Area vets fly to D.C.  on North Star Honor Flight

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Mike Anderson and Dave Livingston were two of the local Veterans who flew to D.C. last week as part of the North Star Honor Flight .

Eight veterans from Dodge County were aboard the North Star Honor Flight that left Rochester April 27 for a daylong trip to Washington, D.C.
Veterans from the area included Fred Asche, of Mantorville; Joe Allen, of Kasson; Mike Anderson and Dave Livingston, both of Dodge Center; Dennis Jacobs, of West Concord; Jim Nelson, of Hayfield; and Ken Arel, of Pine Island.
Jacob Peterson, the Dodge County Veterans Service Office, and Jeff Fague, a Kasson-Mantorville Middle School teacher, also traveled. Fague was one of the bus guides during the visit.
The flight carried 86 veterans, 79 guardians, plus medical staff on Mission 3. Veterans came from nine counties across southern Minnesota, including Dodge, Olmsted, Steele and Goodhue, as well as five counties in northern Iowa.
Since Honor Flights started in 2005, more than 300,000 veterans have been transported as a guest of the Honor Flight Network organization. The priority at that time were World War II veterans, then Korean War, and those that were terminally ill.
The most recent flight had five Korean War vets, but the majority were Vietnam veterans. There is no charge to the veterans, but the guardians pay their own way, and they are with the veteran they are assigned during the whole day.
The group gathered at the Rochester airport by 5 a.m. A short program honoring the veterans and guardians began at 5:10 a.m., followed by security screening before boarding a chartered Sun Country Airlines flight to the east coast.
Each veteran received a red Honor Flight light jacket to wear for their trip.
Once they arrived at the nation’s capital airport, the group was loaded on buses for a guided tour that included visits to many of the memorials: Marines, Korean War, World War II, Vietnam War, Navy Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Dr Martin Luther King Jr., FDR, and the Air Force memorial.
The group went to Arlington National Cemetery, where more than 400,000 are buried. There are about 7.000 funerals annually, and they conduct an average of 25-30 funerals, five days each week.
Additional land has been added so there will be room for more gravesites in the future.
The group was present at the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After the ceremony was completed, a member of the Old Guard Unit that guards the tomb each day spoke to their group about his duty, and getting ready for each time it is his turn to walk at the ceremony.
There were four busloads of veterans that came to the ceremony when they were there that day.
The buses were given police escorts through the city so they were not tied up in the traffic congestion. When they arrived back at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, there were additional celebrations to thank them.
Mail-call happened during the return flight, and veterans received letters from family, friends and area schoolchildren, thanking them for their service.
The group arrived back at the Rochester airport, greeted by a large crowd with family members, a band and people just wanting to thank them for their service commitment years ago.
By the time they left the airport, it was 11:30 p.m., so it was a long, but fantastic day, one veteran said.
Fred Asche said his favorite part of the day was visiting the Korean War Memorial and the ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown.
Several years ago while visiting Washington, D.C., he brought his brother Louie to see the Marine memorial. Louie, a World War II soldier, had observed the flag raising on Iwo Jima from his combat position on Feb. 23, 1945, and he knew the names of the people that are in that famous photograph.
Asche has made a lot of scroll saw Christmas ornaments through the years and he presented an “I’m Proud To Be A Vet” ornament to each veteran on the trip.
Joe Allen said the whole trip was so well organized, and they were made to feel like royalty, so it was hard to pick out his favorite part. His grandson came along as his trip guardian.
When they had mail-call, Allen thought he would not get anything, but he received so many letters that it took him over an hour to read all his mail.
Many organizations such as the Eagles Club, American Legion and VFW posts, and many individuals are involved with donations to make these flights possible. Refreshments, breakfast, snacks and veteran gifts bags were made possible by several area groups.
The next flight is being scheduled for this fall.
Donations to the North Star Honor Flight may be made by going to its web site at www.northstarhonorflight.org or send to North Star Honor Flight, PO Box 321, Austin, MN, 55909.
Submitted photos of the Honor Flight group in front of the Marine Memorial and Mike Anderson & Dave Livingston (Dodge Center) on the trip
I took the photos of Fred Asche, wearing the Honor Flight jacket that each vet received. Each vet also received a quilt like the one Asche is holding. This is the scroll saw 3» size ornament «I’m Proud To Be A Vet» that Asche made for each vet to wear on the flight.

STAFF PHOTO BY WAYNE HENDRICKSON

Fred Asche posed for a photo wearing the Honor Flight jacket that each vet received who went on the North Star Honor Flight to D.C.