Highlights from our 106th flight
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:52:16-05:00Each of the 113 veterans on HFC106 needed their Honor Flight Chicago experience, and we are so deeply proud of our entire organization from top to bottom for providing it.
Steven Wolff: Receiving the Bronze Star with Valor
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:48:15-05:00Steven was one of five siblings born in Chicago, Illinois but raised in Dolton. His mom and dad met in Washington D.C. during World War II; his mom was in the Navy and his dad a Marine.
Harry Raftis: Diving with Sharks
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:48:21-05:00Without any discussion with his parents, Harry stepped up to serve his country. As he stated, “We were in a World War and I wanted to serve. It wasn’t something I thought a great deal about… I just did what I had to do.”
Paul Stromborg, MD: Fill-er Up
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:48:27-05:00Imagine you are flying a fighter or a bomber over the skies of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, or the Gulf of Tonkin and your jet is thirsty. Paul Stromborg’s KC-135 “Stratotanker” will fill up your fuel tanks.
Edward Helrigel: A Spur of the Moment Choice
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:48:36-05:00High school wasn’t working out for Ed Helrigel, and as he walked home one fateful day, he passed an Army recruiting office. “I walked about a half block, turned around and went in and joined the Army,” says Helrigel.
James Mitchell: Humble Man Living a Blessed Life
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:48:44-05:00James was born in 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama and graduated high school at the age of seventeen. He was offered a football scholarship in Texas but his family couldn’t afford the out of state tuition.
Charles Merritt: Agent Orange Survivor
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:48:53-05:00Prior to being drafted, Charles “Sam” Merritt, had a fairly routine upbringing. Being the third born of six children of Charles and Mary Merritt, Sam grew up in New Haven, Illinois.
Clyde Hall Jr.: Squad Leader Through Minefields
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:49:01-05:00Clyde Hall, Jr. was born in Mississippi in 1948, one of seven children and the son of a World War II veteran. When he was seven his family moved to Chicago, but after his sophomore year of high school, Clyde moved back to Mississippi to help out his grandparents who still lived there.
Daniel Tatar: Four Consecutive Tours of Duty
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:49:09-05:00QM3 E-4 Daniel Walter Tatar grew up on the South Side of Chicago with a brother and a sister. He worked from a very young age: first delivering papers for a news stand in grammar school, then at Sears after school in high school.
John Tourtelot: Army Signal Corps Had the Coolest Patch
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:49:21-05:00The son of a WWII Veteran and brother to 3 sisters, John Tourtelot grew up in Oak Park, IL. After his graduation from Oak Park High School, he attended Wright Jr. College where, in his own words, “he was not an overly dedicated student and had a pretty good time.”