Honor Flight vets reflect on wartime at D.C. memorials

It was a totally unscripted moment, something that typifies the spirit of the Central Valley Honor Flight.

As 66 World War II veterans from the San Joaquin Valley were making their way Tuesday afternoon from the Vietnam War Memorial to the Korean War Memorial, they came upon a group of about 100 middle school students from St. Mary’s, Ohio.

Each of the 8^th graders paused to shake the hands of the veterans from a war that took place nearly 70 years ago, uttering the oft repeated phrase “thank you for your service.”

The stoic veterans who have been called “the greatest generation” toured the Iwo Jima and World War II memorials, triggering long suppressed recollections from generations ago in a conflict that killed 405,000 American service members.

The Central Valley Honor Flight began Monday morning at Castle Airport and ends Wednesday with their return home from an all-expense paid trip to the nation’s capitol.

For Leonard Marsh of Merced, the Iwo Jima Memorial was something familiar. He was an engine mechanic on an LST, or Landing Ship Tank, berthed on the steep beach of the the tiny Japanese island where 7,800 troops were killed and another 19,000 were wounded.

Marsh, 87, said the Iwo Jima Memorial was considerably bigger than he expected.

The six soldiers immortalized in the famous picture of the American flag being raised on that island tower 32 feet above the memorial near Arlington National Cemetery.

Al Perry of Fresno, tour leader, said the Central Valley Honor Flight had gone extremely well and said it was spectacular to see the incredible spirit of the honored veterans, who range in age from 85 to 98.

It costs $150,000 to conduct each flight, all paid by donations. Foster Farms kicked in $10,000 and the Community Foundation of Merced matched that amount. For future trips to originate from Merced, new donors will need to be found, Paul Loeffler, Honor Flight vice president said.

Loeffler is a native of Los Banos who is a Fresno radio personality.

Central Valley Honor Flight President Alan Perry said the group just broke even on the flight two weeks ago. Schmidt focused on the stories of those his division helped during the war. One was a German woman who secretly aided Allied troops escape from behind enemy lines.

“Because we liberated her, she comes to our reunions to thank our people for changing her life,” he said. “We had her here and she just wept.” Schmidt said they also liberated her now-husband, who then was on a death march from a concentration camp. When she saw the stars on the World War II Memorial representing American military deaths, Schmidt said she told him, “those people paid the price for me.”

In Fresno, Schmidt said he serves as the leader of the American Ex-Prisoners of War chapter because his brother had been one.

Honor Flight participants Tuesday also toured the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, seeing many of the planes that were prominent in World War II. A formal dinner was planned for the vets Tuesday night at the Crystal City Hilton, the base for the three day Honor Flight.

Al Peguero, 89, of Merced, a Navy veteran whose ship was torpedoed by the Japanese, said World War II veterans regularly hear people thank them for their military service.

A docent at the Smithsonian Air Museum put it another way. He thanked the vets for saving the world.

Eugene Mould, a bomber pilot in World War II who flew B-17s and B-24s in England, said Tuesday was “emotional and overwhelming.” The memorial to their service, he said, was the most meaningful part.

“It makes me tear up just a little bit,” Mould said.

The veterans on Tuesday filed into the World War II memorial to claps and cheers from others visiting the site. Then they listened to a special performance by one of their own, World War II veteran Donald Dick, of Fresno. He played “Taps” on his father’s 97-year-old bugle to honor the group’s lost friends and fellow service members.

Then the veterans took time to visit the site, take pictures and chitchat. They are cared for by “guardians” – volunteers who accompany them during the trip. Standing by the fountain, veteran Kenneth Lowe, from Manteca, teased his guardian and cracked jokes, then drew her and others close to recall stories of his service.

“Listen to this, it’s my biography,” he told her.

Lowe was an Army technician fifth grade in the European Theater of Operations on burial duty.

“It was only six companies and we took care of all of Europe . . . thousands of casualties,” Lowe said.

He mentioned a few never-to-be-forgotten moments: once when a sniper took two shots at him, and when he was in a building that was bombed.

“It didn’t kill us, but the whole ceiling came down,” he said.

Gazing at the memorial before him, Lowe said, “I didn’t expect all this.”

McClatchy Washington Bureau reported Samantha Ehlinger contributed to this report.

This story was originally published October 28, 2014 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Honor Flight vets reflect on wartime at D.C. memorials."