Three Scott County veterans say Honor Flight was ‘Amazing’
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By BETH ZUMWALT
Submitted photo
David Tribble was joined on the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight by his daughter, Leslie Wellenreiter. Tribble said it was the first time to Washington D.C. for both of them and they both enjoyed the trip and the time together.
Roger Pratt, Kenny Roundcount and David Tribble, all of Winchester, were among the 93 veterans from around the region who took the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight, April 15. All three called the flight amazing.
“It was very organized from start to finish and they took very good care of us,” Pratt said. “At each stop, all the veterans and their guardians got off the buses and were able to walk around and really see the memorials. They provided wheelchairs for those who couldn’t walk. There was a lot of walking.”
The group visited the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, the Memorial for the nurses and other women who served, the Korean Memorial, the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, the Air and Space Museum, and the Iwo Jima Memorial in addition to visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the changing of the guard.
“That was pretty moving,” Pratt said.
Roundcount, who served in Korea, said he, too, was amazed by the thorough planning of the trip and enjoyed seeing the monuments and honoring those who served.
Submitted photo
Kenny Roundcount, said the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight was an amazing experience for him. He said he enjoyed seeing each of the memorials and spending the day with other veterans, many, who like him, were seeing them for the first time.
“I went for those who didn’t get to go,” Roundcount said. “ I didn’t go for me. I went to honor the fallen, the ones who gave all. It was an honor to be able to honor all of them.
Tribble, a Vietnam veteran who served in the artillery, said he was able to get etchings of his two best friends while at the Vietnam Memorial.
“Steve Wagstaff and Larry Welch,both of Jacksonville, were good friends of mine, who didn’t make it back,” Tribble said.
All three men were taken aback by the way they were treated on the trip.
“People clapped for us and lined up to shake our hands,” Pratt said. “And the reception when we got home. We even had mail call and I’m still going through all the mail. I got.”
Tribble agreed.
“We never got a welcome home,” he said. “When I came home, I landed at St. Louis and when I walked through the airport, people called me ‘baby killer.’”
Tribble sid
Roundcount said he estimated their more than 700 people waiting for them at the Springfield Airport when the Honor Flight arrived home and the group received bags and bags of mail for mail call.
“There were school buses with people and they all wanted to shake our hands,” Roundcount said. “ “I’ve never seen so many people.”
Submitted photo
Roger Pratt took the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight and said he was prepared to enjoy the day when he boarded the plane at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield with his son, Phil. What he wasn’t expecting was his other son, Mike, to be waiting for them at the Dulles Airport in Washington. Mike, who lives in California, flew into Washington as a surprise to his father and was able to join Roger and Matt at the Memorials and other events throughout the day.
Veterans appreciate community support
By BETH ZUMWALT
Scott County Times
Taking 97 veterans and almost an equal number of guardians to Washington D.C. can be an overwhelming and expensive undertaking.
The Land of Lincoln Honor Flight has been taking veterans and guardians to see the memorials and other landmarks that honor the reason they served in the military for several years, so the logistics of planning such a trip has been simplified.
But, finding a way to fund the trips is always a job.
The April Land of Lincoln Honor Flight received financial support from Scott County.
“The Winchester High School FFA had a fund-raiser and raised $2,500 for the flight,” Roger Pratt, one of the Scott County veterans taking the April flight. “The group also served the dinner the night before the flight at one of the VFWs in Springfield.
Pratt said one of the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight organizers said the group was asked to help with the banquet on the night they were making their donation.
“She said they not only helped served the food, but, also stayed afterwards and helped clean-up,” Pratt said.
The Winchester American Legion also hosted a golf tournament last year and donated the proceeds to the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight, according to Pratt.
“The community really supports the honor flights,” Pratt said. “I can’t thank the community enough for giving veterans this opportunity. To be able to see it all was really something.”
