Members of Centralia VFW Post 2055 helped four local veterans of the Vietnam War to take an all expenses paid flight to Washington D.C. as part of the Honor Flight program. The Honor Flight nonprofit pays to bring veterans to the capital to visit national war memorials, receive honors, and meet with other veterans.
This is the fifteenth Honor Flight, and the first that Centralia VFW has participated in. The four veterans going on the flight through the VFW this year are Jim Ramsey, Daniel Gannon, Larry Owen, and Dale Hickey.
Tim Erno, Junior Vice Commander of Post 2055, described this flight as an important experience for these veterans of the Vietnam War.
“We’ll take them to all of the memorials,” Erno said. “This one is very important, because all of these guys are going to be going to the Vietnam wall, and I don’t believe any of our veterans that we’re taking out have visited the wall.”
Erno says the VFW will continue submitting veterans’ names for future honor flights.
“This is our first year trying to coordinate this out of the VFW Post. We’re going to keep doing this, we’re going to keep putting in veterans, and they don’t have to be with the VFW. If they want to go on the Honor Flight, I’m going to keep submitting as many as want to go.”
Larry Owen talked about preparing to visit the Vietnam War Memorial.
“Going there to remember everybody, and see people on the wall that I can’t see anymore,” Owen said. “It’s going to be an honorable day of remembrance.”
As the veterans left Centralia for their flight, students at Raccoon grade school lined up with signs along the road to see them off.
The veterans stayed overnight in Marion on Monday and flew out early Tuesday morning to visit the memorials in D.C. On the flight back Tuesday evening, they were each given a bag of letters. Each letter was written by grade school students in Marion County giving their support and thanks.
One of the letters written by a local student for the Honor Flight veterans. Photo by Austin Williams.
Raccoon Grade School students wave flags for the Honor Flight veterans passing by. Source: Raccoon Grade School
