My experience from a lifetime in the communications field — some 30 years as a newspaper journalist and after that from years working in public relations and as a county commissioner — has been that it really helps to have a subject burning in your mind when you go to try to put something on paper… like write this column. When that motivation isn’t there, the job becomes very difficult. That said, there is nothing holding me back from talking about the Honor Flight program and the two back-to-back flights that left from Grand Forks International Airport on Easter Sunday morning for three days in Washington, D.C. The 225 vets on those flights returned to a welcome home celebration at the airport’s Byron Dorgan Terminal last Tuesday evening (April 22) that was fantastic.
The problem with this, though, is that even when really motivated, words don’t tell the whole story. The only thing that can begin to do that was “written” on the faces of the returning vets as they walked through the “Walk of Fame” path made for them amid the hundreds of immediate family and friends. There were about 1,200 of them, who filled the airport terminal to overflowing to welcome them back home and to thank them for their service. The smiles on the faces of those vets — along with the tears that were on the cheeks of many of them — said without one written word that they more than appreciated the Honor Flight trip, the welcome home, and the thank you they were receiving. For many of the vets, it was a complete reversal from the reception that they had received when arriving back in their country from service in Vietnam. Most of the vets on these flights, if not all of them, had their service time during the Vietnam era.
What is amazing about the Honor Flight program is that all the organizing, planning, and fundraising — at about $230,000 per flight, including the airplane, hotel rooms, meals, etc. — is done by volunteers. None of them are paid. There are no government grants. It is all donated time and effort. The cost of the two airplanes that left from Grand Forks this spring meant that $460,000 had to be raised… all by Honor Flight volunteers who called on businesses and other contributors, and/or also sold lottery tickets. The Red River Valley River Motorcycle Club’s annual lottery ticket also supports the Honor Flight.
In addition to the 225 vets who were on these two flights were volunteers who were there to push wheelchairs for vets in need of a ride or to provide whatever other services that might be needed. Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Brochenski and Grand Forks County Sheriff Andy Schneider were among the volunteer “pushers” on this trip. Also, on the trip each time are doctors and nurses — all volunteers, of course — who are there to attend to any medical needs. Some close family members of vets needing attention can also make the trip, but they do it at their own expense, or at about $1,600 each.
No stones are left unturned in the care of veterans, almost all of whom are up in years with the physical issues that come with age and hard knocks. That’s why there are all those wheelchairs and medical personnel. Stops on the trip include those at the Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine, time to watch the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery, trips past the Capitol and White House, and stops at the Iwo Jima, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Air Force, President Lincoln, Korean, Vietnam, World War I and World War II memorials. There is also time spent at the National Archives where you can see under glass the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other documents.
It’s all just a great program all around. One last thought, it wouldn’t hurt one bit if you were to add the Veterans Honor Flight to your giving practices. If so inclined, you can contact Don Roberts, the main organizer and fund raiser in this northern part of the Honor Flight program. Call him at (701) 746-8261. Or you can contact Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN, P.O. Box 644, West Fargo, ND 58078.
And to all the vets you know, you might just tell them, “Thank you for your service” because Freedom is not free.
Thoughts for the day:
“I offered my opponents a deal: If they would stop telling lies about me, I would stop telling the truth about them.” — Adlai Stevenson in a 1952 campaign speech.
I’ve learned: That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand. — Andy Rooney
Disclaimer: Thoughts expressed in this column are those of the author and are not necessarily a reflection of the opinions of the other members of the Polk County Board.
The post The County Line by Polk County Commissioner Warren Strandell first appeared on KROX.