Highlights from our 113th flight
marc.zarefsky2024-04-19T08:36:18-05:00On April 10, we opened our 16th flight season with HFC113 comprising three WWII, 11 Korean War and 101 Vietnam Veterans traveling together to our nation’s capital.
Rufus Hall: Pondering at the age of 91
marc.zarefsky2024-04-10T11:04:35-05:00Glenn Hall, affectionately known as Rufus, was born in Idlewild, Tennessee. Rufus was the middle child of a family of seven. Idlewild was a small farm town of about 300 people.
Ken Molnaire: An essential component of Patton’s Third Army
marc.zarefsky2024-04-10T10:58:50-05:00Born 99 years ago this March, Kenneth “Ken” Molnaire grew up in Chicago. Living in Edison Park he attended Ebinger School, graduating in 1939.
Donna Cooley: Paving the way for future generations
marc.zarefsky2024-04-07T21:54:05-05:00Donna Cooley enlisted in the Army at a time when military duties that were traditionally done by men started opening up to women. She said “it was a tough time for women because the Army wasn’t prepared and didn’t know what to do with us.”
John Ashford: A remarkable rise from Private to Major
marc.zarefsky2024-04-12T10:20:31-05:00Major John Ashford knew he was in a bad situation on that dangerous day in Bosnia in 1996. What he didn’t know was how fast it was going to go from bad to worse.
Thomas Legg: A man of many skills
marc.zarefsky2024-04-06T22:07:55-05:00Thomas Legg grew up in North Hammond, Indiana. His father, a World War II veteran, was in the Civil Defense and was a very strict man. Tom was in the Boys Scouts and also took first aid courses for his medical merit badges.
Mike Di Benedetto: A good Chicago kid grows up in Korea
marc.zarefsky2024-04-06T21:49:17-05:00The Korean War Legacy Foundation website encourages visitors to “imagine being a young soldier thrust into a foreign country thousands of miles away to fight a war.”
Highlights from our 112th flight
marc.zarefsky2023-11-08T21:06:34-06:00“I started the day with a hole in my heart, and now it's halfway filled.” Those words were spoken by a teary-eyed Veteran as he de-planed from #HFC112 last month and entered his Welcome Home parade so many decades in coming.
Donald Talbot: Feigning death to survive
marc.zarefsky2023-10-19T20:15:56-05:00Don Talbot spent his first years with parents, Walter and Helen, in their home on the southside of Chicago. Upon completing 7th grade at Madison Grade School, Walter and Helen, with Don and his siblings, Barb, Wally and Bobby, moved to their new home in Harvey, Illinois.
Bruce Hansen: We take care of them, they take care of us
marc.zarefsky2023-10-16T23:02:10-05:00Bruce Hansen's military career began when he told his Dad, a Marine Raider during WWII, that he would follow in his footsteps and enlist in the Marines. It was 1968, and 18-year-old Bruce was working as a carpenter/laborer, trying to get ahead of the Vietnam draft.
Johnnie Williams: A well trained soldier
marc.zarefsky2023-10-17T13:23:04-05:00Johnnie Williams grew up in Gary, IN the oldest of 12 children. After graduating high school in 1961, he worked at White Castle for three years. He and his cousin were the first blacks ever to work at White Castle in Hammond, IN
Joseph Phelan: A silver star for gallantry
marc.zarefsky2023-10-16T22:57:41-05:00On March 2, 1965, Joseph P. (“Joe”) Phelan flew his rescue helicopter to pick up a downed fighter pilot in North Vietnam. By doing so he participated in the first air rescue in the North.
Raymond Gervais: Determined to stay active
marc.zarefsky2023-10-16T22:56:45-05:00Talking with WWII Veteran Raymond Gervais, he said “I always wanted to be doing something”, from his WWII and Korean days, to playing volleyball in his 60’s, or working with his canine search and rescue team. He has certainly kept himself active.
William ‘Cecil’ Johnson: No mission impossible, no sacrifice too great
marc.zarefsky2023-10-16T23:00:48-05:00William “Cecil” Johnson celebrated his 18th birthday in 1954 by joining the army with the intention of becoming a ”lifer”.
Highlights from our 111th flight
marc.zarefsky2023-09-29T11:17:26-05:00September 20 was the penultimate flight for our 2023 Honor Flight Chicago season with 116 veterans traveling to yet another gorgeous weather day in our nation’s capital.
Joseph Varanauski: Never give up the guard
marc.zarefsky2023-09-20T08:59:55-05:00“I was, and still am, proud, humbled and honored to have been chosen to be a Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.”
Ignacio Rodriguez: From Crew Chief To Welcome Home Organizer
marc.zarefsky2023-09-18T21:34:13-05:00Ignacio ‘Nacho’ says he’s a Navy man that never set foot on a ship. Still, he’s proud of his naval service as a crew chief on a C-121 Constellation known as the Typhoon Tracker that traveled throughout the Pacific.
Larry Krog: The Phantom Marine
marc.zarefsky2023-09-18T21:33:22-05:00It would be an understatement to say that Larry Krog always made up his own mind.
Harry DeBruin: A Prayer Made and Answered
marc.zarefsky2023-09-18T21:32:31-05:00Harry DeBruin grew up in a house with a horse stable near Lansing, IL. His family owned 50 horses and they boarded an additional 50 horses.
Jesse Kimp: Cold War Warrior
marc.zarefsky2023-09-18T21:31:43-05:00While political powers battled for supremacy during the Cold War, Airman Jesse Kimp was just trying to keep warm while serving late night guard duty in Alaska Territory.