A hero’s welcome: Local vets return home from Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

Published 5:00 pm Monday, September 18, 2023

The 27 veterans who stepped off an Alaska Airlines flight just after 1 p.m. at the Medford airport Sunday stood a little straighter as a crowd or more than 100 people began to cheer and wave American flags.

Back from a four-day trip to Washington, D.C., veterans of Vietnam, Korean and World War II had been escorted on tours of national landmarks and were treated as guests of honor at various spots around the nation’s capital. Honor Flight of Oregon, a nonprofit that provides no-cost trips for Southern Oregon veterans, treated the veterans to a chance to reflect on the memorials dedicated to the wars in which they served.

The group flew on a special plane, operated by Alaska Airlines, with flags painted on the wing tips. When they flew in Sunday, two fire trucks sprayed water to form an arch on the tarmac. The special plane, used by the airline specifically for the Honor Flights, bore a Sidney Sheldon quote, “My heroes are those that risk their lives to protect the world and make it a better place.”

Inside, cheerleaders, family, friends and community members held homemade signs and waited to provide a hero’s welcome.

Harry Howard, 96, one of more than a dozen Old Guard Riders, a local veteran’s group that attends funerals and groups for veterans, held a large flag and saluted returning veterans. Howard, who lives outside Phoenix, took an Honor Flight four years ago and vividly remembers his trip. Howard left high school at age 17 to join the Merchant Marines and served in both World War II and the Korean War.

Visiting memorials and tributes to veterans in Washington, D.C., was an emotional experience, Howard recalled.

“Everything they did for us — the accommodation, the meals, every detail of the trip — they really make you feel important. Every place we stopped, there was a welcoming committee. By far, the one here (in Medford) was the best one,” he said with a smile.

Veterans and their trip guardian — a family, friend or volunteer assigned to those making the trip — navigated the tunnel of well-wishers Sunday. Several of the vets dabbed tears from their eyes or high-fived those in the crowd.

Earl Kilpatrick, a Klamath Falls resident, said the airport reception was an ideal end to a trip he described as “one of the best things that ever happened to me.”

Kilpatrick, 92, made the trip with his daughter, Cindy Smith. An Air Force veteran, Kilpatrick served from 1948 to 1969. A B-29 statistician during the Korean War, Kilpatrick became emotional, sharing that the trip included a long list of places he “didn’t ever dream I would get to see.”

“I served in the Korean War, out of Japan. I was a B-29 statistician. … I had 220 men I looked after,” Kilpatrick said.

“It always feels good to come home. I certainly received more of a welcome home here today than I had ever had before. … When a lot of us came home from Vietnam, the nation was at an uprise against what was happening in the military, and when we came back, we did not get received properly … but we did today.”

Smith said her father and other vets were “treated like kings” during the trip. The most emotional moments, for both father and daughter, was the presentation of medallions, facilitated by the Rogue Valley’s Non-Commissioned Officers Association. Kilpatrick was awarded medallions for service during Korean and the Vietnam wars at the memorials named for each.

Rick Gehrke, a combat medic who spent time in the Marine Corps and Navy during the Vietnam War, said this past week’s trip helped him come to terms with memories he hadn’t discussed in a half-century. A Roseburg resident who served as a hospital corpsman medic from November 1965 to December 1966, Gehrke said he bonded with his trip guardian and other travelers and was able to come to grips with some painful memories.

“My guardian became the sister I didn’t have, and her and others were able to help me talk about things I’ve not even shared with my wife — and we’ve been married for 50 years,” Gehrke said.

“Half my enlistment, I was with Marine Corps and half with Navy, mostly with a line company outside of Danang, as a front-line medic. … The thing that touched me the most from that time was that … I lost one of my best friends. He went through a gate and got his head blown off and he died in my arms.”

Gehrke said his guardian captured a photo of the moment he found his friend’s name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.

“She took pictures of me with my hand on his name,” he said, becoming emotional.

“It happened outside Danang. We were in an area near Marble Mountain on a place called Hill 55. We were doing mostly search and destroy missions, and our biggest obstacle was booby traps. Every single time we went out, we lost somebody. They either died or were wounded. I remember, we’d get ready to go out on patrol and just kind of look at each other and go, ‘Who’s not coming back?’”

Pete Pringle, Honor Flights Oregon president, breathed a sigh of relief at getting the 27 travelers — and the same number of guardians — back to Southern Oregon. Pringle, who works for WorkSource Rogue Valley as part of the Disabled Veteran Outreach Program, said organizers start six months prior to each trip, fundraising and confirming lodging and tour bookings.

In Oregon, there are four Honor Guard chapters. The Southern Oregon chapter was founded first, in 2008, with three additional chapters formed in the south Willamette, Portland and the Bend areas. Southern Oregon has taken 762 veterans on an Honor Flight, while the four chapters, combined, have provided the trip to more than 3,000 veterans statewide.

Pringle said community support and sponsorships, including airfare for the veterans donated by Alaska Airlines, enables the group to make two trips per year. A retired chief petty officer who served 23 years in the Navy, Pringle echoed the sentiments of the returning veterans, noting that the final moments of the trip are often some of the most touching.

“The biggest thing we do for these veterans, especially for those who served during Vietnam, is give them a welcome home and thanks for their service that most of them didn’t get when they came home,” Pringle said.

“We do our best to fix what happened to them and give them the respect they should have had when they came home.”

Memorials and landmarks aside, Pringle said response from community means as much now as it did decades ago.

“The best part — and I tear up every time it happens — is when we go into the public spaces, like through the airports. … When we came through the airport in Seattle, everybody got on their feet and started clapping and thanking them for their service,” Pringle said.

Pringle said the Honor Guard organization would host the veteran trips for as long as there are veterans alive who want to go. World War II vets get priority, or those with terminal diagnoses, followed by Korean War veterans and Vietnam War veterans.

“During the trip, watching them talk to each other, it’s a healing process. Sharing those stories helps them heal, especially the Vietnam vets. They almost had to hide their service when they got back, so they wouldn’t be spit on or called horrific names,” he added.

“It’s just so important. A lot of them don’t talk about what they’ve been through, even to their families, but maybe now they will. … Each one of them has an incredible story. We’re going to keep making these trips until there are no more to take.”

For more online, visit facebook.com/HonorFlightofOregons and honorflightoforegon.org