News
Honor Flight the Movie
Honor Flight the Movie is a heartwarming documentary about four living World War II veterans and a Midwest community coming together to give them the trip of a lifetime. Volunteers race against the clock to fly thousands of WWII veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the memorial constructed for them in 2005, nearly 60 years >> Read More >>
The Building of the Alcan Highway
Much of this article is drawn from the History Channel Magazine. –Ed.
In the spring of 1942, over ten thousand American troops arrived in Alaska to take on what was described as “the biggest and hardest job since the Panama Canal.” Their assignment was to build over 1,500 miles of highway out of an uncharted wilderness >> Read More >>
Back in the Saddle
Your lowly Honor Flight AZ editor needs to apologize. I am just recovering from a miserable bronchitis/pneumonia. I have also had my USCG son home on pre-deployment leave with his girlfriend. Sorry, somehow he just took priority!! As a result, this newsletter is coming to you much later than usual. A photo of mom and >> Read More >>
And They’re Off!
Well, the time has come. By the time you read this, we will have returned from our first flight of 2013 and our 21st trip overall. Twenty-eight veterans have been given the opportunity to see their memorial, socialize with other veterans, laugh a little, reminisce a bit and make new memories. My goodness, what an >> Read More >>
Those Honored Dead
Author Unknown
“Why do you fly the flag today?”
My grandson wants to know.
I fly it for the graveyards
Where the countless crosses grow.
I fly it for the children
Whose fathers are a name
A half-remembered memory of a face within a frame.
I fly it for the families
Of sons and daughters lost.
They know the price of liberty
How terrible the cost!
I >> Read More >>
U.S. Navy “Frogmen”, The Story of the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) of WWII
Part Two
Last month I told the story of Tarawa, a battle for an atoll that demonstrated the need for underwater surveillance and demolition. On November 20, 1943, many of the landing craft became stranded on submerged reefs, leaving the Marines stuck 1000 feet from shore and trapped under withering crossfire. Many Marines were killed before >> Read More >>
Tarawa and Betio
One of the truly enjoyable parts of my volunteer job at Honor Flight is the opportunity to talk with WWII veterans and listen to their stories. Recently, I called a veteran to schedule his trip and asked him about his service. He was what he described as a Frogman, or an early Navy Seal. His >> Read More >>
On A Roll
Some great things have been going on around the ole OK corral, also known as Honor Flight AZ. We just had our 2nd annual golf tournament out at Gold Canyon Golf Resort where 104 golfers spent a chilly but sunny day tooling about in the shadows of the Superstition Mountains. This is truly a magnificent >> Read More >>
Flying Tigers
Claire Chennault was a modest man from humble beginnings. Trained as a teacher, he later said that he had been a teacher his whole life, although he spent little time in a classroom. Chennault joined the Army in 1917 and completed flight training in 1919. However, the open cockpit and heavy cigarette smoking caused him >> Read More >>
U.S. Coast Guard at Normandy
Much of the following information was compiled from www.uscg.mil/history -Ed.
I am sure I am not alone when I express an ignorance of the role the U. S. Coast Guard played in WWII. In the last year, we have had a few Coast Guardsmen travel with us on Honor Flight. As I do with all of >> Read More >>
