Honor Flight to pay tribute to World War II veterans

There wasn’t much fanfare when veterans of World War II returned home from combat. While servicemen didn’t encounter the antagonism that Vietnam vets later faced, welcomes home were pretty low-key back then.

That’s changing next week as 72 combat veterans from World War II, including 16 from Merced County, spend three days in Washington, D.C., through the Central Valley Honor Flight. Considerable adulation surrounds the charter flight, the fifth such effort but the first to take off from Castle Airport instead of Fresno.

Vince Willis spent 31 years in the Air Force. The 90-year-old Mercedian got shot at during 11 combat missions in France and Germany. He thinks the trip Monday through Wednesday to the nation’s capital will be great.

“The war years went by pretty fast for me,” Willis said. “Back in the 1940s you didn’t have any recognition. There wasn’t any welcome home or ‘good job, well done.’ We did our job; we were in our early 20s and it was something to be forgotten.”

Alfred Peguero, 89, served aboard the light cruiser USS Reno and earned three battle stars during World War II. Peguero said there were 750 men on the ship and 48 were killed Nov. 3, 1944, when it was torpedoed by Japanese submarines. The ship was repaired and ultimately moored in Everett, Wash.

Peguero spent three years in the Navy and got out on Feb. 22, 1946; his relatives picked him up from a Northern California base.

“We just got home,” Peguero said. “There was no mention of anything about it; they didn’t give us anything special when the war was over. The Honor Flight is a wonderful thing; I signed up two months ago.”

‘A powerful dynamic’

Central Valley Honor Flight raises about $1,500 per veteran to cover their transportation, lodging and meals. The organization is volunteer-based and serves Stanislaus, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties.

Since the inaugural flight in October 2013, the organization has taken nearly 300 World War II veterans, free of charge, to see their memorial in Washington, D.C.

“We are so excited to be able to organize our first North Valley flight from Merced County,” said Paul Loeffler, vice president of Central Valley Honor Flight. “When you add the historic value of Castle Air Force Base, it creates a powerful dynamic to an already amazing and emotional experience for everyone involved. It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Castle Air Museum, Foster Farms and all of our amazing partners.”

Henry DuPertuis, 92, of Merced was a paratrooper in Europe. He went into the Army in late 1942 and was discharged four years later as a sergeant.

DuPertuis, a retired architect, said he never got shot at. He said he has been to Washington, D.C., two or three times but hasn’t seen the World War II memorial, which was built 10 years ago.

Walter Burr, 90, has been a Merced resident since 1951; he was an F4U Corsair fighter pilot from 1942-45 and estimates he flew about 60 combat missions.

Burr, who said he entered the service before he was old enought to vote, confirmed that his plane was shot at during combat missions.

“It’s (Honor Flight) fantastic, absolutely wonderful,” Burr said. “It’s a great honor they are bestowing on us.”

Burr was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts against the Japanese, including a dangerous mission at Okinawa.

B.A. Hansen of Winton went through his basic flying instruction at Merced Army Air Field, the predecessor of Castle AFB. He was a P-51 Mustang pilot during World War II and Korea, flew C-130s during the Vietnam War and retired as a lieutenant colonel after 27 years, many of them stationed at Castle.

Hansen said the P-51 is still his favorite aircraft, even though he later flew jets.

“It’s (Honor Flight is) a great thing,” Hansen said, “an opportunity to see the memorials and also check to see the names of people I possibly knew.”

The Honor Flight Network consists of more than 100 independent nonprofit hubs across the United States. There are nearly 5,000 veterans in the Central Valley.

Besides the World War II Memorial completed in 2004, Honor Flight veterans will visit the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Marine Corps Memorial. They also will witness the changing of the guard at Arlington’s Tomb of the Unknowns.

Veterans also will visit the Iwo Jima Memorial and be hosted at a lunch sponsored by a Central Valley congressional delegation at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Making more flights possible

The flight is the fifth such trip for World War II veterans, but many more remain on a waiting list. Major sponsor Foster Farms is calling on other California businesses to help make future flights possible.

“Foster Farms was founded 75 years ago in 1939, which also marked the beginning of World War II. It is only fitting, and Foster Farms is honored in our anniversary year, to give these distinguished veterans the opportunity to visit our nation’s capital,” said Ira Brill, Foster Farms director of communications. “We feel privileged to sponsor the flight and provide the kind of celebratory send-off and homecoming that these men and women never received during their years of service. We sincerely hope that other California companies join us in making future flights possible.”

Veterans, guardians, members of the Central Valley Honor Flight, elected officials, sponsors and media will gather at 7:30 a.m. Monday at Castle Airport for a short program with guest speakers, a send-off parade and water arch salute as the plane hits the runway for its 9 a.m. departure.

About 1,500 relatives, marching bands, cheerleaders, officials, fellow veterans and military members will be on hand starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, with a program scheduled at 5 p.m. The plane is due to land about 5:45 p.m.

“...They will line up to thank the local heroes as they return home,” event spokeswoman Sarah Pruner Gunlund said.

This story was originally published October 24, 2014 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Honor Flight to pay tribute to World War II veterans."