WWII vets get a true welcome home nearly 70 years later

World War II veteran Daniel Child of Merced said he and his friends were treated like admirals on this week’s Central Valley Honor Flight. The 98-year-old chief petty officer was the oldest of 72 Valley veterans to make the whirlwind three-day trip to Washington, D.C. where their feats are immortalized in statuesque marble and granite memorials.

Pampering and revering the servicemen who ranged in age from 85 to 98 was part of the plan for the honor flight group, the volunteer Fresno-based organization that has sent five groups of veterans to the nation’s capital in a year’s time. Thanking them for their selfless service to this country is the main objective.

Paul Loeffler of Fresno, Honor Flight vice president, said the next trip for the veterans will be late March or early April, leaving from Fresno.

One of many touching examples of this heartfelt tribute took place Wednesday afternoon on the five-hour flight back from Washington to Castle Airport where several thousand people warmly welcomed the vets home.

Tour leader Al Perry of Fresno issued a “mail call” for the ex-servicemen. Grown children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, other relatives, friends and school children wrote veterans thank-you notes which were distributed on board the Allegiant Air charter jet in large manila envelopes. A number of vets were visibly moved by this unexpected show of affection and tributes from loved ones and people they didn’t even know.

Walter Burr of Merced, an F4U Corsair pilot who earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his battles in the Pacific Theater, said he loved every minute of the Honor Flight excursion. The vets saw the World War II, Iwo Jima, Vietnam, Korean and Air Force memorials along with Arlington National Cemetery in stops Tuesday and Wednesday.

“Everything was awesome,” Burr said. “The organization that makes it happen is fantastic.” It costs about $1,500 to send one veteran on the trip and all of the costs are underwritten by donations.

Air Force veteran Vince Willis of Merced said visiting the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum was the highlight for the trip for him. He was an instructor-pilot with T-6 trainer planes during the war and had a career in the Air Force.

Cecil Moore of Merced said he didn’t think he would live long enough to see the World War II Memorial, which he termed awesome. The Navy veteran was a steward’s mate during World War II and said he was stationed at a top-secret place that he will never reveal.

Moore said his memories of World War II are bad and he has suffered from flashbacks, especially when someone jumps behind him. Now an assistant minister at the Church of Refreshing in Merced, Moore said he trusts in the Good Lord and nobody else.

B.A. Hansen of Winton said he looked forward to going on the trip. The Air Force Memorial, which looks down on the sprawling Pentagon complex, was one of his favorites.

“It’s fantastic. The Air Force Memorial made an impression on me,” Hansen said. “There’s plenty to see and appreciate. It’s a shame more people haven’t been here.”

Henry DuPertuis of Merced, an Army paratrooper during World War II, said touring the 20-acre Arlington National Cemetery where more than 300,000 people are buried was his favorite. The small white tombstones found all over the grounds shone Tuesday in contrast to trees just starting to display fall colors.

Child said he spent three years and five months in the Navy during World War II. A chief radioman who helped build one of the first flight simulators, Child was mainly stationed in Washington, D.C. while in the military and remained there professionally for many years.

He summed up the attitude expressed by many servicemen.

“I did what the U.S. Navy told me to do.”

Betty Briney was the only Korean War veteran on the Honor Flight. The 86-year-old Merced woman was a U.S. Army medical technician primarily stationed at Ft. Jackson near Columbia, S.C. She worked in dispensing shots and in the hospital’s surgical ward.

The mother of six who has 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren also has logged more than 3,000 hours as a volunteer at the Dominican Campus of Mercy Medical Center Merced. She had three daughters and three granddaughters in the service.

Briney said not all memories of World War II were bad. While she was in South Carolina, she met her husband, Harry Durnell, who was later deployed to Korea during the war there.

Leonard Marsh, 87, of Snelling said the Iwo Jima Memorial appears much bigger than he expected. He was an engine mechanic or motor machinist mate on an LST that stopped at Iwo Jima. He thought the Honor Flight experience was great.

William Laverty of Clovis has some different memories of the world war. He was a “scorekeeper” or provisioner when he joined the Navy in early January 1945 as a 17-year-old.

While doing shore duty in San Pedro, Laverty heard the thump, thump, thump sound of shackled men marching. These were prisoners arrested for desertion or major crimes who were closely shackled to each other and not allowed to say a word while getting their food in the mess hall.

“They were a mean-looking bunch,” Laverty said. “There were hundreds of them being sent to prisons. It was scary; it scared the hell out of me.”

Laverty later was on the destroyer USS Barton sent to the Marshall Island where he witnessed two atom bomb tests from about nine miles away.

Laverty had a special mission on the Honor Flight. His friend’s father is dying and the son requested that Laverty bring back photographs of the Iwo Jima Memorial. The six Marines hoisting the American flag on the Japanese island are rendered in lifelike 32-foot bronze statues.

Laverty later joined the Air Force and retired as a colonel after 30 years service. He then became an industrial arts teacher. He said he has been to Washington, D.C. many times but hadn’t seen the World War II Memorial, which was finished 10 years ago.

Ralph Olson of Merced, who worked on marine rescue missions, was enthralled with the Iwo Jima Memorial which he said was “just beautiful.” He didn’t realize the statues were so large.

Navy veteran Al Peguero of Merced said there were nine Mercedians on the ship he was on in the Pacific and all of them survived a Japanese torpedo attack. The torpedoes hit the ship’s fuel tank but it didn’t blow up.

“I don’t want to see young kids go to war now,” Peguero said. “We’re so strong and big. How can any country of think of attacking us?”

George Macedo, 90, of Merced was in the Navy Seabees from 1942-46, a boswain’s mate second class. He was 17 when he entered the service.

Macedo said he joined the service so his brother could stay home.

“I like everything here,” Macedo said. “This (Washington) is a nice place and you learn a lot. I don’t like wars; no war is a good thing.”

Bill Meyer, 88, of Snelling was paratrooper in the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division. He spent from 1945-48 in the service. He said he had been looking forward to the Honor Flight trip for several months.

Bill Goodreau of Kingsburg was one of three bus captains. The commander of American Legion Post No. 18 in Visalia, he said the bonding of combat veterans on the tours is enduring.

“This is one of the finest things I could do,” Goodreau said. “It’s an honor to be here.”

Bill Ganci, 90, was in the Army from 1943-45, leaving the service as a corporal. After basic training at Camp Crowder in Missouri, he was deployed in the Signal Corps, serving in England, France, Belgium and Germany.

Ganci’s favorite sighting on the Honor Flight tour was the Iwo Jima Memorial and he enjoyed meeting other ex-servicemen.

Other county residents also taking the Honor Flight were George Naumann of Snelling and Jess Gaines of Winton.

This story was originally published October 31, 2014 at 4:30 PM with the headline "WWII vets get a true welcome home nearly 70 years later."