The World War II Memorial, Washington DC

The World War II Memorial, Washington DC in its entire nightly splendor

“A Remembrance of Life where many heroes were made”

17th Street NW between Independence and Constitution Ave’s
Washington DC 20050

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WASHINGTON DC – With a bright crisp day in November where the leaves are showing their entire splendor and the sun is shining so brightly in our skies there are aircraft with veterans coming to the World War II Memorial, Washington DC. These particular groups of individuals are very distinguished ladies and gentlemen who have traveled here to see this Memorial built in their honor and to remember many of their comrades in arms who fought side by side with them but were unable to return to our great country.

The WWII veterans came from all over the Eastern Seaboard and the Central United States area – this weekend from South Carolina, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Florida aboard the Honor Flight Aircrafts (Honor Flight Network) all with one goal and that’s to see what was built in their honor. Many years have passed since the war ended and most of these veterans are seeing the Memorial for the very first time, since the Memorial was completed in May 2004, and dedicated in 2005.

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The World War II Memorial honors the 16 million who served in the armed forces of the U.S, the more than 400,000 who died, and all who supported the war effort from home. Symbolic of the defining event of the 20th Century, the Memorial is a monument to the spirit, sacrifice, and commitment of the American people. The Second World War is the only 20th Century event commemorated on the National Mall’s central axis. Global military conflict that, in terms of lives lost and material destruction, was the most devastating war in human history. It began in 1939 as a European conflict between Germany and an Anglo-French coalition but eventually included most of the nations of the world. It ended in 1945, leaving a new world order dominated by the U.S. and the USSR.

More than any previous war, World War II involved the commitment of nations’ entire human and economic resources, the blurring of the distinction between combatant and noncombatant, and the expansion of the battlefield to include all of the enemy’s territory. The most important determinants of its outcome were industrial capacity and personnel. In the last stages of the war, two radically new weapons were introduced: the long-range rocket and the atomic bomb. In the main, however, the war was fought with the same or improved weapons of the types used in World War I. The greatest advances were in aircraft and tanks. (Extracted from Time Life’s Book – “World War II”)

The Honor Flight Network program was conceived by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and Retired Air Force Captain. Earl wanted to honor the veterans he had taken care of for

Honor Flight Network

27 years. After retiring from the Air Force in 1998, Earl was hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs to work in a small clinic in Springfield, Ohio. In May of 2004, the World War II Memorial was finally completed and dedicated in Washington, D.C. and quickly became the topic of discussion among his World War II veteran patients.

The first Honor Flight took place in May 2005. The nonprofit organization was created to honor America’s veterans by providing them a way to visit and be able to reflect at their memorials in Washington, D.C. The first year twelve veterans took flights to Washington, now there is a waiting list.

First priority is given to the oldest vets, at this point, that are World War II veterans and other veterans with terminal illnesses.

This year, the Bluegrass Chapter Honor Flight will pay special tribute to Lt. Howard Enoch, Jr., a WWII aviator from Marion, Kentucky. His remains were just identified a month ago by the Department of Defense and have been repatriated 63 years after the 20 year old pilot was shot down during the war. A memorial service will be held at the Kentucky pillar of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Enoch’s son, Howard Enoch, III, is planning the service and funeral for the father he never met. Until recently, the son never knew what had happened to the young father. He says that through planning his father’s memorial service, he is just now getting to know him. Enoch will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery and a memorial service will be held in his hometown in Kentucky.

Lt. Enoch was piloting a P-51D Mustang, a long range single seat fighter aircraft, when he was shot down on March 19, 1945 near the village of Doberschutz, Germany. The crash site was behind Soviet lines at the end of the war in May 1945 and, therefore, the remains were only recently recovered.

Honor Flight serves the nation’s veterans by taking them to Washington D.C. to visit the World War II Memorial, free of charge.  Partnering with Southwest Airlines, US Airways and other carriers Honor Flights can accomplish its goals more expeditiously because of the airlines generous, multi-year commitment of complimentary tickets.
Airline official’s state: “It is an honor to give back to these veterans who gave so much to preserve the freedoms we have today.”  Honor Flight’s priority is to transport the veterans of any conflict with a terminal illness who would like to visit their individual memorial and the most senior Veterans, the survivors of WWII.

The World War II Veterans in Washington DC: The Disabled Veterans Committee on Housing had two Committee members, Dr. Richard (Dick) Seely Sr, Executive Director, DVCH and his beautiful bride of 37years, Suzanne, represent the DVCH at National Airport where they and volunteers, passengers, and other officials greeted and thanked hundreds of WWII veterans at the US Airways Terminal (Gates 36-38). In the following photos from yesterday’s event you will see many of these brave men and women of World War II as they enjoyed the fellow service men and women and the entertainment provided.
We hope to receive comments from a number of veterans in the days ahead which I will share with you but for the moment please enjoy the memories these proud Americans took home yesterday.

WTTG/Fox Network Channel 5, Washington DC was at the Reagan National Airport and the arrival of the early morning flights of WWII veterans. Reporter John Henrehan submitted the following story.

WASHINGTON – Some travelers at Reagan National Airport looked on with concern, Saturday morning, when fire trucks were stationed near a taxi-way.
As a U.S. Airways jet slowly rolled through the area, the trucks sprayed arcs of water over the aircraft. At the same time, airline employees enthusiastically waved American flags and their arms at the passing jetliner.

Dozens of volunteers assembled at the gate to cheer and to applaud the passengers as they walked off the jet way.

The passengers were not Hollywood stars or politicians. They were veterans of World War II. The latest Honor Flight had arrived.

The non-profit organization identifies vets from the Greatest Generation, and flies them to D.C. to visit the huge memorial that was built to honor their sacrifice.

As I stated a little earlier, Dr. Richard (Dick) Seely Sr and his wife Suzanne represented the Committee at the Honor Flight event and filed this report:
“What a very special occasion”.  There were 20+ dancers doing the Lindy-Hop and Jitter-Bug to 40′s music to entertain the WWII veterans before they headed out on their evening flights. The dancer performance went over so well with many of the WWII veterans dancing, even getting out of their wheelchairs, to do the Lindy-Hop with the lady dancers. Every veteran Suzanne and I spoke to said he or she had had a wonderful day, that the trip and tours were so special especially going to the WWII Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, etc. and that they were not tired and wouldn’t be sleeping on the plane going home as their adrenalin was still flowing!

I was amazed by the stories these veterans told me about where they served in WWII – from Normandy, to submarine service (sinking 26 Japanese ships), to being a tail gunner on 35 missions over Germany.  What brave men and women these veterans are. One summed it up by saying “You do what you have to do when you are 17 or 18. I didn’t want to go but I am glad I served”.

All of the veterans who come to our Nation’s Capitol through the Honor Flight Network can not say enough about how much this trip has meant to them; to see a place that was dedicate for them, but, most important of all, is a place that honors and remembers the men and women who did not return.

We enclose the following photos to give you a sense of what at least part of the day was like and to close by saying: Each and every day, men and women are fighting to keep our country safe and free. How wonderful it is that we have a Memorial commemorating, thanking and keeping the sacrifice of our WWII veterans in our thoughts. And, God bless all who are working to make sure these veterans can come to visit their Memorial”.

As you can see the veterans are starting to get into the Meet & Greet of all the dancers that were available doing the Lindy-Hop and the Jitter-bug for all the veterans. The rest of the pictures are of all the veterans and their fun at the airport, prior to returning to their home states and back with their loved ones. We leave this to your viewing and enjoy as Dick & Suzanne did, the veterans of World War II, Washington DC at Regan National Airport

A veteran always has a smile for the pretty ladies, even today.

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There were many World War II veterans whose stories would keep you captivated for hours. The knowledge of these give one a sense of history about what WWII about and what it still means to all of us today. Many more books could be written about the remembrances of our WWII veterans.

WW2 Veterans

The man “standing on the right, wearing the blue vest” had 9 submarine tours of 45-75 days during the war, survived countless depth charge explosions, and his submarines sank 26 Japanese ships in the Pacific. What a brave service man he was but simply says he didn’t do anything special and is just happy he made it home.