As the 113 veterans aboard HFC107 deplaned at Dulles International Airport shortly before 9:30 a.m. ET on May 10, Doug Meffley commented to a veteran that we had landed a few minutes early. His smiling retort: “Well technically we’re about five weeks late.”
“The Korea conflict was still continuing and everyone was getting drafted, pretty much as a sure thing before you turn 20-years-old.” Jack visited the local Air Force recruiter and then discussed his intentions with his parents.
Many years have passed since Mark Bonen’s two tours in Vietnam, where he was responsible for the care of multimillion dollar fighter jets, to being called Grandpa Uber.
Growing up in Southern California, Jeffrey Wombold enjoyed the sea, but it didn’t truly consume him until he joined the Navy in 1971.
With the war in Vietnam going on, Ray was scared but, at the same time, he also wanted to honor his country. Within a few days, he was on his way to Camp Pendleton in CA for Basic Training.
The Vietnam War was escalating, and Paul knew it would just be a matter of time before he was drafted. He considered joining the Marines but had a lifelong interest in airplanes and flying, so instead he joined the Air Force.
Skip and his South Vietnamese interpreter partner interrogated North Vietnamese Army (NVA) prisoners. In accordance with Army intelligence procedures he wore no rank so that the prisoners would not know his status.
Richard served in Vietnam from July 1966 to July 1967. He’s thankful to God for protecting him while in Vietnam. He earned a number of awards, medals, honors and certifications during his enlistment. He is very much looking forward to his Honor Flight!
Each 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 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.
Without 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.”
Imagine 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.
High 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 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.
Prior 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. 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.
QM3 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.
The 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.”
“I have never seen a group of volunteers that are as SINCERE in their mission as the Honor Flight Chicago Volunteers," said a veteran on HFC105. "Not only is there an abundance of them, they are all the BEST!!!”
Before being drafted into the Army, Jack spent time at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN on a baseball scholarship as a pitcher. But when the military called, he answered.