Being a military veteran in the United States defines you in many ways. This is especially true as you age and think back on what you accomplished in your life.
There’s a generation, now almost gone, who served in World War II. I always thought the soldiers who fought in WWII were volunteers, men mostly, though I don’t discount the contribution made by thousands of women in the 1940s. In doing the research for this post, I discovered just the opposite. In September 1940, in advance of America’s involvement in WWII, Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, the country’s first peacetime draft. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, President Franklin D Roosevelt signed an Executive Order on Dec 5, 1942, prohibiting voluntary enlistment in the armed forces. That seems counter-intuitive, but so many young men wanted to “go fight” for America, that the President felt the need to also protect the home front labor force.
The draft continued through the Korean and Vietnam Wars until it was ended by President Richard Nixon in 1973.
Most of the men in my generation, though I am at the tail end of it, served by draft in Vietnam. Women served there too, of course, but they all volunteered. Randy enlisted in the Air Force in 1972 to avoid being drafted into the Army. The Vietnam War didn’t officially end until 1975, so he is classified a Vietnam Era veteran without ever setting foot in Vietnam.
Veterans are respected these days, but that hasn’t always been the case. In my teens I remember how horribly veterans returning from Vietnam were treated. That’s a topic not appropriate for this blog, but to get a taste of the social environment in the late 60s related to public sentiment about the Vietnam War and its veterans, I wholeheartedly recommend reading an excellent book called The Women by Kristin Hannah.
Honor Flight began in 2005 with 6 small planes transporting 12 World War II veterans to Washington DC to see the World War II Memorial, completed in 2004, 59 years after the end of the war. The Honor Flight network was conceived of by Earl Morse, a retired Air Force Captain working as a physician’s assistant in a small VA clinic in Springfield, Ohio. When he asked his veteran patients whether they planned to visit their war memorial in Washington, it was clear to him that most of these senior veteran heroes weren’t financially able or physically capable of making the journey there. Read the whole incredibly interesting story of how the Honor Flight network was formed and grew at this link.
Last year Randy and I were approached by a woman named Summer we know who works for a real estate team we’ve gotten close to. Summer is a Marine Corp veteran herself and volunteers with the local Hub (what Honor Flight calls their local chapters of the national organization). She encouraged us to apply for Honor Flight. Neither one of us felt we should, thinking there are much more deserving veterans who should be chosen to go before us.
In February, shortly after Randy’s shocking diagnosis, we were having dinner with our friends Keith and Carla. Keith is also a veteran, a retired Air Force Lt Col. We met Keith and Carla while Randy was in tech school in 1978. Keith was enlisted back then, smart as a whip, and teaching some of the electronics courses Randy was taking. Like us, they were from Wisconsin, and we found plenty of common interests, enough to keep in touch for 45 years. Keith eventually entered the Officer Training Program and had a 30-year long successful Air Force career. After retirement they moved to Englewood, Florida and are the primary reason we now live here too.
At that dinner in February Carla told me Keith volunteered to be an Honor Flight Guardian. That reminded me of Summer’s urging us to apply for an Honor Flight. Because of the long waiting list, they are currently taking applications only from World War II veterans and from terminally ill veterans from other wars. I felt that Randy’s Stage IV Cancer qualified him to apply. I reviewed and filled out the application. On it they ask if there’s someone specific you’d like as a Guardian so I called Keith and asked if I could put his name on Randy’s application. He agreed.
Summer knew about Randy’s diagnosis and said she would keep an eye out for his application as they went through the selection process for the April 28th flight. The next one is in October. I prayed he would be selected because I honestly don’t know if he’ll still be alive in October. I wanted this so badly for him. Being a military veteran is one of two of Randy’s proudest accomplishments. The other is the long, happy marriage we are both so blessed with.
The call came a couple of weeks ago, late one afternoon. Amanda, another Air Force veteran who, incidentally and happily, had quite a few connections to the very small unit Randy served in for the last part of his career, confirmed that he had been selected for the April Honor Flight. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that I just sobbed. It was a tad embarrassing, but I pulled it together and within an hour all the arrangements were made.
Randy and I sat around talking about how incredible and what an honor it was that he was selected. I was so grateful. Another hour passed and my phone rang again. It was Amanda asking why I hadn’t told her that I was also a veteran. Apparently, Summer snitched on me.
I explained I didn’t qualify as I am not a WWII or terminal ill veteran. I am just so glad Randy is able to go. She countered that they have a buddy program (at least I think that’s what she said) and that I was also going as a veteran on the same Honor Flight. We’d each have our own Guardian and would be able to share this experience just as we shared our military experiences.
I was speechless. But being speechless didn’t stop the blubbering that started all over again. It was days before I could tell anyone without crying about our selection to be on the Honor Flight. My inclusion on the flight is not something I sought, but the opportunity to share this with Randy is a gift I will be thankful for forever. I can’t wait to share the experience with all of you, too.
P.S. Randy had his final radiation treatment on the tumors around his neck on Monday. So far, we haven’t seen any improvement. He has his 3rd immunotherapy infusion today (4/14/26). He is terribly weary. After the infusion he has no more treatments of any kind scheduled until after Honor Flight. That’s God’s timing, not something we planned. (Thank you, Lord!) Please pray that he regains enough energy and strength to enjoy the Washington experience.
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