thedrifter
09-07-09, 09:14 AM
Decatur vets to see WWII memorial
By HUEY FREEMAN - H&R Staff Writer
DECATUR - After Wendell Henby read a December 2007 newspaper article about a group that flies veterans to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., he asked his friends at a Golden K Kiwanis Club meeting if they were interested in going.
"I got a good show of hands," said Henby, 86, a World War II Navy radar man, who helped transport Marines to Iwo Jima.
Realizing that there might be boatloads of others like himself who would like to see the memorial built in their honor, Henby, a retired gemologist, got moving.
He requested applications from the Ohio-based national group, Honor Flight Network, inviting Decatur area veterans to fill them out.
"A lot of them came to my home," Henby said. "I heard more war stories. I didn't realize they would be so interested in telling me. They wanted to talk about it. They hadn't wanted to talk about it before."
To find area veterans outside the Kiwanis Club, Henby visited 16 local churches, asking them to run notices in their bulletins for one month. He also created a poster, which was used to receive publicity on a TV station.
At about this time, Don Niehart was busy establishing a brand-new Honor Flight chapter to serve Central Illinois.
When Niehart, who planned to initiate all his trips in Effingham, received the packet of applications from the national office, he noticed every one had a Decatur address.
"We decided rather than have them all go to Effingham, why don't we just take a bus up for them?" Niehart said.
Because Decatur has a large share of former soldiers, sailors and Marines who fought in World War II, Central Illinois Honor Flight is running its largest tour.
"Fifty-five are flying out, 110 total people," Niehart said, adding this trip will require two buses, twice as many as other trips.
On every trip, each veteran is accompanied by a guardian, a volunteer who pays $400 to spend the day with the former service member. Veterans do not pay for their journeys; their expenses are covered by donations from organizations and individuals.
All the remaining trips for this year, which primarily fly out of St. Louis on commercial airlines, are filled with veterans Sept. 16, Oct. 14 and 28 and Nov. 11. There are some spaces available for guardians.
Niehart said this would be a good time to apply for seats on next year's flights. All seats are granted in the order the applications are received.
In order to give the veterans a rousing welcome home to Decatur, the public is invited to the Civic Center at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16. Welcome home banners are optional.
hfreeman@herald-review.com|421-6985
CONTACT
For more information, call Don Niehart at 254-2986
Ellie
By HUEY FREEMAN - H&R Staff Writer
DECATUR - After Wendell Henby read a December 2007 newspaper article about a group that flies veterans to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., he asked his friends at a Golden K Kiwanis Club meeting if they were interested in going.
"I got a good show of hands," said Henby, 86, a World War II Navy radar man, who helped transport Marines to Iwo Jima.
Realizing that there might be boatloads of others like himself who would like to see the memorial built in their honor, Henby, a retired gemologist, got moving.
He requested applications from the Ohio-based national group, Honor Flight Network, inviting Decatur area veterans to fill them out.
"A lot of them came to my home," Henby said. "I heard more war stories. I didn't realize they would be so interested in telling me. They wanted to talk about it. They hadn't wanted to talk about it before."
To find area veterans outside the Kiwanis Club, Henby visited 16 local churches, asking them to run notices in their bulletins for one month. He also created a poster, which was used to receive publicity on a TV station.
At about this time, Don Niehart was busy establishing a brand-new Honor Flight chapter to serve Central Illinois.
When Niehart, who planned to initiate all his trips in Effingham, received the packet of applications from the national office, he noticed every one had a Decatur address.
"We decided rather than have them all go to Effingham, why don't we just take a bus up for them?" Niehart said.
Because Decatur has a large share of former soldiers, sailors and Marines who fought in World War II, Central Illinois Honor Flight is running its largest tour.
"Fifty-five are flying out, 110 total people," Niehart said, adding this trip will require two buses, twice as many as other trips.
On every trip, each veteran is accompanied by a guardian, a volunteer who pays $400 to spend the day with the former service member. Veterans do not pay for their journeys; their expenses are covered by donations from organizations and individuals.
All the remaining trips for this year, which primarily fly out of St. Louis on commercial airlines, are filled with veterans Sept. 16, Oct. 14 and 28 and Nov. 11. There are some spaces available for guardians.
Niehart said this would be a good time to apply for seats on next year's flights. All seats are granted in the order the applications are received.
In order to give the veterans a rousing welcome home to Decatur, the public is invited to the Civic Center at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16. Welcome home banners are optional.
hfreeman@herald-review.com|421-6985
CONTACT
For more information, call Don Niehart at 254-2986
Ellie