Never Forgotten Honor Flight perfects the day for veterans, many others.

I’ve never served in the military, and at 37 years old I never will. But on Monday, May 7, I came as close as I ever will to the experience, or at least to the very best part of the experience. As a media representative, I traveled with 89 veterans and their guardians, some of them veterans themselves, to Washington, D.C., as part of the Never Forgotten Honor Flight.

To say it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience would be to understate it, as little I do for the rest of my life will compare to what I saw, heard and felt during this trip.

The mission of the Never Forgotten Honor Flight is to take as many central Wisconsin World War II and now also Korean War veterans to Washington, D.C., for a one-day trip that will allow them to see the many national memorials in their honor, including the World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Air Force and Iwo Jima memorials.

The trip is designed to be like their tours of duty, minus all the bad parts. It begins with a send-off dinner the night before featuring entertainment authentic of the era, continues the next day with the flight and arrival in Washington, D.C., to an applauding audience at the airport and the tour of the many memorial sites, and ends with mail-call on the flight home and a “Welcome Home” ceremony that probably bested the ones they received more than 50 years ago.

I was among the many who watched news coverage of previous Honor Flights in central Wisconsin and thought it must be a life-changing experience for all people going on it, including the guardians who accompanied them. When Mike Thompson and Jim Campbell, some of the founders of the flight, contacted me last fall to ask if I’d like to go on it as a media representative, I was stunned, not believing this opportunity even existed.

It did, and after applying for the honor, I learned last month I’d be going on the May 7 flight. Whatever else may have been on my schedule that day was pushed aside when I learned I’d be going.

The month went past quickly, so much so that I didn’t even have a chance to tell many of my relatives about it. Now that I’m back, though, I plan on telling everybody I can about it.

With the experience of seven flights behind them, including one just two weeks ago, the 15-member Never Forgotten Honor Flight Board of Directors and their many volunteers have put together a smooth operation. During an hour-and-a-half long training session the day before, guardians accompanying veterans learn about all of their responsibilities on the trip, and everything they need to know to help make it successful. All people taking the flight are given a specific-colored polo shirt and jacket – green for guardians and yellow for veterans – and a hat and fanny pack as part of their registration material, as well as orders to ensure the flight takes off on time at 6:30 p.m. from the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee.

The flight took off on schedule, and the two-hour trip in the air was smooth. One Korean war veteran had issues with his pacemaker and had to be taken to the hospital upon arrival at Reagan National Airport, but he rejoined the group later in the day after receiving treatment. “Darn pacemaker,” he told me after I asked how he was holding up. “But I’m glad to be back.”

Even the hardiest of travelers would have been worn out by the itinerary, as it included stops at the World War II Memorial; Korean, Vietnam and Lincoln memorials; the Air Force Memorial; Arlington National Cemetery to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; Iwo Jima memorial; and a bus tour of the city. For heroes in their 80s and 90s, this trip should have been grueling, but all of them easily made it through the day without any bad incidents.

In fact, the tour stayed on schedule until Arlington National Cemetery. The delay there was understandable, though, as one of the guards came out and talked to the group and answered questions about his responsibilities for 15 minutes. Those guards don’t normally do this, but as Sgt. Vincent told them, it was a privilege to be able to do so for these veterans.

I talked to many of the veterans and learned their stories during the trip, including a few I wrote about in the page one story in this week’s paper, but it was the very last guy I talked to that was the most powerful. At the end of the day, a volunteer from Washington, D.C., had to leave the group and she asked if I could wheel him through the airport. This Korean War Navy veteran, John Mayer of Mosinee, couldn’t stop talking about how incredible the experience was. “I hope to have a glass of beer when I get home to complete a perfect day,” he said.

The scene at the airport back home was chaotic, with more than a thousand people there to greet them in a rousing fashion. I didn’t find Mayer in all the commotion, but I’m betting he didn’t need the beer to make his day perfect after receiving such a reception. I’m sure all 89 veterans, as well as all of us who accompanied them, had such a day.

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Originally published in The Portage County Gazette on Friday, May 11, 2012.