News Honor Flight welcome: Standing and clapping for the heroes of WWII

We can't all be heroes, said Will Rogers.

Some of us, he said, have to stand along the road and clap as the heroes walk by.

There was a lot of such standing and clapping in honor of the East Iowa Honor Flight participants in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14.

It began at the Eastern Iowa Airport, where active duty personnel stood in two lines, applauding as the veterans walked or rode wheelchairs toward the plane the would take them to  Washington, D.C.

There was more standing and clapping – much more – when the veterans  arrived at Dulles International Airport.

The Ground Crew, a group of volunteers wearing bright t-shirts, waved flags, clapped, and greeted the WWII veterans from Iowa with kisses, hugs and seven words: “Welcome to Washington. Thank you For your service.”

Ground Crew volunteers work with the national Honor Flight organization virtually every day that an Honor Flight comes to Washington, D.C.

The backs of their shirts prominently display that message from Rogers: We can’t all be heroes…”

Vinton Today asked several of these volunteers how often they personally welcome veterans to D.C.

They all gave the same answer: “As often as I can.”

Some of the same Ground Crew members who welcomed the veterans to Washington, D.C., and lined the route from the gate to the front door also returned at night to see the veterans return to Iowa.

Another person who was standing to welcome the heroes upon their arrival at Dulles was a former soldier – and a native Iowan.

Two Star General Jim Freese, originally of Marengo, said he joined the Army at age 17. After a 32-year military career, Freese retired. He is now serve the Pinkerton security company. Freese and his wife, Dorothy, welcomed the Iowans.

Gen. Freese offered the same answer when asked how often he comes to welcome the veterans.

“As often as I can,” he said. “I try to meet all of the groups from Iowa.”

The first stop for the vets in D.C. was the main purpose of the trip: A visit to the World War II Memorial.

The first person the veterans saw when they arrived was also an Iowan.

Megan Drahos, a Cedar Rapids native and University of Iowa alum, now lives and works in the D.C. area

Drahos wore a name tag  and held a sign that read, “Welcome, Iowans.” She spent a couple hours meeting the eastern Iowa veterans and hearing about their service.

“My heart is still in Iowa,” she said. “All of my relatives still live there.”

Soon, Drahos and the veterans met another Iowan who came to honor veterans. Taryn Frieders also heard about the Iowa Honor Flight from the U of I alumni association.

Drahos and Frieders continued talking to the veterans for a couple of hours, sharing stories about Iowa and listening to the veterans’ history. They also posed for photos with many of the Iowans.

Several other people who were just visiting the World War II Memorial as part of their trip to the capital also expressed their thanks to the Iowa veterans.

One woman walked up to one of the Honor Flight volunteers and asked what the color of the shirts stand for. When she learned that the red shirts were worn by veterans, she turned around and found the closet red shirt.

“Thank you for your service,” she said, extending her hand.

Another person who frequently goes to the memorial to honor WWII veterans is John Liszewski.

Liszewski arrives at the memorial wearing a vintage WWII army uniform as he greets veterans and passes out “Kilroy was here” art. He also posed for photos with many of the Iowa veterans.

Throughout the day, the veterans were honored by strangers who thanked them for their service. At the Korean War Memorial, a group of middle school students was there for a field trip. Many of them approached the Iowa veterans, and asked them about their service and the history of the war.

When the veterans’ day in DC ended, and they returned to Dulles, more Ground Crew members – including many who had been there in the morning – were there to show the veterans the way to the gate, and to  again greet them with hugs and words of thanks

The veterans then boarded the plane for Cedar Rapids, where there would be many hundreds of people standing and clapping as they watched the heroes go by.