Tag Archives: Honor Flight

national news

How should I react to the Reflecting Pool?

You might know that I will be traveling to Washington, D.C., for an overnight stay as part of an Honor Flight celebration that pays tribute to veterans for their service.

The trip is set for Sept. 11; we’ll return to North Texas the evening of the following day.

Part of the trip will be to tour the various memorials and monuments along the DC Mall that, as you might have heard, features the Reflecting Pool that Donald Trump sought to turn American Flag Blue to honor the nation’s 250th birthday. It didn’t work out.

The pool turned green because of algae — or so I understand.

The question I am facing is how do I react when I lay my eyes on the Reflecting Pool. Do I do nothing? Do I make a loud, agonizing groan of disgust? Do I fake being thrilled to see it?

I am likely to offer a four-letter word or two to whomever is nearby when I utter it. I find the whole thing to be just one more hideous example of Trump’s unfitness to hold the office he will occupy for another two years. He didn’t need to spend taxpayer money to gussy up the pool. It was a no-bid deal went to a friend of his. And the idiot blew it!

I damn sure am not going to let the sight of that monstrosity ruin what I believe should be a wonderful experience for myself and the other veterans with whom I will travel to the nation’s capital.

The Honor Flight intends to shower us with love and respect. I intend fully to accept all of it with humility and pride.

military news

Honor Flight awaits

My phone rang Saturday morning and for a moment I tjhought it might be spam call. Oh … it damn sure wasn’t anything of the sort.

A lady from Dallas was calling to inform me that I had been chosen to join a group of 40 to 45 fellow veterans on a whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C. The trip will occur the morning of Sept. 11 and we’ll return to Love Field the next evening.

It’s an Honor Flight, established years ago to salute those who have worn the uniform of the nation.

Now … every person I’ve ever know who has taken one of these trips cannot speak kindly enough about the treatment they receive. They carry nothing. They have “guardians” who accompany them to ensure their needs and desires are satisfied. The plan, as I understand it, is for us to visit as many of the pertinent memorials and monuments on the D.C. Mall during our time in the nation’s capital.

I also understand that we will be applauded, offered congratulations and many thanks from those are present to see what’s going on. I’ll be candid here: I do not yet know how I intend to react to such royal treatment.

There will be veterans who have served in all the nation’s conflicts dating to World War II. I suspect there will be few among our group who served in WWII, or in Korea for that matter, given that the Korean War started just five years after the end of the the Second World War. I hope there will be plenty of us who served in Vietnam who will take this trip. We will have much to share among ourselves about our experience during that troubling era. Desert Storm, Grenada, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans also will be present.

This kind of fanfare marks a remarkable about-face for a nation that once scorned those of us who came home from Vietnam. To be clear, I was never spat upon or called a filthy name. However, I am aware of how too many Americans blamed military personnel simply for following lawful orders.

Well, that’s all changed. I am going to take part in an Honor Flight. It’s a new day in America and I look forward to enjoying it.

military news

So long, Chief . . . and well done

I used to call him Chief. Jack Barnes was a retired Navy chief petty officer. I made his acquaintance while I worked as editorial page editor of the Amarillo Globe-News in Texas.

Barnes hailed originally from Perryton, then spent a couple of decades defending the nation.

I was saddened recently to learn of Barnes’ death in December at the age of 68. I heard he suffered from an aggressive form of cancer. I am not going to comment on the end of this patriot’s life, but rather on what he did to enrich the lives of other patriots.

Barnes was the driving force behind a project called “Honor Flights.” He declared it his mission to shepherd World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to tour the memorial erected in these veterans’ honor. And to show them as many other sights as they could squeeze into a brief visit to the nation’s capital.

He worked tirelessly with Southwest Airlines to arrange to transport these veterans from Amarillo to Washington. Over time, he expanded his mission to include Korean War and then Vietnam War veterans. Given that the Korean War began only five years after the end of World War II, it became imperative, as Barnes saw it, to bring veterans of that war to D.C. to show them the Korean War memorial that honors the sacrifice of those who fought on the Korean Peninsula.

And, of course, the Vietnam War veterans also were invited aboard these Honor Flights. We, too, are getting a bit long in the tooth these days and Barnes wanted to treat the men and women who served in Vietnam to the same honor he delivered to the World War II and Korean War veterans.

Jack occasionally would ask me if I wanted to take part in an Honor Flight, given my own meager experience in the Vietnam War. I never found the time to take him up on his generous offer.

I lost contact — more or less — with Barnes after I resigned from the Globe-News in August 2012; we would see each other on occasion, at the grocery store or at a public event. But I surely knew of the work he continued to do to honor our World War II veterans.

Of the 16 million Americans who served during WWII, only a diminishing fraction of them are still with us. They’re all in their 90s now. Time is not their friend.

Barnes, though, was dedicated to these men and women and sought to honor them the best way he knew how. He honored them greatly with his diligence in escorting them to Washington, to see the memorial that is dedicated to their service in the fight against tyranny.

Jack Barnes was a proud man who spread his pride generously. His work should live on forever.

Rest in peace and well done, Chief.