Henderson County was the first county in the nation to attempt to send, free of charge, all the county’s World War II veterans to visit the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
HonorAir, began by Jeff Miller of Hendersonville, flew more than 630 Henderson County WWII veterans to Washington from Sept. 23, 2006, to Sept. 22, 2007.
For the history of HonorAir and the Honor Flight Network, visit these links: http://www.honorair.com/history andhttp://www.honorflight.org/about/

For the CBS Sunday Morning News program that put Henderson County in the national spotlight, visit http://www.cbsnews.com/news/in-their-honor/ andhttp://www.honorair.com/history/videos

The following are the articles published in the Hendersonville Times-News on the first and last of Henderson County’s HonorAir flights.

Published Sept. 24, 2006

By Jennie Jones Giles
A Marine who recently lost an arm in Iraq walked up to several of Henderson County’s World War II veterans Saturday at the National World War II Memorial, shook their hands and said, “thank you.”
“When we were eating our lunch, he stopped by and said thank you for your service,” said an emotional Ralph Hall, a soldier who served in North Africa and Italy. “That boy lost his arm and yet he’s thanking us. It was a young Marine and he was thanking us.”
It was a day of honor for a generation of humble heroes.
From the warm send-off at the Asheville Regional Airport, to the “water arch” and greetings at Reagan National Airport, to the moving ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, the World War II veterans of Henderson County received their day of honor Saturday as the first HonorAir 2006 flight brought them to see their memorial.

Takeoff

Excitement filled the air as soon as each veteran was greeted by the N.C. National Guard Color Guard from the detachment in East Flat Rock.
The excitement grew as the veterans received their boarding passes and a HonorAir medallion.
“On behalf of the Asheville Regional Airport and the entire Western North Carolina region, we thank you for your service to our country,” said an airport official as the veterans prepared for takeoff.
“It’s an honor to carry you up to Washington,” said the pilot of the USAir Boeing 737.
The veterans, ranging in age from their late 70s to 103, barely had time to finish a snack before the jet landed in Washington.
Fire trucks with the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority were waiting to honor the heroes with a “water arch,” an honor usually reserved for arriving dignitaries and retiring pilots.
Several hundred people greeted the veterans with cheers, clapping and red, white and blue balloons as they entered Reagan National Airport.
U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor was at the head of the line of well-wishers, shaking each veteran’s hand, as the anthems of each of the military service branches played in the background.
“The world’s greatest generation is arriving,” announced a voice from the airport intercom, as more people flowed in from other areas of the airport to cheer the veterans.
They quickly loaded into motor coaches for the drive to the World War II Memorial, with Park Police leading the way through the city, blocking traffic on entrance ramps.
More N.C. National Guardsmen, who had driven to Washington, greeted the veterans, along with representatives of the American Legion from the 17th District of Virginia.

World War II Memorial

“This is an ideal place,” said Pooch Pace, who served with the Army Air Corps. “I can see the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial on the other side. It couldn’t be a more beautiful setting.”
“It was a long time coming,” said Bob Roubaud as he stood inside the circular wall of the National World War II Memorial, staring at the gold stars on the wall. “This was the only chance I was going to get to make the trip.”
The veterans stopped for long periods of time, staring at those gold stars. Each of the 4,048 gold stars on the wall represents 400 men who died in World War II, for a total of more than 400,000 dead.
“Thousands never got a chance to see this,” said Roubaud, who served with the 2nd Marine Division as a rifleman in the Pacific.
Tears welled in the eyes of Roy Laws, a soldier who fought in Europe, as he looked at the tall pillars, representing each state and territory.
“A lot of people sacrificed a lot, not only those who served, but those at home,” Laws said. “My hope, if we ever come to that place again, is that Americans will do the same thing again.”
Gerald Medd, who served with the Army Signal Corps in the Pacific, stood at the Pacific side of the memorial.
“On Okinawa, an ammunition dump blew up,” Medd said. “There were rockets and flashes up in the air. It reminded me of the Star Spangled Banner. This memorial is a beautiful thing.”
Homer Robinette worked in a naval hospital, a hospital that took in the first returning casualties from D-Day.
“We tried to take care of the boys,” he said, as his eyes glistened. “We took the patients off the hospital ship Hope. It was hard.”
Jean and John Crites took a slow, reverent tour around the memorial together. Jean was a Navy yeoman for an admiral. John was in the Army’s infantry. Many of the veterans were just as silent and reverent.
“I’m just left speechless,” Pace said. “This is something we’ll never forget. It shows how much love this community has for its veterans. We love the United States, regardless of its faults. It’s still the greatest nation in the world.”
Pace was not the only speechless veteran Saturday.
“I love it,” said John Jordon, a sailor who saw action in the Pacific. “It’s pretty, that’s all I can say.”
“I was in Berlin,” said Charles Gursslin, a Navy and Army veteran, as he stood reading the list of battles and countries in Europe. “This is just gorgeous.”
Bob Stillwell was escorted through the memorial by his grandson, Steve Lollor, a N.C. National Guardsman.
“I’m so delighted my grandson is here with me,” said Stillwell, a Navy veteran of the Pacific Theater.
“I really appreciate what Grandad did in World War II,” Lollor said.
“Our troops are listening here,” said Angelo Mascioni, one of four brothers who fought. He lost one brother at the Battle of the Bulge. His brother’s name was listed in the computer registry at the memorial.
“I was in the fifth wave at Peleliu,” said Jacob Case, a Marine veteran, as he stood reading the names of the islands in the Pacific. “It’s brought back a lot of memories. It took a lot of effort from everybody to win that war.”

Arlington National Cemetery

Retired Marine Brig. Gen. Gerald McKay and U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor rode in the motor coaches with the veterans to Arlington National Cemetery, again escorted by Park Police.
“This is such a great thing Hendersonville has done,” McKay said.
“They are the greatest generation,” Taylor said. “Not only for the sacrifices they made, but the bravery they showed.”
Four veterans were the first to disembark at the Tomb of the Unknowns: Victor Brown, Pooch Pace, Carl McCarson and Clint Nichols. Taylor and former Henderson County Sheriff George Erwin Jr. escorted them up the hill to the site of the tomb.
As the four veterans waited on the sideline, the rest of the veterans filled the stone bleachers. More than 17 sat in wheelchairs.
At 3 p.m., the bell tolled three times. A lone Old Guard soldier paced in front of the tomb, as the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment Guard of Honor began the changing of the guard.
When the solemn ceremony ended, Fred Logan, who served in a segregated Army during World War II, smiled as a black soldier with the Old Guard walked in the procession past him. Logan’s eyes, glistening with tears, followed the soldier until he disappeared from sight.
A soldier appeared carrying a large wreath with red, white and blue flowers and an HonorAir banner.
“This is an Army wreath-laying ceremony on behalf of HonorAir,” the soldier announced to the crowd.
Pace, McCarson, Nichols, walking tall with the help of a cane, and Taylor, wheeling Brown, were allowed entry into the secured area at the Tomb of the Unknowns. A soldier played Taps, and veterans, who had remained stoic for most of the day, were brought to tears as they saluted their fallen comrades.
“It was just breathtaking,” said Leo Reuther, a fighter pilot in the China-Burma-India campaign.
“It was a great day, a great performance,” said Francis Cleary, who served in the Merchant Marines.
“It was a privilege to be with you today,” said N.C. National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Richard Hernasy as he bid the veterans goodbye. “We’re proud of your service.”
“It was a wonderful trip,” said veteran Dewey Hunnicutt. “I spent quite a bit of time at the Pacific side. I was saying, ‘I was there and I was there,’ when a person said, ‘pardon me, did you say you where there?’ and I said, ‘yes, I was there.'”

Flight home

The veterans were sent on their way by a grateful crowd waving American flags at Reagan National Airport. There were more red, white and blue balloons and music from the 1940s playing in the background.
“Don’t be shy, go up and talk to them,” said a voice over the intercom. “It’s a history lesson in the making.”
“I get to fly back with them,” said an excited member of the USAir flight crew. “It’s just incredible what these people are doing.”
Pilots stopped to shake their hands and strangers asked for autographs.
“It was a thrill to see the monument and the changing of the guard,” said George Jones, who served as an Army chaplain. “I never hear Taps without crying.”
“A 7-year-old boy just came up and shook my father’s hand and said thank you,” said guardian Jeff Swan. His father, Edward Swan, was an infantry soldier in North Africa and Italy.
The firemen at the Asheville Regional Airport lauded the returning veterans with another “water rainbow” as the jet landed.
The veterans were given signed photographs from President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, silver picture frames from the Asheville Regional Airport and HonorAir hats.
Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts with Troop 601, along with family members and HonorAir committee members, were waiting with cheers and applause.
“It’s like a dream,” said HonorAir organizer Jeff Miller. “We accomplished what we set out to do. We gave these guys a day of honor. How does it get any better than that?”
Another HonorAir flight leaves today. More than 100 more World War II veterans will receive their day of honor.

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Published Sept. 23, 2007

By Jennie Jones Giles
It was a day of memories. It was a day of celebration. It was a day of honor. From a rousing red, white and blue reception at Reagan National Airport to a cheering crowd of hometown folks greeting them on their return to the Asheville Regional Airport, 141 World War II veterans received a long overdue thank you.
Saturday was the sixth and last HonorAir flight from Henderson County to take members of “the greatest generation” to see their national memorial in Washington. The first flight was a year ago today. Residents of Henderson County, in one year, sent more than 630 of their willing and able World War II veterans to Washington, D.C.

Special day

Surprises began from the moment the veterans arrived early Saturday morning at the Asheville Regional Airport.
Patrick Pierce, 85, and Edward Cooper, 87, quickly discovered they both survived the same prisoner of war camp in Germany.
“It was Stalag Luft 1,” Pierce said.
Both were pilots in the war, captured by the Germans when their planes went down.
The veterans flew to Washington, D.C., in Airbus 321, the largest jet to land at the Asheville airport. The jet was brought to the airport especially for the veterans.
“It’s a little better than a B24,” said veteran Robert Bose.
Tears streamed from the faces of guardians and veterans alike as passengers from throughout Reagan National Airport and US Airways crew greeted them with cheers, flags waving and patriotic music.
Young children stood in the welcome line, cheering and shaking the hands of the veterans, many in wheelchairs.
Four motor coaches transported the veterans from the airport to the World War II National Memorial, with a police escort clearing the way through the city’s streets.

Day of honor

At the memorial, a special wreath was placed at the Atlantic Tower. Near the inscription of the European battles, a wreath was placed in memory of the more than 91 young men from Henderson County who did not return from the war.
N.C. Rep. Carolyn Justus and Velma Jones Gibbs, 88, presented the wreath at the memorial.
The three names on banners across the wreath represented three special people. James Gibbs and Glenn Gibbs, brothers from the Dana community, who died together, Sept. 15, 1944, at the same time, in the same place, from the same German artillery shell. Mrs. Gibbs, a sister-in-law, is their closest surviving relative.
The other name on the wreath was H.B. Drake, who died June 16, 1944, when his bomber was shot down over Europe. Drake was the uncle of HonorAir founder Jeff Miller.
Miller left personal photographs of his parents, Bert and Katherine Drake Miller, along with his late uncle, at the North Carolina column of the memorial.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole greeted the veterans, posing for pictures with many.
“I am always willing to thank the people who saved this world,” Dole said. “The people who made us safe and secure are right here today.”
A couple in wheelchairs, Joseph Kieley and Catherine Kieley, patiently waited to speak to Dole. Mr. Kieley served in the Army, Mrs. Kieley in the Coast Guard. They met and married after the war.
“I can’t think of anything more important than thanking these veterans,” Dole said. “It warms my heart to say thank you for your service to our country.”
As the veterans streamed toward the tent set up for shade on the hot and humid day, former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole greeted them.
“I’m out here every Saturday and coming out on Wednesdays now,” Dole said. “I’m the self-appointed greeter. We’re all in the same fraternity. There are only 4 1/2 million of us left out of 16 million. I’m honoring those gone on. It’s a privilege for me.”
The World War II National Memorial is now the most visited memorial in Washington, Dole said.
“And a lot of it is because of the honor flights,” he said.
Henderson County was the first county in the nation to attempt to send all its World War II veterans to see the memorial. The movement has spread nationwide. A jet landed Saturday with veterans from Louisiana. Next weekend, a plane filled with veterans from Buncombe County will visit the memorial.

Memories

Maurice Garrett was a Navy Seabee, a machinist mate 3rd class.
“We ran caterpillars, hauling equipment for the Navy and Marines,” he said. “When we got to Japan, for three months we hauled ammunition and cleaned up.”
Garrett was escorted at the memorial by two granddaughters from Virginia who came to spend the day with him: Meredith Welton and Shannon Logan.
“We knew how big a deal this was for him,” Welton said.
“It was fantastic,” said John Marchese, who served with an Army field artillery unit in Europe. “I went through the whole range of emotions, from the flags when we came here, to sadness. I lost a lot of friends. The memories are here for others to see. It’s awesome.”
Albert Ballard, 81, of Zirconia served in the Navy, transporting Marines to the Battle of Okinawa.
“We had about 2,000 on our ship,” he said. “It was April 1, 1945. We were in there about 12 to 15 days. That was rough living.”
Visiting the memorial was a special day, Ballard said.
“A country boy like me can’t imagine what it is like,” he said.
Another country boy from Henderson County, William Young, also visited the memorial Saturday.
“My ship sank at Guadacanal,” he said. “I stayed in the water about 12 hours. The oil was thick on the water. It kept the sharks away. A Marine came out on a Higgins boat and picked us up. I’m lucky to be alive.”
The special memories carried on to the Korean War Memorial and the Iwo Jima Memorial.
Robert Meyer found it hard to speak as the former Marine stood and stared at the Marine Corps’ most cherished memorial. Meyer served as an aviator in the South Pacific.
“I got a lot of buddies that are no longer here,” he said. “It seems like a lifetime ago.”
John Zapf said 90 percent of his Marine company died on Okinawa. It was Company G of the 22nd Marine Regiment’s 2nd Battalion. The inscription on the memorial summed it up: “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”
“It’s wonderful to see this,” Zapf said. “And the World War II Memorial was beautiful.”
The veterans viewed in silence the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery.
“It was great,” Dudley Jackson said. Jackson served with the Army’s 5th Armored Infantry during the Battle of the Bulge.
As the Airbus roared to a halt Saturday evening at the Asheville Regional Airport, US Airways pilots and crew expressed their gratitude to the veterans with singing, thanks and a water cannon salute.
The veterans returned home to a cheering crowd of more than 100 family and friends, bands, ROTC cadets, Scouts and others.