Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Honor Flight is a moving experience for local veterans

Two Highland veterans take the flight of their life to Washington D.C.

As Highland resident Paul Capelle headed for home after an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., he received a letter that not only summed up the trip, but his life as a serviceman.

“Dad, I hope you are enjoying your day and what an honor to be called up and fly to Washington, D.C. I guess this is somewhat like being called to go to war, although then it was by train and hitchhiking,” wrote David Capelle. “How times change, but one thing is for sure, our freedom is solid. Thank you again and again for all the sacrifices you have made in your life to make mine better.”

Capelle, along with more than 100 other area World War II veterans, traveled to the nation’s capitol on the Central Illinois Honor Flight on Oct. 14. The group visited several war memorials, watched the Changing of the Guard and honored fellow soldiers and friends fallen in combat at Arlington National Cemetery.

“It was awesome. No question about it,” Paul Capelle said. “The greatest thing about it is that you wouldn’t think they would do so much for World War II veterans all these years later.”

Capelle served in World War II from 1943-1946. He is a proud Navy man who served his whole tour in the Pacific. He was called to service again in the Korean War from 1950-1953.

The trip to D.C. started at 2:30 a.m. in Effingham when Capelle boarded a bus that made several stops before arriving at Lambert Airport at 4:30 a.m. The attendees of the Honor Flight would tour Washington, D.C. all day before arriving back home after 11 p.m. to a crowd of more than 300 people waving U.S. flags.

“Anybody that can go on it — it’s a privilege,” Capelle said. “There were 37 million in World War II, and now there are three million of us left. Those three million are lucky.”

While the most memorable part of the trip was receiving 25 letters from family and friends thanking him for his service, Capelle also enjoyed seeing the World War II Memorial.

“It was very awesome,” he said. “All I’ve ever seen all these years was a picture of it, but that didn’t do any justice to it.”

Bonding time with other veterans brought back many memories.

“A lot of them were crying. A lot of them were upset,” Capelle said. “It brought back memories. Some poor ones for some, especially the ones at Iwo Jima.”

The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help every single veteran in America willing to get on a plane or bus to visit their memorial. World War II veterans are given priority at the time, and the program will transition to Korean War, Vietnam War and then on chronologically.

The organization receives no national or government funding. It all comes from individuals who recognize the great accomplishments and sacrifices of veterans and want them to see their memorial for free. Other significant contributors have been fraternal organizations like the American Legion, VFW, Am Vets and more.

Former Highland resident Lawrence Haislar also was able to go on the Honor Flight on June 3. He passed away 23 days later.

“The Honor Flight is such a great thing,” said Kate Broadhurst, Haislar’s daughter. “My dad was one that didn’t, as my sister would say, ‘Always express his feelings on things.’ But when he came back, he said the trip was absolutely wonderful in a singing-type voice.”

Haislar was in the Army in the Korean War from September 1950 to February 1952.

Broadhurst visited Honor Flight officials shortly before the trip to explain how poor her father’s health was. Honor Flight Network helped reorganize at the last minute to make sure a bus was waiting in Washington D.C. with a chairlift, Broadhurst said.

“They went out of their way to make sure dad was comfortable,” she said. “They bent over backwards to help dad.”

Haislar enjoyed the whole trip, but especially the World War II and Korean War memorials, his daughter said.

The idea of the Honor Flight gives veterans the recognition they deserve, Broadhurst said.

“It’s the fact that they are giving back to them something they have never been able to do,” she said. “A lot of them couldn’t have afforded it either. Everything was absolutely free for the veterans and it was very heartwarming to see.”