“They spent four, five, six years in the war being shot at. You can spend eight hours of your day and give something back.” These are the words and thoughts of Jodie Silverlock, a prominent volunteer with Honor Flight Chicago. Since 2012, she has participated in almost 40 flights through Honor Flight Chicago and other honor flights arriving in Washington, DC. Jodie considers it a great privilege to spend the day with a special veteran and views every veteran as a hero who is deserving of their day of honor.
Born in Ghana, Jodie moved to England at the age of one and spent the majority of her youth there. At the age of 23, she moved to the United States and became a citizen. In her free time, Jodie is often found volunteering at church, in homeless shelters, and with the elderly. On one such occasion, Jodie spent time volunteering to pack supplies for troops. This led to her finding a passion for working with the USO. A co-worker at the USO told her about the Honor Flight Chicago program; she signed up to volunteer with a flight and never looked back. She believes that Honor Flight Chicago is an exemplary program that really focuses on the veteran’s overall happiness, safety, and well-being at all times.
Jodie’s favorite memorial is the World War II Memorial. A long overdue tribute to what she truly feels is the greatest generation, she loves the fountains and seeing the monument lit up at night. Over the years, she has spent time with many World War II veterans on their day of honor. One in particular stands out. A veteran assigned to Jodie’s care spent much of the day trying to track down another veteran on his flight. He was passionate about making sure they met and he could speak to this fellow veteran. They finally found him and when they did, Jodie and her fellow volunteers were brought to tears. Jodie’s veteran, a white WWII pilot, wanted to find the other veteran, a black Tuskegee airman, to personally thank him for his service and apologize for the way he and other African Americans were treated during their service to our country. The meeting is one she will truly never forget as it was a healing moment for both men.
Jodie is also fond of seeing veterans arrive at Dulles Airport and be surprised by family members. On one particular occasion, a son traveled from California, and surprised his father upon arrival. As his dad walked through the receiving line of volunteers who wanted to say thank you, he looked up in awe when he realized the effort his son went through to be part of his special day in DC.
As the years have passed since Jodie first started volunteering, she has stayed in touch with all of her veterans. She keeps a spreadsheet of each veteran with their contact information and sends written letters and yearly Christmas cards to each one. It is with great sadness that she has learned that many of her World War II veterans have passed in recent years. She is grateful to have had the opportunity to meet them and show her appreciation for their service.
No matter if you get to witness the stories like Jodie experienced above, or see a Vietnam veteran find a fellow soldier’s name on the memorial wall, or even just sit on the bus and listen to war stories told and shared among the veterans, a day volunteering with Honor Flight Chicago is special and memorable. Jodie describes the veterans as humble and kind people who are quick to say that they were just doing their job. She hopes that their humility will wear off on her. We can say with certainty that it did. For your many years of loyal service to Honor Flight Chicago, we say a sincere thank you for making an impact in these veterans’ lives. Thank you Jodie!
“They spent four, five, six years in the war being shot at. You can spend eight hours of your day and give something back.”
