Tom Kelly grew up in Oak Lawn, then moved to Chicago where his father was a Chicago police officer. Tom was the middle child of 3. There were family members who also served in the military.
Donald W. McCollough, born near the small town of Jewett, Illinois, was the middle child of a family of eight. His parents, Harold and Ethel, worked on a farm that grew sugar cane.
Jerome Koutny was sent to Vietnam as an infantryman and then volunteered for one of the more dangerous jobs as a tunnel rat, looking for the enemy by going into their tunnels.
Bob Walker’s father was a career Navy man who served on a minesweeper clearing obstacles before D-Day and then spent the days after the invasion recovering bodies and parts of bodies from the water.
Thomas Legg grew up in North Hammond, Indiana. His father, a World War II veteran, was in the Civil Defense and was a very strict man. Tom was in the Boys Scouts and also took first aid courses for his medical merit badges.
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.”
Don Talbot spent his first years with parents, Walter and Helen, in their home on the southside of Chicago. Upon completing 7th grade at Madison Grade School, Walter and Helen, with Don and his siblings, Barb, Wally and Bobby, moved to their new home in Harvey, Illinois.
Bruce Hansen's military career began when he told his Dad, a Marine Raider during WWII, that he would follow in his footsteps and enlist in the Marines. It was 1968, and 18-year-old Bruce was working as a carpenter/laborer, trying to get ahead of the Vietnam draft.
Johnnie Williams grew up in Gary, IN the oldest of 12 children. After graduating high school in 1961, he worked at White Castle for three years. He and his cousin were the first blacks ever to work at White Castle in Hammond, IN
On March 2, 1965, Joseph P. (“Joe”) Phelan flew his rescue helicopter to pick up a downed fighter pilot in North Vietnam. By doing so he participated in the first air rescue in the North.
Talking with WWII Veteran Raymond Gervais, he said “I always wanted to be doing something”, from his WWII and Korean days, to playing volleyball in his 60’s, or working with his canine search and rescue team. He has certainly kept himself active.
William “Cecil” Johnson celebrated his 18th birthday in 1954 by joining the army with the intention of becoming a ”lifer”.
As wounded personnel were brought in for treatment, George Pearson placed heavy fire on the enemy to protect the wounded soldiers. With complete disregard for his safety, he constantly exposed himself to keep a base of fire on the enemy, causing them to withdraw after suffering numerous casualties.
"Awesome" is how Bill Ward describes his experience on July 12, 2023, when he traveled from Chicago to Washington, D.C., as a respected guest of the Honor Flight Chicago program.
The Reverend George Kane, or rather Fr. George as he prefers to be called, grew up on Chicago’s Northwest side as the second child in a family of four.
Edward Cook’s pending draft and love of planes led him to enlist in the Air Force as his first choice in 1952. He had also hoped to learn a trade while serving his country and applied for Army machinist school.
Since the day he was born, family has been the center of Asencion Vela’s life. This month, the focus turns to him when he will be honored with an Honor Flight Chicago trip to Washington, D.C., in recognition of his service during World War II.
With her good high school grades, Mary Arvidson was assigned to become a Traffic Analyst, tracking radio signals from foreign military units.
Mr. Bernius was born in Watertown, CT on October 3, 1924 and is the youngest of three. His older brother also served during WWII in the Army.
Curtis Bentley grew up 90 miles from Atlanta on his family’s 200 acre farm “growing anything we could eat, except for the cotton.”