HANCOCK AIRPORT – Several veterans from the eastern suburbs were among the 81 veterans on Honor Flight Syracuse’s 16th mission this past Saturday.
Upon their return to Syracuse, the 81 veterans were greeted by dozens of well-wishers at the gate before heading to the main concourse, where they paraded to the setting of a brief ceremony in the center of the concourse. Hundreds – perhaps thousands – of family, friends and well-wishers waved signs and cheered the veterans on as they made their way to the ceremony.
Most of the veterans aboard Mission 16 were from the Korean War and Vietnam War eras, but there were three veterans aboard who served during World War II.
Honor Flight Network was formed in 2005 to transport veterans at no cost to Washington, DC to visit their memorials. Honor Flight Syracuse conducted its inaugural mission in October 2012 for 27 veterans and since then, nearly 1,200 veterans have traveled from Central and Northern New York and the Mohawk Valley.
Each veteran brings a companion, tabbed a ‘guardian’, to help him or her navigate the flight and tours of the monuments and memorials.
Nationally, the Honor Flight program will soon have taken more than a quarter million veterans to Washington.
The keynote speaker for the event was Colonel Travis McIntosh, a US Army Aviation officer serving as commander of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Drum. McIntosh thanked the 81 veterans on the flight for their service to the nation and for providing the inspiration for the hundreds of thousands of members of the military who protect our nation each day.
As they do for each of the Honor Flight missions, the Tom Dooley Choraliers sang a medley of the anthems for each of the branches of the military. When they began the Marine Corps anthem, a veteran of the marines in the center of the audience jumped up ramrod straight as members of the audience and other Marines shouted “Oorah!”
Susan Bastable of Fayetteville, a team leader and host with the Honor Flight program, served as emcee for the event. She gave a special thank you to Dr. Kara Evans, RN, also of Fayetteville, a nurse with the LeMoyne College of Nursing who has served as the medical director for Honor Flight Syracuse since its inception. Evans, who is stepping down from that role after this flight, leads a team of nine nurses who attend to any medical needs the veterans may face on the trip.
The veterans from the eastern suburbs who were on Honor Flight Syracuse’s 16th mission were:
– David S. Backus of Fayetteville, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War and in France during the Berlin crisis.
– Raymond F Besecker of East Syracuse, who served in the Air Force and Air National Guard from 1955 to 1986 and retired as a lieutenant colonel, having flown mission in Vietnam, Germany and the Arctic.
– Bernard Bregman, of DeWitt, who served in the Army from 1955 to 1957.
– Harold H. Bristol, of Jamesville, who served as a captain in the Air Force from 1954 to 1958.
– Marion Ervin, of Jamesville, a 1st lieutenant in the Army during the Vietnam War, from 1969 to 1972.
– Frank Frydrychowicz, of DeWitt, who served in the Army in Germany during the Cold War era of 1960 to 1962.
– Reed F. Hawke, of DeWitt, who served in the Navy during the Korean War, from 1948 to 1952.
– Russell V. LoGalbo, of Manlius, who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, from 1968 to 1972.
– Stephen B. Nathan, of Fayetteville, who served in the Army from 1965 to 1968 and in the Army Reserve until 1992, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
– William J. Novak, of Manlius, who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
– William G. Sheldon, of DeWitt, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, from 1957 to 1967.