New Douglas vet takes Land of Lincoln Honor Flight

Ed Niehaus was 19 years old when he joined the U.S. Navy Reserves in April 1951.

With the country involved in the Korean War, he was hoping to juggle his duty to the nation and his family.

“I wanted to avoid being drafted,” recalled Niehaus, who earlier had graduated from Livingston High School.

Ed and his brothers, Art and Harold, hoped at least one of them could stay home with their parents (Ed and Bertha Niehaus) to help with the family farm.

“My dad had a heart problem,” said Niehaus, who still lives on the farm located in rural New Douglas. “While we only had a few cows and some hogs, it would have been a load on my dad to take care of on his own.”

Their plan worked for awhile, but Uncle Sam had other ideas. All would eventually be called to active duty in the Navy, and they did their part.

On June 16, Ed and his brother Art took a Land of Lincoln Honor Flight, which takes local veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the war memorials built to honor them and the nation’s other veterans.

Each veteran who takes part in an Honor Flight has their own story. Some are tales of valor on the battlefield, others are stories of helping the war effort away from the front lines.

But regardless of their roles, once the veterans return home, many begin talking about their experiences while serving.

Ed Niehaus helped prepare and fuel planes before takeoff and then checked their oil after they landed when he was stationed at Lambert Airport in St. Louis as a Naval reservist.

“I was a weekend warrior,” he said.

After spending two years in the Navy Reserves (1951-53), Niehaus spent two more years on active duty (1953-55) with the U.S. Navy, where he performed clerical work.

“My job was easy,” he said.

Art Niehaus worked in a refrigeration warehouse while he was deployed in Seoul, Korea, during the Korean War. After the war, he worked as a truck a driver and at Olin Corp. in East Alton for a number of years. Art, now 89, has Alzheimer’s disease, Ed said.

Their brother, Harold, also served with the U.S. Navy Reserves. He went on to become an an auditor with the Sheraton Hotels. He passed way in the mid-1990s.

The three brothers followed their oldest brother, Eldon, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Eldon was injured during the Battle of the Bulge, which took him out of the service.

“He could barely lift his right arm,” Ed Niehaus said.

Eldon died in 1971. He was only 48 years old.

Their oldest sister, Naoma, is 94. She now lives in North St. Louis. She is moving to a retirement home Bridgeton, Mo., soon. She previously worked as a bookkeeper and lived near Ferguson, Mo.

“And she still drives,” Ed said.

After Ed got out of the service, he returned to work on the family’s 150-acre farm, which his grandfather purchased in 1901.

His recent Honor Flight was the first time he has been back to the nation’s capital since was the first time he had been to the nation’s capital since a family vacation in 1982..

Ed and Art, who is now confined to a wheel chair, were assisted by trained volunteer guardians who provided assistance and accompanied them on their flight. Ed’s guardian was his son, Craig. Art’s guardian was his son, Roger.

Ed, now 83, encourages all veterans who have not taken an Honor Flight to sign up.

“It’s something to see — something you’ll never forget,” he said.

Of all the memorials they saw, Ed most enjoyed seeing the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“They were so precise,” he said.

But the best part of the trip was seeing all of the people, including his wife, Barb, whom he married in 1961, welcome all of the veterans back at Capital Airport in Springfield, Ill.

“It was just unbelievable,” Ed said. “Far as you could see, people were lined up. It brought tears to my eyes.”

This story was originally published July 12, 2015 at 3:00 AM with the headline "New Douglas vet takes Land of Lincoln Honor Flight."