Area veterans honored with flight to see WWII memorial

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Friday, November 21, 2008 12:41 PM CST

The U.S. National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to the Americans who served in the armed services during World War II. Members of the Honor Flight from southeast Wisconsin had an opportunity to view the memorial which consists of 56 pillars and a pair of arches surrounding a plaza and fountain.

It was an emotional whirlwind trip for nine World War II veterans of Dodge County who had the opportunity to visit the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., earlier this week.

The county men were among approximately 80 veterans to participate in the World War II Honor Flight that flew from Milwaukee to Baltimore, Md., and on to Washington, D.C., to view the memorial.

There were five veterans from Watertown, two from Mayville and two from Beaver Dam who made Wednesday's one-day trip.

“It was a well planned trip and was very nice,” Donald Carlson of Watertown said. “The memorial was the highlight of the trip,” he said, as was able to find a record of a brother who was killed in the war.

“Sen. (Herb) Kohl was there and Bob Dole stopped and talked with us,” Carlson said of the visit. “It was very impressive.

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“It was a long, hard trip for us 80-year-olds, but it was worth it. They had it planned to a tee and they took good care of us.”

The group flew out of General Mitchell Field in Milwaukee at 7 a.m. Wednesday. The plane was mostly filled with veterans and guardians with about a dozen other passengers.

They arrived in Baltimore and boarded one of three buses for the memorial. The veterans were allotted about 2 1/2 hours to view the memorial dedicated to their service.

The memorial is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the eastern end of the Reflecting Pond, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

From there, the group had box lunches on the bus and had a tour of the Washington, D.C., area. They then went to the Iwo Jima Memorial and continued to Arlington Cemetery where they stayed for the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then back to the airport for the trip home. The group arrived in Milwaukee a little behind schedule.

“All the veterans appreciated it,” Carlson said. “It will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Harold Nelson of Watertown recalled the hundreds of people who met the group when they arrived in Milwaukee. “I enjoyed it very much,” he said. “They certainly went out of the way to express their gratitude. They went all out.”

There were speakers and bands when the veterans arrived at the airport, Nelson said. The closing ceremony was especially emotional as two lines of military personnel lined the exit to the plane and congratulated the veterans. “It was more than I could almost take,” he said.

“It was more than I expected, it was awesome,” Nelson said. “I would recommend it to anyone who has not seen it (the memorial),” he said. “Everything was well organized.”

“My favorite part was seeing the World War II Memorial,” Heino Zimdars of Watertown said. “I did not realize it was so large and it was quite something to see,” he said of the monument known as the Jewel of the Mall. “All the states are represented and we ran across ‘Kilroy was here,'” he said. “Kilroy was here” was a famous slogan during World War II and was carved into the wall at the memorial.

“It was great but a very long day,” Zimdars said.

“It was well planned, to the nth degree,” Eugene Schlesner of Watertown said. “I did not sleep most of the night before and got up at 1:45 a.m.,” he said. The group was serenaded by a school group that sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the airport to start the trip. “We got to Baltimore and there were people cheering us on,” he added. Along with Kohl and Dole, Schlesner said he stood alongside the person who built the memorial. Schlesner said he was surprised to see people setting up for the inauguration in January 2009.

“It was very good,” Schlesner said. “I would highly recommend it to other World War II veterans. It was very touching for myself and others. We had tears in our eyes.”

Schlesner said he was surprised by his wife at the airport on his return.

Also attending from Watertown was Jacob Burbach, along with LeRoy Klug and Roland Zuelsdorf of Beaver Dam, and Thomas Hartwig and Alvin Toellner, both of Mayville.

Each veteran and guardian received a jacket along with name tags and a bag to collect souvenirs. The jackets, blue for veterans, red for guardians, had a slogan, “Every day is a bonus” on the back.

“We really crammed a lot into the one day,” Dodge County Veterans Service Officer Mark Grams said about the trip. Grams was one of the many guardians who joined the group.

Honor Flight selects veterans for the flights from a 120-mile radius of Milwaukee, with priority given to World War II veterans and any veteran with a terminal illness.

“I had read about the program in a service organization magazine,” Grams said. The program was started in Ohio by a physicians' assistant at a veterans administration hospital after discovering many veterans had not seen the National World War II Memorial that was opened to the public on April 29, 2004, in Washington, D.C.

The assistant offered to fly veterans for free to the memorial and the program was started and has grown nationwide, Grams said. The first flight from Wisconsin originated in La Crosse, he said. “They touted it and it has picked up from there.”

Ken Brown of Ozaukee County Veterans Service Office got county board backing and service organizations learned of the program, and a board to organize the program was formed, Grams said.

Veterans apply for the tour and are accepted on a first-come basis, Grams said.

“Not a penny is accepted from the World War II veterans,” Grams said. Donations are accepted for the program from individuals and service organizations. Guardians pay $500 for the trip.

The World War II Memorial is full of symbolism, Grams said. There are large columns to depict each state and the District of Columbia with groups going through the pillars to imply the unity of the country at the time of the war.

“One thing that struck me as I was walking around was the young service members there,” Grams said. “The veterans would start telling their stories and the young servicemen listened intently,” he said.

Grams said he received all positive comments about the trip. The group plans to hold a reunion in Saukeville on Dec. 7.

“The veterans will spread the word (about the program),” he said as another trip is being planned for the spring.