ROCHELLE — Veterans served our country and were willing to sacrifice everything for America’s freedoms. The Honor Flight Network is a nonprofit organization created to honor veterans for all of their sacrifices, transporting them to Washington, D.C. to visit their memorials free of charge.

Rochelle resident Terry West shared his story of his recent trip of a lifetime on the Honor Flight, joining nearly 100 other veterans on the trip to the nation’s capital to tour the World War II, Lincoln, Korean, Vietnam, Iwo Jima, Air Force, and Navy Memorials.
West, a Vietnam Veteran, also visited the National Air and Space Museum and had a chance to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
“It was awesome…I recommend all Veterans sign up on the Honor Flight and go,” West said. “It’s well worth it to go to this.”
West explained the whirlwind daylong trip began on a bus ride to the Quad Cities with a military escort. From there the group boarded a plane to Washington, D.C.’s Dulles Airport where they were received by over 300 elementary students lined on either side, shaking the veterans’ hands and giving them handwritten notes, thanking them for their service.
The idea behind the trip is to transport U.S. veterans to Washington, D.C. free of charge to visit those War and Service memorials, which are dedicated to honoring the sacrifices of military personnel.
“The Korean Memorial really stood out…there are statues of soldiers on patrol,” West said when asked about a memorable moment. “At night they have a bluish-green light and it’s eerie.”
Military days

West is a Marine Corps Veteran serving from June 1965 to April 1969 as an ammunitions technician, escorting the ammunitions to the outlying batteries.
While stationed in Vietnam, his unit was hit by rocket and small arms fire. Another time, a soldier in his unit lost his life after taking a direct hit.
“We were on a hill, we had to guard the airbase…it was hot,” West said. “I could understand how they lived back in the Western days because that’s how we lived — hardly any hot meals, no showers, couldn’t have any type of fragrance at all…soap that didn’t smell. We would put clean clothes on and they were all sweaty within a couple hours.”
Eventually the U.S. Naval Construction Battalions, or Seabees, came to build showers, but as West says “only if the sun came out we had a warm shower.”
West remembers how the nation treated him and other Vietnam Veterans were treated. Opposition of the U.S. involvement led to demonstrations and protests for years during the war
“They didn’t like us too well when we got home from Vietnam,” West said.
Any former sentiments of opposition to the Vietnam War are overshadowed by the country’s outpouring of support for those that fought in that war and to all of the veterans.

Honor and closure

Since the program’s inception in 2005, the Honor Flight has honored the service and sacrifices of over 180,000 veterans and their friends. Over 20,000 veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam Wars flew in 2016.
About 27,000 veterans are on waiting lists.
Honor Flight Network has several programs for veterans, including the Southwest TLC program for veterans recently diagnosed with a terminal illness, and the Southwest Lone Eagle Program to fly WWI veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit their memorials.
“We’re running out of time and lack sufficient funding to transport every WWII, Korean War or Vietnam veteran to D.C…Some have been waiting for years and sadly hundreds of them have died,” as read on the Honor Flight Network website. “Daily we struggle to reach these incredible men and women who were willing to sacrifice everything for all of us.”
The Honor Flight Network has expanded to include Korean War and Vietnam War veterans.
To apply for the Honor Flight or for more information on the Honor Flight Network, including ways to donate or become a guardian for a veteran’s flight, please visit www.honorflight.org.