Through 41 missions over Germany during WWII, George Behling, Jr., escorted bombers in his P-51 Mustang and safely returned home. During the 42nd, however, his engine failed — forcing the 20-year-old to land in enemy territory and to take what he calls “the hard way home.”

During the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, Army PFC Dick Idstein was wounded. The surgeon who operated on him asked “Do you want the bullet?” Dick said yes — and promptly sent the bullet home to his mother.

On April 15, 1971, Jim Zwit and Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division walked into an ambush in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam. Eight men in Delta Company were killed, and a severely wounded Jim was expected to be the ninth. Instead, after 20 months in the hospital, he lived.

Mel Copeland loves his country so much, he kissed the ground he walked on when he returned home from war during WWII. He wanted to serve his nation as a paratrooper or a pilot, but was quite literally too tall to fly — so he became a ground crew member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

Twelve years and 95 flights after co-founding Honor Flight Chicago, retired CEO Mary Pettinato has so many stories to share about the impact our mission has had on our senior war heroes and their communities.

WWII veteran Bernie Bluestein was part of a unit so secret that his escapades in Europe remained classified for nearly 50 years! Now free to tell his story, hear his fascinating tale of serving with the US Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops — the “Ghost Army” — deployed successfully along the Rhine river.

On the occasion of this Veterans Day week, Honor Flight Chicago Board President John Ptak sat down with our own Paul Meincke to discuss HFC’s approach to its mission during the current pandemic.

WWII veteran Hank Roberson was drafted into the Army from his home in the segregated south. He arrived in Normandy one week after D-Day assigned to the 957th Quartermaster supply company — part of what would become known as the vital “Red Ball Express” supply chain.

Korean War veteran Bob Guilfoyle paints a picture of what it was like to serve in the Korean War. This proud Marine battled the Chinese, the cold and the wildlife as a forward observer in what he firmly believes was his patriotic duty.

WWII Navy Seaman Marion Burns discusses his time aboard the USS Franklin, a ship which withstood multiple attacks including a direct bombing hit in March of 1945 that resulted in the loss of more than 800 of his fellow sailors. 

WWII Navy veteran Joe Borst, a Fireman 2nd Class, talks about being aboard the USS St. Lo when it became the first major warship to sink after a direct hit from a Japanese kamikaze attack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

WWII Army Veteran Irv Abramson discusses getting injured during the Battle of the Bulge, his struggle with PTSD, and how he finally revealed his war experiences to his family because of an assignment his daughter completed for high school.