16 May Honor Air Atlanta 2011
On Tuesday, May 10th, the Roswell Rotary Club escorted sixty-four WWII veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit their memorials. It was a glorious day.
This was our fourth such trip. I wrote about two of those trips here and here. This difference in 2011 is that we brought along fifty wheelchairs for our veterans. They didn’t all need them all day, but most needed them at least part of the day.
This has been a passionate project. It is estimated that our WWII veterans are dying at a rate of 1000 per day. Time is of the essence to thank these men and women of the greatest generation for what they did for our country.
WWII Veteran Fred O. Scheer with Alenda Kinder at the World War II Memorial
Many of them have never wanted to talk about their experiences … but on this trip, with their peers and their guardians, they hardly stop talking! One veteran announced that the two biggest benefits of being in World War II were the G.I. Bill and this Honor Air trip.
On this trip, I met two WWII veterans of particular interest to me. The first was Fred O. Scheer who was a POW in Germany, in the same prison camp as portrayed in The Great Escape and The Wooden Horse. Fred arrived after the Great Escape episode. He wrote a book about his experiences, A European Sojourn 1943-1945 An Autobiography Pvt. Frederick O. Scheer Serial No. 14118781: As Recounted to Rear Admiral William O. Miller J A G C Usn (Ret.)
World War II veteran Frank A. Gleason with Georgia Congressman Tom Price
WWII veteran Frank A. Gleason, a member of the Vinings Rotary Club, was another of our honored guests. Frank worked with the OSS in China and, in fact, was hired as technical consultant for the Jimmy Stewart movie The Mountain Road. He was head of the demolition crew on which the story was based … Frank told me that he blew up 150 bridges!
In his book “Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs: The Unknown Story of the Men and Women of WWII’s OSS” author Patrick K. O’Donnell wrote about Gleason’s explosive career. Col. Gleason and I are members of the same OSS Message Board comprised of former OSS members and their families.
The Roswell Rotary Club is the only organization in the metro Atlanta area, other than Conyers and Honor Flight Fayette, I know of that has done the Honor Flights for our World War II veterans. We know there are many more who would like to go on a trip, and we are ready to roll, but we need corporate and/or individual sponsorships. Please pass the word to anyone in Atlanta who can help us say “Thank You” to these heroes who fought for us.
Atlanta World War II veterans pose in front of the Georgia Column at the World War II Memorial on May 10, 2011
GLENN BUICE JR
Posted at 08:38h, 17 MayI WENT ON THIS TRIP; ITS WAS ONE OF THE MOST MOVING THING I HAVE EVER DONE . BROUGHT BACK A LOT OF BAD MENORIES. BUT THE JESTA WAS SOMETHING I WILL NEVER FORGET. GLENN
Joy
Posted at 11:26h, 17 MayFrank Gleason looks too young to have been in the War! I can only hope I hold up that well. Of course some people signed up a lot younger than others (I know my aunt lied about her age , as I’m sure many young men did as well.)
Ronda Windham
Posted at 11:58h, 17 MayMy uncle, Lee Sullivan, in Andalusia, Ala. made one of these flights sponsored by his town. He is very proud of that trip. Yes, he is in a wheel chair most of time due to WWII injury that he has suffered from most of his life. He has talked about this some to me. I cherish very memory he shares with me. He can’t hear or see well now, but we still communicate by phone with patience. He lives eneryday, no matter the infermities, with a joyous outlook towards another day of life that God has given him. He is still active and so appreciated that trip to Washington, D. C. Keep up the good work for our heroes. They are to be cherished. They have given us so much. Wonderful to see my friend Alenda involved in this special activity.
Faith Cordray
Posted at 11:50h, 25 JulyThank you for this article. My Dad, Frank Gleason, is in one of the pictures. Hard to believe he is 90 years old! He so enjoyed the trip. Thank you to the Roswell Rotary Club for sending all these courageous veterans to DC for this memorial.
Pat
Posted at 13:14h, 25 JulyThank you for your comments! I so enjoyed meeting your Dad. We love doing these trips and hope we can do another one this year or next. Time is of the essence!
Russell Sumner
Posted at 15:41h, 27 AugustI flew on the Honor Flight to Washington on May 7 2011. I needed a wheelchair as I was to have a partial knee replacement on Monday, the 9th. The experience was a great one for all of us. I thank the Rotary Club and Borg Warner Turbo Systems for this great honor. I served in the Phillipenes for a year in WWII.
Pat
Posted at 06:27h, 28 AugustIt was an honor to be able to honor you! Thank you for checking in, Russell.