Jim Parker grew up an Air Force brat. When the time came for him to join the Air Force during the Vietnam War, his assigned role was not one he had ever heard of. Instead of VC and NVA, Jim's adversaries were much smaller and more pervasive: mosquitoes.

Dante Plata grew up in the church and fell in love with music and the guitar at an early age. Later, while serving at a hospital for wounded Vietnam War service members, Dante turned to his music for healing -- both for himself and for the benefit of those he cared for.

Howard Cain was so eager to serve in WWII that he forged his parents' signatures to enlist at 17 toward the end of the war. Later, as a flight engineer on a B-29 Superfortress following Japan's surrender, Cain was aboard a reconnaissance flight over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Honor Flight Chicago flew its 10,000th senior war hero to Washington D.C., on May 10, 2023. Each of them has an individual story of service and sacrifice. Learn Purple Heart recipient Raymond Szweda's as you follow him throughout his much deserved Day of Honor during which he "learned that it's ok to ask for help."

Ronald Baltierra served as a sniper in Vietnam, an assignment so difficult mentally that he failed to pull the trigger the first time he was ordered to do so.

Navy Seabee Bob Bruzek traveled with Honor Flight Chicago in June of 2019 aboard our very first flight to include Vietnam veterans. Flying with him on a laminated card inserted into his hat were the names of two men, friends from Vietnam who did not make it home from the war.

Featured in Episode 6 of our podcast, WWII Veteran Hank Roberson is back to celebrate his 100th Birthday! In this short episode, Paul Meincke joins Rev. Roberson at his West Side church on Easter Sunday as the community comes together to honor this hero. Listen in!

Ed Helrigel returned from Vietnam to a world he no longer recognized. From the heat of battle one day to arriving home the next, it was a reality that plagued many of his comrades-in-arms.

Sonny Djancewicz saw constant action in the Vietnamese jungles as a Sergeant in the 7th Cavalry Regiment. The physical and emotional scars of battle, though many, were not enough to dim his singular focus: keeping the men in his command as safe as possible.

Howard Levinson grew up in extreme poverty in Chicago and from a very young age experienced rampant anti-Semitism. He dreamed to fly, pushing through the obstacles of resources and ignorance to become a B-24 pilot in the Pacific at the tender age of 21.

Army SPC/5 Richard "Dee" Simmons saw and experienced a lot during his time in Vietnam, but nothing stuck with him more -- literally -- than the Agent Orange defoliant that would cake on his skin to the point that it could be peeled off.

Jerry Warren is a born leader, a trait that was instantly recognized in his Army training prior to being sent to Vietnam. Jerry, who is Black, quickly made Sergeant and was placed in charge of a unit comprising all white soldiers. Though they functioned well as a team, there was a prejudicial undercurrent that could not be escaped.