Tag Archives: volunteer

General, Military

Honor Flight 101

Last month, I wrote about inspiration after seeing the Honor Flight documentary. I had never heard of the Honor Flight Network prior to that point, but I immediately knew it was an organization that I would be proud to get involved with. And this past weekend, I escorted my very first group of Honor Flight WWII veterans!

I arrived at DCA on Saturday morning and obtained my Gate Access Pass (permits entry to the gates for personnel not actually travelling). Once at the gate, I met the 4 other local volunteers that would be escorting the Honor Flight for the day. In addition to myself, there were 3 active duty military members and one other military veteran.

As the plane approached the gate, the Washington Airport Authority Fire Department “saluted” the plane with their fire hoses!

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Then, an announcement was made in the terminal about the incoming WWII veterans and asked the surrounding travelers to stand and greet the veterans as they came off the plane. The immediate wave of support was overwhelming! Everyone gathered around the gate and cheered on the veterans as they made their way into the terminal. It was very emotional and I was extremely choked up the whole time. Since I absolutely hate for people to see me cry, it took every shred of energy I had to fight back the tears. What can I say….patriotism makes me sappy. Even this tough girl has an Achilles heel.

We had two busloads of veterans, guardians and other volunteers that were all part of the SW Florida Honor Flight hub. Once we got everyone loaded up, it was time to visit the memorials. Our first stop was the WWII Memorial. The veterans all seemed in awe of how grand and beautiful the memorial was. I heard one veteran comment, “Something like this… I don’t mind our government spending my money on!” There were local groups of volunteers that were standing by to cheer for these veterans and welcome them to their memorial as they got off the bus.

While at the memorial, I walked around and offered to take their pictures. Some of the feisty veterans said they preferred to have a “pretty girl” in their pictures so they asked for me to be in their pictures instead, to which I happily obliged. A few of the veterans were even more flirtatious. I spent some time talking to a veteran named Lionel and when I mentioned my husband, he said, “You’re married? What am I doing wasting my time talking to you?” I told him I would let him know if things didn’t work out with my marriage.

In addition to visiting the WWII Memorial, we also visited the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Marine Corps War Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery to watch the Changing of the Guard. It was a lot for these senior veterans to do all in one day. It was enough to wear out even the young volunteers! But the veterans didn’t complain about being tired because for them, this was the opportunity of a lifetime and they didn’t want to miss a thing!

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Of the 16 million WWII veterans, only about 2 million are still alive, and almost 900 of them die every single day! The Honor Flight Network is committed to flying as many of the surviving WWII veterans as they possibly can to Washington, DC so they can visit and reflect at their memorials before it is too late. If you live in the DC area and you would like to volunteer, please visit http://honorflightdca.wordpress.com/ to view the schedule of when volunteers are needed. If you are outside of the DC area, you can still get involved by volunteering with your local Honor Flight hub.

Editor’s note: I had volunteered with the expectation of being assigned to one veteran as his guardian with hopes of interacting with that veteran for the entire day. However, the 50 veterans that flew to DC from SW Florida were already assigned their personal guardians for the day. Their guardians assisted them in getting to the airport and made the journey with them from Florida. The role of the local volunteers was more of a floater/general escort. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get the one-on-one interaction that I was hoping for, but I was still proud to participate in such a worthy cause.

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General, Military

Inspiration Incarnate

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A couple of weeks ago, Rob and I went out for dinner and a movie. I didn’t know much about the movie we were about to see. I only knew that it was a documentary and that it involved veterans. I walked into the theater blind, not knowing what to expect. But I left knowing exactly what I needed to do! It was absolutely the most amazing feeling to watch this movie and feel truly inspired. I have felt inspiration before, but not quite like this. It was the kind of feeling that became more than a feeling, because it demanded action. I left the movie theater knowing that I needed to get involved with this project immediately!

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(BTW – Our local movie theater has these sweet, plush recliners!)

The movie is called Honor Flight and it documents a non-profit organization that flies WWII veterans to Washington, DC so they can visit their memorials. Of the 16 million WWII veterans, only about 2 million are still alive. But, almost 900 of them die every single day! And most of them have never been to Washington, DC to see the memorials erected in their honor. The Honor Flight Network has made it their mission to fly as many of the surviving veterans as they possibly can to Washington, DC so they can visit and reflect at their memorials before it is too late.

As a veteran myself, I have the utmost respect for ALL of our nation’s veterans. But, I am ashamed to admit that I had never really given much thought about our WWII veterans. Why is that? Maybe it is because that generation never talked about their experiences during the war. They came home, put their duffle bags in the basement, and acted as if they had never been gone to begin with. Both of my grandfathers were WWII veterans. I was very young when one of them died, but I was always close with my paternal grandfather. I knew he was a veteran and I knew he was a recipient of the Purple Heart. But other than that, I knew nothing of his experiences. I recently asked my dad if my grandfather ever spoke of the war to him. No, he hadn’t. His memories remained locked up in those duffle bags that were banished to the basement.

I am an Iraqi War veteran and watching this movie made me realize that my grandfather and I might have been able to bond with each other telling our war stories. He might have been willing to unlock those duffle bags and open up to me about his experiences if I was willing to share my stories with him as well. Sadly, we never got the chance. My grandfather passed away while I was still deployed to Iraq. His stories will remain untold.

While the opportunity has passed for me to learn about my grandfather’s experiences, I still have the chance to make a difference in the lives of other WWII veterans. The Honor Flight Network covers all of the expenses to fly veterans to Washington, DC, as well as arrange their meals and transportation around the city. But, they still need volunteers to help the veterans get around. Given their age, most of them are either in wheelchairs or need assistance walking. That is where I come in. I have volunteered to become a guardian for upcoming Honor Flight missions. Each veteran gets assigned to their own guardian that will remain with them throughout the day. It is the guardian’s responsibility to help the veteran get around, take care of his general well-being, and basically treat him like a VIP for the day. Living so close to Washington, DC, getting involved with this program was a no-brainer for me. I am currently signed up for my first guardian-ship on Saturday, May 4th and I look forward to sharing my experience with you all. Please stay tuned. But in the meantime, please watch the Honor Flight movie trailers below and help spread the word about this worthy program. If you would like to volunteer to be a guardian (all-day commitment) or an airport greeter (not an all-day commitment), please email DCA.Honorflight@gmail.com. To view the schedules for needed volunteers, please visit http://honorflightdca.wordpress.com/. If you would like to donate money rather than your time, please visit the Honor Flight Network.

What inspires you? Has the feeling of inspiration ever taken such a hold on you that it turned into more than a feeling? What inspires you to actually step up and get involved or to try to make a difference?

“Of all the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation – and as a culturally diverse, free society.” ~ Honor Flight Network


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Goals, Random

Goals Instead of Resolutions

I realize my timing is way off here being that we celebrated the new year well over a month ago, but I have never been one to make New Year’s resolutions anyway. And this year was no different. Instead, I somehow ended up with a list of goals for 2013. I don’t normally make lists of goals for the new year either, but this one just fell into place so I figured I would share it.

1. Take advantage of all that the DC area has to offer by experiencing something new at least once a month. (We often take for granted the fact that we live here. We assume we have all the time in the world to explore the DC area, and then we never actually do it!)
2. Run a half marathon. (I am currently in training [thanks Brie!] and plan to run on March 16!)
3. Become a Humane Society volunteer. (I have always donated money to HSUS, but I realize that donating my time might be even more important.)
4. Open up my very own Etsy shop. (I’ve already come up with the shop name, now I just need to crank out some inventory!)
5. Travel to at least two new countries. (Of course my list of goals would have to require a passport! One down [Nicaragua], one more to go!)

Hopefully I can keep you all posted as I complete my 2013 goals!

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