In Vietnam, Jack served as an engineman on a “Tango” boat used to move various personnel through the Mekong Delta as part of the Brown Water Navy. The vessels carried a seven-man crew, up to 40 infantrymen, and were heavily armed, but slow. Jack often piloted the boat himself.
Brandt’s path started in January 1969 with basic training at Ft. Polk, La. In March he transferred to Ft. Wolters, Texas, to begin the six-month long Warrant Officer Candidate (WOC) school, which included helicopter training in the OH-23 Raven.
Some experiences leave a lasting mark. For Mike DeSmedt, his tour of duty in Vietnam is one of them. Still, he wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again. “I had to do something I wouldn’t have volunteered for,” he says.
U.S. military history is rich with unsung heroes – individuals whose behind-the-scenes contributions have quietly shaped the course of events. Take Bill Haines, for example, a Korean War veteran, who will be honored for his service this month.
As a child, William “Bill” McLaughlin took his first flight in a float plane and thought little of it. Yet, two decades later, Bill found himself flying again, this time as a Naval aviator in Vietnam, helping save lives during the final chapters of the war.
On September 11, 1965, Daniel Ehart married his sweetheart, Linda, whom he met on a blind date a year earlier. The couple looked forward to building their lives together, but four years later, the Vietnam War put those plans on pause.
Harry Eng graduated from Chicago’s Senn High School with honors and was ready to repeat his academic success as a pre-med student at the University of Illinois. During his sophomore year, however, he switched his major, lost his way, and was invited to take a semester off.
Bruce Engel used his mechanical and problem-solving skills to keep personnel and supplies moving in Vietnam. Getting to and from Southeast Asia wasn’t quite so simple.
Doug Ermel was born December 31, 1948, and narrowly missed being Chicago’s first child of the New Year by a couple of hours. That timing quirk brought his family luck and set the tone years later during his experiences in Vietnam.
Mike Collins learned a few things about helping others while growing up as the eldest of nine children — lessons that helped him in the Air Force, in law enforcement, and through community service.
During his first two years of service, Army life was pretty good for Mike Ahasic. Everything changed during his third year, however, when he served in Vietnam. More than 50 years later, his emotions are still raw.
Ronald “Ron” Wills was born and raised in Saybrook, a small town in Central Illinois where Ron’s father farmed while his mother raised Ron, his brother and three sisters, and helped run the machinery with the best of them.
Growing up as the youngest in his family, Donald “Don” Ramsbottom learned how to leverage speed and agility to excel. These traits proved invaluable during his service in the Vietnam War.
The eldest of eight children, Dan Rittenhouse learned early on how to adapt and serve – two themes that played major roles in his military career and throughout his life.
Robert “Bob” Gatenby’s wife and family thought he was comfortably stationed in a base camp during his time in Vietnam. His reality, however, was the exact opposite.
The Korean War Legacy Foundation website encourages visitors to “imagine being a young soldier thrust into a foreign country thousands of miles away to fight a war.”
While political powers battled for supremacy during the Cold War, Airman Jesse Kimp was just trying to keep warm while serving late night guard duty in Alaska Territory.
Longtime Honor Flight Chicago volunteer James “Jim” Parker usually wears an orange shirt on flight days, signifying his role in supporting the honored veterans. On flight day this month, Jim will put on a gray shirt, symbolizing he’s one of the veterans being celebrated on HFC flight #110.
On August 5, 1967, Jim Davidson’s draft notice arrived in the mail. Six months later, he was an Army grunt in Vietnam. Now, some 56 years later, he remembers the details of every firefight he was in and still can’t get his arms around the fact he made it home while many of his brothers in arms didn’t.
If you admire people with a strong work ethic, you’ll want to help celebrate Donald “Don” Strauss when he joins Honor Flight Chicago’s 108th flight on June 14.