Gene Bednarz enlisted after watching the film Guadalcanal Diary about the 1st Marine Division. Soon, he found himself attached to that exact Division in the South Pacific.
Joe Ayres was a student at Northeast Missouri State Teachers College when the United States formally entered World War II. Two years later, he enlisted in the Army and played a role in three critical battles that helped end the war in Europe.
During his service in Vietnam early on during the war, Thomas Zilla had occasion to put his Boy Scout first-aid training to use to help treat a fellow soldier following an attack.
Bill Ziegler remembers when he realized that Vietnam would be an “alternate reality.” In May of 1969, Bill arrived in country as an Artillery Section Chief, and he was being shot at before he could even get off the plane.
“I know what it’s like to be shot at and missed.” That’s how Bill Siska described part of his experience in the U.S. Navy stationed in Nha Be, Vietnam.
When his initial assignment in Vietnam proved to be too slow for his liking, Buzz Hunt volunteered for a company that conducted patrols to safeguard "Hotel 1," a job he did for 10 months.
Esther Gleaton convinced her parents to let her join the Army so she could see the world, ending up with an extended tour of Vietnam.
Early in life, Clelia Ginay experienced a great deal of misfortune, but she persevered. She said “My life started when I joined the Navy.”
John "Gene" Craig was a crypto officer aboard the USS Mississippi when it was decommissioned, making him responsible for destroying all classified material on the ship.
During Phillips Cirullo's time in the Navy, he served aboard three different vessels. The majority of his time came on the brand new USS Enterprise, the first-ever nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
After four years of active duty in the Navy beginning in 1963, Thomas Chambers went on to serve 29 more as a member of the Reserves.
On August 7, 1969, Corpsman Richard Campbell's medical training, and valor, rose to the occasion.
Terry Cable's tour of duty in Vietnam included time aboard the USS Satyr, a vessel equipped to repair the boats that patrolled Vietnam’s rivers and canals.
Jim Zwit calls it the driving force of his life. His memories, and his respect for the memories of the eight fellow soldiers killed one evening in Vietnam are too important to be anything else but the impetus behind the major mission in his life.
Three times Gary Nelson has traveled to Washington D.C. with Honor Flight Chicago, each time accompanying a World War II veteran on this journey of thanks. The next HFC flight on August 7th, 2019, will be Nelson’s fourth, but this time it will be different. This time, he’s the veteran being thanked.
At his company compound in Vietnam, Charles Luhan, Jr., would fly the City of Chicago flag (which has four blue stars) when he had the chance. When he did this, his company’s compound would receive unusually more rocket attacks than normal. The company commanding officer told Charles, “Can you take down that four-star flag, they think you’re a General.”
Barbara Lloyd was born into a family with a history of serving our country. Impressed with her brother, Ken’s, travels in the Navy, Barbara became “crazy about the Navy” which planted the seed of her serving in the military.
While growing up on the west side of Chicago and attending Austin High School, Tom never imagined he would spend his 21st birthday serving in the Army in Vietnam.
Growing up, Sylvester Dziedzic didn’t have a family dog. However, when he joined the Army in 1965, he developed a specialty as a Military Police (MP) Sentry Dog Handler and served in that role during the Vietnam War.
On his Honor Flight application, Mr. Yates states he was an Army photographer in Korea, an understatement indeed.
