thedrifter
11-05-08, 05:06 AM
WWII veteran takes Honor Flight to see memorials in D.C.
November 5, 2008
By CATHRYN GRAN cgran@pioneerlocal.com
More than anything, the letters of appreciation and the airport welcome are what affected John McKillop the most.
McKillop, who lives in Franklin Park with his wife, Beryl, was aboard an Oct. 22 round-trip sojourn to Washington D.C. to visit the World War II memorial. The flight left Midway Airport in Chicago at 6 a.m. and returned around 10:30 p.m.
Honor Flight is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to honor America's veterans by flying them to Washington D.C. to visit war memorials.
"It was just a fantastic trip," McKillop said. "It didn't cost a penny, and nobody there would take a penny from us."
McKillop, who served in the Army in the Mid Atlantic Force, was on a flight sponsored by the McCormick Foundation. The foundation was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Col. Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
"(McCormick) served in World War I in the Big Red One, the 1st Infantry Division," McKillop said.
"There's still a 1st Division with troops at Fort Riley (Kansas). On our trip were 14 current (soldiers) from the 1st Division. They served as personal assistants to us old guys. That was not expected."
The first stop was the World War II Memorial.
"We had a little ceremony," McKillop said. "There was a flag all folded along with a picture of a guy who just passed away. He never got to see his memorial."
Two gates on either end of the memorial mark the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In between the gates are 50 pillars representing each of the states.
Other works of art surround the area, including the largest cast monument of the famous photo of Marines hoisting a flag atop a hill at Iwo Jima.
Then the group went to the Korean War Memorial, a monument that consists of life-size statues of solders placed as though they are walking through a field.
"That was really impressive," McKillop said.
In honor of McCormick, the group went to the 1st Division's World War I monument.
"There were 20 vets from the 1st Division and current soldiers from that division, too," McKillop said. "At the end of the visit, there was a bugler who played "Taps."
While met in Washington by two fire engines using their water cannons to provide an arc under which the visitor walked, the return reception at Midway was something else.
"There must have been 500, 600 people there with signs thanking us and welcoming us back," McKillop said. "There were all kinds of honor guards with flags, a high school band -- all this at 10:30, 11 o'clock at night.
"I got letters from people we didn't even know. One was from an Army officer who served in Vietnam. One was from a kid whose parents emigrated from Argentina thanking me for allowing him to live in freedom.
"All this for one guy out of 16 million who served," McKillop said, emotions welling up in his voice.
Ellie
November 5, 2008
By CATHRYN GRAN cgran@pioneerlocal.com
More than anything, the letters of appreciation and the airport welcome are what affected John McKillop the most.
McKillop, who lives in Franklin Park with his wife, Beryl, was aboard an Oct. 22 round-trip sojourn to Washington D.C. to visit the World War II memorial. The flight left Midway Airport in Chicago at 6 a.m. and returned around 10:30 p.m.
Honor Flight is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to honor America's veterans by flying them to Washington D.C. to visit war memorials.
"It was just a fantastic trip," McKillop said. "It didn't cost a penny, and nobody there would take a penny from us."
McKillop, who served in the Army in the Mid Atlantic Force, was on a flight sponsored by the McCormick Foundation. The foundation was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Col. Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
"(McCormick) served in World War I in the Big Red One, the 1st Infantry Division," McKillop said.
"There's still a 1st Division with troops at Fort Riley (Kansas). On our trip were 14 current (soldiers) from the 1st Division. They served as personal assistants to us old guys. That was not expected."
The first stop was the World War II Memorial.
"We had a little ceremony," McKillop said. "There was a flag all folded along with a picture of a guy who just passed away. He never got to see his memorial."
Two gates on either end of the memorial mark the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In between the gates are 50 pillars representing each of the states.
Other works of art surround the area, including the largest cast monument of the famous photo of Marines hoisting a flag atop a hill at Iwo Jima.
Then the group went to the Korean War Memorial, a monument that consists of life-size statues of solders placed as though they are walking through a field.
"That was really impressive," McKillop said.
In honor of McCormick, the group went to the 1st Division's World War I monument.
"There were 20 vets from the 1st Division and current soldiers from that division, too," McKillop said. "At the end of the visit, there was a bugler who played "Taps."
While met in Washington by two fire engines using their water cannons to provide an arc under which the visitor walked, the return reception at Midway was something else.
"There must have been 500, 600 people there with signs thanking us and welcoming us back," McKillop said. "There were all kinds of honor guards with flags, a high school band -- all this at 10:30, 11 o'clock at night.
"I got letters from people we didn't even know. One was from an Army officer who served in Vietnam. One was from a kid whose parents emigrated from Argentina thanking me for allowing him to live in freedom.
"All this for one guy out of 16 million who served," McKillop said, emotions welling up in his voice.
Ellie