thedrifter
07-03-07, 10:39 AM
Vets 'running out of time'
BY HOWARD WILKINSON | HWILKINSON@ENQUIRER.COM
The National World War II Memorial, the granite tribute on Washington’s National Mall to the men and women who served over 60 years ago in Europe and the Pacific, was built for men like Clint Seitz and George Cordrey.
A Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in battle hang on a wall in the College Hill home of Seitz, who served in Europe as a young lieutenant in an artillery battery.
Cordrey’s home in Bridgetown is full of Marine Corps memorabilia, much of it involving the iconic image of Marines raising the flag over Mt. Suribachi, a moment Cordrey witnessed himself, as a young Marine on the beach of a tiny island of volcanic rock called Iwo Jima.
Unlike millions of fellow veterans in their fast-vanishing generation, these two men, well into their 80s, will have seen the memorial before they, too, pass on.
Cordrey journeyed to the memorial last month.
Seitz will go Saturday, thanks to the Honor Flight Network, a Springfield, Ohio-based non-profit organization whose mission is to fly as many of the quickly-vanishing generation of World War II veterans to the National Memorial as possible.
“It is our gift to a generation that gave us so much,’’ said Al Bailey, who coordinates the Honor Flights that depart from the Dayton International Airport each month. “That memorial is a tribute to them; and they have earned the right to see it.”
The veterans themselves do not pay a dime for the day-long trip.
It costs about $10,000 for Honor Flight to fly 40 veterans and 17 volunteers to and from Washington, D.C., and the organization is entirely dependent on contributions from individuals, veterans groups and companies. .
Honor Flight’s Dayton-Columbus operation has a waiting list of about 1,500 veterans, Bailey said.
It seems like a lot, Bailey said, but the sad truth is that, since World War II veterans are dying at a rate of about 1,000 a week nationwide, there are some who sign up for flights but don’t live long enough to take them.
“That’s why we have a sense of urgency about this,’’ Bailey said. “We’re running out of time.”
"Wouldn’t have missed it’
The Honor Flights began three years ago when retired Air Force captain Earl Morse, who was working in a VA clinic in Springfield as a physician’s assistant, began asking the World War II veterans who came into the clinic if they planned to visit the then-brand new memorial on the National Mall.
Most told Morse they had a deep desire to see it, but either couldn’t afford the trip or were too infirm to make a long trip by car.
Morse, a pilot, asked one of his patients if he could personally fly him to Washington, D.C. The grateful veteran accepted the offer; and, soon, Morse had recruited some of the pilots from his air club near Dayton to fly more veterans to Washington.
The first official Honor Flight trip took place in May 2005 when six small planes flew 12 veterans to D.C., leaving early in the morning and returning that night.
Last year, because of the growing number of veterans seeking a flight, Honor Flight Network began buying tickets and flying on regularly scheduled commercial planes from Dayton and Columbus. Volunteers from a half dozen other cities around the country joined in and began organizing flights. By the end of 2006, 891 veterans from around the country had flow – at no cost to them – on Honor Flights.
“There is no way I would have ever been able to get to Washington and see this on my own,’’ said Cordrey.
He was one of about 40 World War II veterans from central and southwest Ohio who went on the June 2 Honor Flight. He had to drive first in the early morning to Beavercreek, near Dayton, where he and other veterans were bussed to Columbus for their flight.
Seven “guardians” went along – volunteers who look after the elderly men’s needs during the trip. About 10 of the men needed wheelchairs, Cordrey said, and he asked for an electric golf cart. They spent about three hours at the World War II memorial and then crossed the Potomac into Arlington to see the Marine Corps Memorial.
“It was a long day, but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,’’ said Cordrey.
‘We need sponsors’
Cordrey told of sitting in his electric cart on the Pacific Theater side of the Memorial, eating a box lunch provided by Honor Flight.
“A young couple came by, a young man and a young woman, and they walked up to me and threw their arms around me,’’ Cordrey said. “They kept saying, ‘Thank you, thank you for what you did for us.’ I have no idea who they were or where they were from. But we all had a good cry together.”
Bailey said that because Cincinnati-area veterans like Cordrey end up having extraordinarily long days when they make the trip, the organization wants to establish monthly flights out of Cincinnati.
“But we need sponsors; we need to find some more partners in the corporate community to make that happen,’’ Bailey said.
Seitz, who served with the 12th Armored Division in Europe during the war, is scheduled to take off from Dayton on Saturday on an Honor Flight. His daughter, Beth Richmond, a school teacher from Delhi, will go with him as a guardian.
He’s been attending reunions of his division for 45 years now. When he first started going, more than 1,000 old soldiers would show up. The 12th Armored Division Association will meet again in September at the Drawbridge Inn in Ft. Mitchell, but, Seitz said, only about 300 are expected.
“There are fewer and fewer of us all the time,’’ said Seitz.
“I think about all the good men we left in Europe; the ones who didn’t make it; and I think about all the guys I’ve known over the years who didn’t live long enough to see the memorial,’’ Seitz said. “When I go Saturday, I’m going for them, too.”
About Honor Flight
World War II veterans can apply for an Honor Flight to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., online at www.honorflight.org, or by calling (937) 521-2400. The mailing address for Honor Flight is 300 E. Auburn Ave., Springfield, OH 45505-4703.
Flying 40 veterans and 17 guardians to Washington costs about $10,000, organizers say. Individuals and companies interested in donating to the organization can call (937) 521-2400 or send an e-mail to donations@honorflight.org.
Bill Ahrens of Dent, who was an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam and a Purple Heart recipient, signed on recently as the point person for Honor Flights in the Cincinnati area. He goes out to local veteran’s organizations and civic groups telling them about the program, seeking donations to the organizations and new sign-ups for flights.
“My father was a Pearl Harbor survivor; he died in 1976,’’ Ahrens said. “But my mom donated to the memorial every time she would get a piece in the mail. My dad couldn’t go see this, but I want to make sure that others do.” If you want Ahrens or another Honor Flight representative to speak to your group, contact the organization at (937) 521-2400.
Ellie
BY HOWARD WILKINSON | HWILKINSON@ENQUIRER.COM
The National World War II Memorial, the granite tribute on Washington’s National Mall to the men and women who served over 60 years ago in Europe and the Pacific, was built for men like Clint Seitz and George Cordrey.
A Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in battle hang on a wall in the College Hill home of Seitz, who served in Europe as a young lieutenant in an artillery battery.
Cordrey’s home in Bridgetown is full of Marine Corps memorabilia, much of it involving the iconic image of Marines raising the flag over Mt. Suribachi, a moment Cordrey witnessed himself, as a young Marine on the beach of a tiny island of volcanic rock called Iwo Jima.
Unlike millions of fellow veterans in their fast-vanishing generation, these two men, well into their 80s, will have seen the memorial before they, too, pass on.
Cordrey journeyed to the memorial last month.
Seitz will go Saturday, thanks to the Honor Flight Network, a Springfield, Ohio-based non-profit organization whose mission is to fly as many of the quickly-vanishing generation of World War II veterans to the National Memorial as possible.
“It is our gift to a generation that gave us so much,’’ said Al Bailey, who coordinates the Honor Flights that depart from the Dayton International Airport each month. “That memorial is a tribute to them; and they have earned the right to see it.”
The veterans themselves do not pay a dime for the day-long trip.
It costs about $10,000 for Honor Flight to fly 40 veterans and 17 volunteers to and from Washington, D.C., and the organization is entirely dependent on contributions from individuals, veterans groups and companies. .
Honor Flight’s Dayton-Columbus operation has a waiting list of about 1,500 veterans, Bailey said.
It seems like a lot, Bailey said, but the sad truth is that, since World War II veterans are dying at a rate of about 1,000 a week nationwide, there are some who sign up for flights but don’t live long enough to take them.
“That’s why we have a sense of urgency about this,’’ Bailey said. “We’re running out of time.”
"Wouldn’t have missed it’
The Honor Flights began three years ago when retired Air Force captain Earl Morse, who was working in a VA clinic in Springfield as a physician’s assistant, began asking the World War II veterans who came into the clinic if they planned to visit the then-brand new memorial on the National Mall.
Most told Morse they had a deep desire to see it, but either couldn’t afford the trip or were too infirm to make a long trip by car.
Morse, a pilot, asked one of his patients if he could personally fly him to Washington, D.C. The grateful veteran accepted the offer; and, soon, Morse had recruited some of the pilots from his air club near Dayton to fly more veterans to Washington.
The first official Honor Flight trip took place in May 2005 when six small planes flew 12 veterans to D.C., leaving early in the morning and returning that night.
Last year, because of the growing number of veterans seeking a flight, Honor Flight Network began buying tickets and flying on regularly scheduled commercial planes from Dayton and Columbus. Volunteers from a half dozen other cities around the country joined in and began organizing flights. By the end of 2006, 891 veterans from around the country had flow – at no cost to them – on Honor Flights.
“There is no way I would have ever been able to get to Washington and see this on my own,’’ said Cordrey.
He was one of about 40 World War II veterans from central and southwest Ohio who went on the June 2 Honor Flight. He had to drive first in the early morning to Beavercreek, near Dayton, where he and other veterans were bussed to Columbus for their flight.
Seven “guardians” went along – volunteers who look after the elderly men’s needs during the trip. About 10 of the men needed wheelchairs, Cordrey said, and he asked for an electric golf cart. They spent about three hours at the World War II memorial and then crossed the Potomac into Arlington to see the Marine Corps Memorial.
“It was a long day, but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,’’ said Cordrey.
‘We need sponsors’
Cordrey told of sitting in his electric cart on the Pacific Theater side of the Memorial, eating a box lunch provided by Honor Flight.
“A young couple came by, a young man and a young woman, and they walked up to me and threw their arms around me,’’ Cordrey said. “They kept saying, ‘Thank you, thank you for what you did for us.’ I have no idea who they were or where they were from. But we all had a good cry together.”
Bailey said that because Cincinnati-area veterans like Cordrey end up having extraordinarily long days when they make the trip, the organization wants to establish monthly flights out of Cincinnati.
“But we need sponsors; we need to find some more partners in the corporate community to make that happen,’’ Bailey said.
Seitz, who served with the 12th Armored Division in Europe during the war, is scheduled to take off from Dayton on Saturday on an Honor Flight. His daughter, Beth Richmond, a school teacher from Delhi, will go with him as a guardian.
He’s been attending reunions of his division for 45 years now. When he first started going, more than 1,000 old soldiers would show up. The 12th Armored Division Association will meet again in September at the Drawbridge Inn in Ft. Mitchell, but, Seitz said, only about 300 are expected.
“There are fewer and fewer of us all the time,’’ said Seitz.
“I think about all the good men we left in Europe; the ones who didn’t make it; and I think about all the guys I’ve known over the years who didn’t live long enough to see the memorial,’’ Seitz said. “When I go Saturday, I’m going for them, too.”
About Honor Flight
World War II veterans can apply for an Honor Flight to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., online at www.honorflight.org, or by calling (937) 521-2400. The mailing address for Honor Flight is 300 E. Auburn Ave., Springfield, OH 45505-4703.
Flying 40 veterans and 17 guardians to Washington costs about $10,000, organizers say. Individuals and companies interested in donating to the organization can call (937) 521-2400 or send an e-mail to donations@honorflight.org.
Bill Ahrens of Dent, who was an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam and a Purple Heart recipient, signed on recently as the point person for Honor Flights in the Cincinnati area. He goes out to local veteran’s organizations and civic groups telling them about the program, seeking donations to the organizations and new sign-ups for flights.
“My father was a Pearl Harbor survivor; he died in 1976,’’ Ahrens said. “But my mom donated to the memorial every time she would get a piece in the mail. My dad couldn’t go see this, but I want to make sure that others do.” If you want Ahrens or another Honor Flight representative to speak to your group, contact the organization at (937) 521-2400.
Ellie