Mayor Kenny Weldon (C) recently visited WWII Veterans, Leroy ‘Candyman’ Griffin (L), Mike Masuda (R) and Brad Thompson) (R-standing) for the purpose of thanking them for their service during WWII and congratulating Leroy and Mike on their upcoming Honor Flight Trip. The Mayor, a former resident of Washington D.C., described in vivid detail some of the wonderful memorial sites Leroy and Mike will observe during their trip.
All three WWII Veterans have been the recipient of an all expense paid Honor Flight Trip to view Veteran Memorials, Arlington National Cemetery and Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. Brad Thompson was aboard a 2011 Honor Flight and has been helpful in coaching current travelers in anticipation of their upcoming Honor Flight Trip.
Turnbow-Higgs American Legion Post 240 Commander, Roger Easter (L-Standing) a Vietnam era veteran, applied for guardian status and meeting all requirements was approved and accepted to travel as Leroy’s guardian. Mike Masuda’s guardian was assigned by the Honor Flight organization.
The inaugural Honor Flight took place in May of 2005. Six small planes flew out of Springfield, Ohio taking twelve World War II veterans on a visit to the memorial in Washington, DC. In August of 2005, an ever-expanding waiting list of veterans led to a transition to commercial airline carriers with the goal of accommodating as many veterans as possible.
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 the past 27 years. 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.
Earl could tell that the majority of the veterans had given up all hope of ever visiting the memorial that was specifically created to honor their services as well as the services of their fellow comrades who had paid the ultimate sacrifice. That's when Earl decided that there had to be a way to get these heroes to D.C. to see their memorial.
In December of 2004, Earl asked one of his World War II veteran patients if it would be all right if Earl personally flew him out to D.C., free of charge, to visit his memorial. Mr. Loy broke down and cried. He told Earl that at his age he would probably never get to see his memorial otherwise and graciously accepted the offer.
Earl posed the same question to a second World War II veteran a week later. He too cried and enthusiastically accepted the trip. It didn’t take long for Earl to realize that there were many veterans who would have the same reaction. So he started asking for help from other pilots to make these dreams a reality. In January of 2005, Earl addressed about 150 members of the aero club during a safety meeting, outlining a volunteer program to fly veterans to their memorial. There were two major stipulations to his request. The first was that the veterans pay nothing. The entire aircraft would have to be paid solely by the pilots. The second was that the pilots personally escort the veterans around D.C. for the entire day. After Earl spoke, eleven pilots who had never met his patients, stepped up to volunteer. And Honor Flight was born.
