CNY veterans travel to Washington to visit the memorials in their honor
There was a lot of clapping, a lot of smiles, some tears and countless people saying “Thank you for your service” last Saturday, as 77 veterans from communities around Central New York traveled to Washington, D.C. to visit the national memorials dedicated to their service. Mission 8 of Honor Flight Syracuse was an unbridled success, and the intermittent rain throughout the day did nothing to dampen the spirits of the veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, most of whom had never seen their monuments or even been to Washington before.
“This is just wonderful, the people have been so kind; I’m just overwhelmed,” said Virginia Peel, 97, of Rome, N.Y., who served in the U.S. Navy women’s reserves during World War II.
Joe Amedio, a Korean War veteran from Oswego, was also on his first Honor Flight mission. “The welcome committee, the people, the volunteers… it’s unreal,” he said. “To think that people came out [to thank the veterans] just for this; it’s something I’ll never forget.”
The Honor Flight Network is a national organization dedicated to honor America’s veterans by transporting them to Washington, D.C. to visit the national memorials at no cost to them. There are 130 hubs (or chapters) of Honor Flight throughout the U.S., of which Honor Flight Syracuse, started in 2013, is one.
The Honor Flight Network, so far, has taken 157,000 veterans to Washington to visit their monuments, and Honor Flight Syracuse has taken more than 500.
“This has been our most fluid mission,” said Mike Gasapo, the flight team leader for the trip. “All of the veterans go to see all the things we planned to see. This is our eighth time, and every time is better.”
The 77 veterans, along with the 77 “guardians” who accompanied each veteran (usually a family member), eight nurses and other Honor Flight volunteers, left Syracuse at 7 a.m. to fly to Washington D.C., where they were greeted at Reagan National Airport by a large crowd of cheering and clapping citizens, and a chorus singing patriotic songs. The veterans then traveled by bus to visit the World War II, Korean and Vietnam war memorials, Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Iwo Jima Marine Corps Monument, the U.S. Air Force Monument, then a return flight to Syracuse that same evening. At Hancock International Airport, the veterans were greeted by a large welcome home ceremony of family, friends and citizens.
Throughout the day, as the four Honor Flight busses made stops at monuments around Washington and the veterans visited the memorials, people of all ages would talk to the veterans, shake their hands, thank them for their service to the country and chat with them about their services in America’s past wars.
“My favorite part of every trip is watching the veterans interact with the public and active military personnel and see the response of them and the veterans — it has moved me to tears on several occasions,” said Jeff Bastable, of Fayetteville, who served as bus 3 leader during the trip and is one of the original Honor Flight Syracuse members.
Mission 8 included 40 World War II veterans, 30 Korean War veterans and seven Vietnam War veterans.
![Air Force Korean War veteran Don Platt, of Minoa, and his guardian Ashley Scott, of Minoa, at Arlington National Cemetery during Mission 8 of Honor Flight Syracuse. Platt, a technical sergeant, joined the Air Force at age 17 and traveled the world teaching instruments and communications to fighter pilots. “This is a great conclusion to [all my travels],” he said of the Honor Flight trip. “It’s been a great day.” photo by Jason Emerson](https://i0.wp.com/eaglenewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Honor-flight-Platt-Minoa-WEB.jpg?w=236&h=202&ssl=1 "Honor flight Platt - Minoa WEB")
One Korean War veteran on the trip was Don Platt, of Minoa, who served as an Air Force technical sergeant in instruments and communications. Platt joined the Air Force at age 17 and ultimately traveled the world during his nine years of service. “It was the experience of a lifetime,” he said of his five oversees missions and his visits to more than 70 military bases around the globe.
Platt said he was initially not interested in visiting Washington through Honor Flight because he had already traveled the world, although he had never seen the Korean or World War II memorials in the nation’s capital. A few years ago, one of his neighbors suggested he go on Honor Flight, and he changed his mind.
“I wasn’t overly enthused about it [but] everybody said it’s an honor to go,” Platt said. But the day turned out to be a “wonderful experience,” he said. “It’s a lasting impression I’ll have.”
“I shook more hands today than probably my whole lifetime,” Platt said. “It’s wonderful to see so many people out and interested in veterans considering all the rioting and picketing in the news.”
Also on the trip was Bernard Hess, of DeWitt, who served in the Navy during World War II. “The reason I joined the Navy was because I didn’t like to walk, I didn’t like to walk in the rain, and I didn’t like K rations,” he said.
Hess served aboard a net-laying ship in the Pacific during the war. A net layer’s primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. He remembered one instance where he was in the water working on a net when his ship started sailing away, apparently unaware that he was still in the water. “I swam like hell,” he said, laughing.
Hess’s most memorable experience during the war was when his ship struck a Japanese mine in Ulithi, 200 miles south of Marianas. He said the ship was hit on Oct. 24, 1944 at exactly 3 p.m. “I know it was 3 o’clock because I looked at my watch,” he said. “The ship’s going down and I’m looking at my watch.”
Hess was later wounded and given survivor’s leave and discharge. After the war he worked for General Electric. He said he went on Honor Flight mission 8 because he had never been to the World War II Memorial in Washington and it was on his bucket list. “I’ve always wanted to see it,” he said.
Every veteran on the trip had memories and stories to share —with their guardians, their fellow veterans and members of the public who offered thanks and started conversations.
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John Paddock, of Skaneateles, who helped found Honor Flight Syracuse, welcomed the veterans home at Hancock airport in Syracuse at the end of the day.
“Your accounts of the altering demands on your lives and how you responded … are incredibly important to our society today,” Paddock said. “I greatly respect and honor all you’ve done … you’ve provided my generation a better world.”
For more information about Honor Flight Syracuse, visit HonorFlightSyracuse.org. For more information about the Honor Flight Network, visit honorflight.org.
