 pm I would imagine many of the exhausted veterans and guardians were ready to sleep, but surprisingly, when talking to several of the veterans that took part in the trip, they were so excited and inspired by the day they didn’t go to bed until much later and spent the time talking to their roommates about what the day meant to them, what they saw that impressed them the most, and the hundreds of memories that seeing these sites brought back to them about their experiences while in the military. This incredible day would be enough to tire most people, but not these veterans.
In speaking with Fred Wilson, a Marine Corps veteran interviewed in a previous article, according to Fred’s wife Gloria, he could not stop speaking about it. He said, “This was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life – making new friends and lasting memories.” He said the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial was his favorite. He also said, “The hours spent planning, coordinating, organizing tours and then raising funds to finance this entire event is unbelievable.” He also added that any veteran who has yet to sign up for Honor Flight San Diego should consider joining an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Fred also said he was pleased to have been chosen as a recipient of joining Honor Flight San Diego.
Speaking with several other North County Honor Flight San Diego participants Jerry Doty of Carlsbad had similar feelings. Jerry was in the Vietnam War in the U.S. Army from 1967-68. Jerry was a steamfitter welder in San Diego when drafted. Serving boot camp at Fort Ord he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam and soon became a point man for his company. One experience he remembers is when the soldiers were able to have a bit of fun taking in a Bob Hope Show at Christmas time while serving in Vietnam. He said he had applied for Honor Flight San Diego 10 years ago and when he found out he had been selected, now that he was in his eighties, his first thoughts were; “I get to go with a bunch of vets and share stories with them and hear their perspective of being in Vietnam and how proud and honored I was to be selected”. Jerry said he made new friends on the flight, especially his roommate Oakie, a former Air Force Captain. He remembers staying up late on Saturday talking about everything they had seen that day. When asked what stood out to him during the trip he said it had to be both getting to see the names on the Vietnam Wall and the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. He said the thing he will not forget is being able to talk to so many Vietnam veterans about their coming home experiences in those days. He added, the arrival home from the Honor Flight San Diego experience was like nothing he ever imagined. Jerry said that if you are a veteran and get a chance to go on Honor Flight San Diego, “Do it! It is the best experience to be able to see and absorb all the sites and veterans from the different branches of service.”
The next North County veteran who attended Honor Flight San Diego 2025 was Lyle Stotlemeyer, also in the Vietnam War, 1965-1967, in the U.S. Army serving as a medic and leaving as an E-5 Sergeant. After going through boot camp at Fort Polk he spent one year in Korea and then on a special assignment to Thailand for one and a half years. Lyle said he applied for Honor Flight San Diego about 2-3 years ago and now 82 found out he had been selected about a month ago. He said he didn’t know anyone that had been selected but was interested in seeing if anyone had been selected to go to Thailand like he had, working in the public health field for the military when roads were being built from the five different airbases in Thailand used during the war. He said he went back to Vietnam as a civilian after he got out of the Army and stayed there until 1974, working as a civilian contractor. Lyle said he had several things that stood out the most about this trip, one of them occurring on the way over. All the veterans got to experience Mail Call while on the flight from San Diego to Washington, D.C. Each veteran received a bag of mail, which they could keep. In each bag they found letters from family and loved ones as well as letters written to veterans from all over the country written by citizens, schoolchildren, and other veterans thanking them for their service. He said it brought tears to their eyes. Family and loved ones had been contacted weeks before about sending letters they would receive. Lyle said about 42 of the letters had return addresses on them and he had spent one day writing thank you notes to each person who wrote a letter. The most memorable things he saw, he said, were the Changing of the Guard at the Arlington Tomb of the Unknowns and the Korean War Memorial. Lyle said many of the vets took a while to begin to open up about their experiences, but by the end they began to talk about what they had gone through. He also encouraged vets to sign up for Honor Fight San Diego as this is a very worthwhile experience for veterans. He wanted to point out his son Ho was his Guardian for the trip, one of his four children. Ho is a former U.S. Marine Corps Captain. Their group was only one of the Honor Flights touring Washington as he met vets from New Jersey and Minnesota Honor Fights. He said the overall organization was unreal, four buses on time to get them to their locations and the gifts were amazing, and he thanked those that made this possible.
Overall, every veteran I was met who took part in this experience spoke in awe of the chance to take part in being selected to go on the Honor Flight experience and had nothing but compliments to extend to those that made this possible. They each encouraged other veterans to apply to take part. Go to www.honorflightsandiego.org for more information.
