After JFK was assassinated, Joe decided that while he believed killing was a sin, he was willing to volunteer to serve in the military if that would put him in a position to potentially protect a good man like Kennedy.
It’s the silence that the old soldier remembers most vividly. The still quiet that hung like a cloud over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, whether under the hot, humid, blue sky or alone in the black Virginia night.
The ships just kept coming. It was April of 1975, the closing days of the Vietnam War. Aircraft carriers, destroyer escorts, freight vessels, even smaller fishing vessels were arriving in Guam loaded with thousands of evacuees fleeing South Vietnam.
Mike (“Doc”) was deployed overseas to Vietnam from October 1969 to October 1970 as a combat medic (corpsman). He spent time at LZ Baldy and LZ Ross during his deployment, with 3/7 1st Marine Division.
As was customary for an 18-year-old, Larry reported to the draft board in late October 1966 just after his birthday. He looked around and spied a rack of pamphlets each featuring Army service options. One caught his attention: “You can learn to fly.”
At 17-years-old Juan Sandoval was academically bored with high school and looking for a change of scenery so he enlisted in the Marines. For over 50 years his military career offered him plenty of that in hot spots like Bosnia and Iraq.
On September 11, 1965, Daniel Ehart married his sweetheart, Linda, whom he met on a blind date a year earlier. The couple looked forward to building their lives together, but four years later, the Vietnam War put those plans on pause.
“Radar Man” was a critical job during the Vietnam Era. Surveillance and intelligence were paramount in tracking enemy movements. Locating potential ambushes and guiding gunship attacks were part of the mission of the radar man.
After graduating high school in 1962, Ed decided to enlist in the Navy. His dad was for him signing up, calling the Navy the ‘King Cruize’. His mom on the other hand was not happy with his choice.
Robert grew up in Chicago's far South Side area commonly known as South Deering. He attended St. Francis de Sales High School but dropped out in 1968 to work and help support the family.
On June 18, Honor Flight Chicago brought one World War II, four Korean War, and 105 Vietnam War Veterans — as well as our as our inaugural Gold Star family — to Washington, D.C.
“I don’t consider I did anything spectacular,” Alfred Weedon insists. But after talking with him, it’s clear that his definition of “just doing what was told of me” involved extraordinary courage and resilience during the Vietnam War.
Andrew “Andy” Michnowski was born in Brexham, England, on January 11, 1949. His parents and their family, Polish citizens, had been deported to Siberian labor camps by the Soviet Union as a result of the German and Soviet conquest of Poland in 1939.
Harry Eng graduated from Chicago’s Senn High School with honors and was ready to repeat his academic success as a pre-med student at the University of Illinois. During his sophomore year, however, he switched his major, lost his way, and was invited to take a semester off.
Jim Miller's journey is a testament to resilience and the unexpected turns life can take. From the apprehension of being drafted to facing intense combat and a life-altering injury, Jim's story highlights the profound impact of the Vietnam War.
Kenneth ‘Ken’ Christy lived his life as an adrenaline addict, from breaking horses at the age of 15, being awarded a Silver Star in Vietnam after being in country for 19 days and working as a fire fighter in Indiana. “I’ve always had to have an adrenaline rush.”
David Stevens was born in Elgin, Illinois in 1950. When he was a boy he saw the film “The Fighting Sullivans,” about five brothers who died when their cruiser was sunk during World War II, and he knew what he wanted to do with his life—join the Navy.
What do the US Marines, the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff’s Department have in common? Jim Cleary. At 96, the former Chicago PD detective has left footprints in some of Chicago’s most memorable moments.
Shortly after graduating high school, and having no immediate intentions of going to college, Alan was classified by the selective service as 1-A and upon reaching the age of twenty, Alan received his official “induction letter” to report for military service.
In May of 2005, the very first Honor Flight brought a handful of WWII veterans from Ohio to their newly opened Memorial in Washington, D.C. The trip was so impactful that a nationwide movement soon took root.