HONORING VETERANS on the 15th Mission of the UP Honor Flight
By, Heather Mlsna
I am the daughter of a Korean War veteran. According to his discharge papers, Jack Bale served for 1 year, 10 months, and 19 days. Except for basic training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, my dad was headquartered at the 937 Field Artillery Battalion – 40 miles north of Seoul and a little east – right on the 38th parallel which defines the boundary between North and South Korea. My dad was drafted into service on the day Eisenhower was sworn in as the nation’s 34th President. He was 20 years old.
My father is still alive and at 86 years old, in remarkable physical and mental shape. In September, I had the privilege to accompany him on Mission 15 of the Upper Peninsula Honor Flight. We flew to Washington DC with with 83 other WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans and their escorts in order to experience the memorials that stand in their honor. The prospect of this event was very exciting for my father. When he last visited DC, there were only three Memorials in existence – Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson.
The Upper Peninsula Honor Flight began in 2011 and makes two flights a year to our nation’s capital. It is a part of the Honor Flight network, a non-profit organization created solely to honor our nation’s veterans for all of their sacrifices.
Mission 15 began and ended in Escanaba. It started at 5 am with an array of fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles escorting us to the Delta County airport. We flew to Reagan International Airport where we were greeted by a multitude of active duty armed service personnel, as well as numerous passengers and employees, all of whom sincerely thanked the vets for their service.
We loaded everyone into three buses and the adventure began. My dad and I were directed to the lead bus and were fortunate to be seated in the front. This was a real treat because we again enjoyed a police escort which started with several cars and motorcycles and ended with one motorcyclist. This officer accompanied us for the balance of the day and let me say his performance was impressive. Picture three tourist buses being escorted at speed through every stoplight, roundabout, and traffic jam in a busy urban city. This gentleman had the moves down! He was pointing and gesturing with emphasis at any car blocking our path. He shooed them aside like pesky puppies. He did this over and over during rush hour across multiple lanes of traffic. My dad and I savored every ride, watching him clear the way and enjoying the view.
Our first stop was at the World War II Memorial where we were greeted by Debbie Stabinow. This large, complex monument contains plenty of stone architecture, sculptures, pavilions, columns, and quotes. The World War II Memorial recognizes everyone who served abroad and at home and honors those who fell. A group photo was taken here with plenty of time to visit the Michigan pillar and to circle the beautiful pool and fountain.
Next, we visited the Navy Memorial with its bronze sculptures and “granite sea” at Memorial Plaza, the iconic statue of the second flag-raising on the island of Iwo Jima – which is the Marine Corps War Memorial, the towering spires of the Air Force Memorial where we were treated to an Honor Guard, and a visit to Arlington National Cemetery where we enjoyed a “Changing of the Guard.”
Because of my father’s history, the stop we were looking forward to the most was the Korean War Veterans Memorial, located near the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall. There are four parts to the Korean Memorial: the Statues, the Mural Wall, the Pool of Remembrance, and the United Nations Wall.
It was fascinating examining these with my father who is a great intellectual. He explained all the details depicted in the bronze statues of soldiers and the weapons and other items they wore and carried. At the UN wall, he told me about the Turkish Division stationed close to his unit. Apparently, they had a reputation for being ruthless fighters so the North Koreans left them alone. We spent a lot of time at the Mural Wall distilling details that jogged memories about his service.
He didn’t have much to say about actual military maneuvers, but he had some great stories about how he was invited by a superior officer to make a trip to a USO show to watch Marilyn Monroe perform, how he and a few buddies stole a neighboring platoon’s shower in the dead of night, and how – after the armistice – he built a house in South Korea for a superior officer.
The highlight of the day occurred when three different groups of South Korean tourists asked my dad to have their photo taken with him against the wall by the Pool of Remembrance. Some of them couldn’t speak English, yet they made their gratitude known and I thought, how validating these gestures must have felt to my father. How often do service men and women get to feel substantiation for their efforts 65 years later?
I hope the Vietnam veterans, close by at their memorial and throughout the trip, enjoyed gratitude from the saluting crowds, as they received the welcome and appreciation they deserved.
The day underscored for me the absolute privilege it is to be an American and how indebted we are to these heroes who – at great personal cost – were now able to stand by these Memorials and pay tribute to their fallen comrades. I will be eternally grateful to the Honor Flight network for enabling me to experience this day with my dad – my own personal hero.
Throughout the day, my father judged the individuals coordinating the mission to be “the hardest-working group of volunteers” he had ever seen. Scott Knauf, part of the UP committee, was dripping sweat at every stop as he cheerfully strove to make sure every vet who wanted one had a wheelchair, water, snacks, lunch, and a good time.
The flight home was particularly emotional as each veteran received a bag of letters at “mail call.” In advance of the event, we were asked to have friends and relatives send notes and cards as a surprise to the vets. This was clearly a favorite part of the day as they opened these loving missives and enjoyed the messages inside.
After arriving back at the Escanaba airport to great fanfare and over a thousand well-wishers, I watched each veteran begin to tell the story of their day to their loved ones. Please, let’s all remember to listen to and thank every veteran, and ask them about their stories of courage, sacrifice, friends made, and comrades lost.
If you know of a veteran who hasn’t been a guest of the Honor Flight, please reach out and help them to make the next mission. The day is 100% free of charge to the service member. If you would like to accompany the team, they fly twice a year in May and September. It costs non-veterans $500 to be a “guardian,” or helper, on the trip. Every veteran attending is issued a guardian – often a relative – who is responsible for their safety and pleasure throughout the day.
Information about this fantastic non-profit can be found on their website at http://www.upperpeninsulahonorflight.org/. There are numerous ways to help the organization: greeting vets at the airport on the morning and evening of the event, writing letters for the mailbags, helping the committee throughout the process, fund-raising, or donating cash. They depend solely on generous donations to provide this exceptional service. Please help them to continue offering this once-in-a-lifetime experience to our service men and women.
Heather Mlsna is a professional writer. Her business, Last Letters/No Regrets, seeks to promote healing and remembrance through writing. It serves individuals seeking to express themselves on paper, but who need help getting started. Heather can be reached at lastlettersmqt@gmail.com. (https://lastlettersnoregrets.com//)