News : Do not join WWII vets on an Honor Flight until you\'ve been \'To Hell and Back\'

One of the views the Honor Flight veterans saw of WWII Memorial Sept. 14.

Eastern Iowa Honor Flight veterans relax at World War II Memorial Sept. 14.

Audie Murphy's tombstone

Do not go on an Honor Flight without first knowing why WWII veteran Sandlin Gillen took this photo.

There are a lot of things to learn before you accompany World War II veterans on an Honor Flight.

The most important lesson I learned early from Vinton resident Jim Arbuckle, one of the guardians who accompanied Benton County veteran Francis Conway of Keystone.

"My job is to make sure he enjoys his day as much as possible," Jim told me for one of my first Honor Flight stories before the trip.

After being asked to go along as a media guy, I knew that was my job, too: Make going all about them. I was not going for the purpose of seeing the memorials in Washington, D.C. I was going for the purpose of watching our veterans see those memorials, and to tell their stories. That includes stories of the trip; as well as the stories of their service more than 60 years ago.

It's the best job in the world, and I think I did it fairly well. We had 99 veterans on our plane and I returned with photos of at least 85 of them identified, either individual photos or in small groups. I sent the photos to the small town newspapers in the counties where those veterans live, hoping to encourage them to write their own stories, and do their own interviews with our veterans. Many did.

But I did discover that I had many things to learn, or relearn, on that trip.

And assuming that some of my readers will one day go on an Honor Flight, I feel I owe it to them -- and the veterans they accompany -- to make sure that they are as well-prepared as possible for the trip.

So, here is What I Learned While Accompanying An Honor Flight.

First of all, and this is VERY IMPORTANT

1. Do not, under any circumstances, go on an Honor Flight without first going "To Hell and Back."

And WWII veteran can tell you exactly what that meant.

Until about 5:24 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 14, I did not have a clue

Two words: Audie Murphy.

I had listened throughout the day to names of places and ships and events that were very new to me.

Black Thursday.

Gambier Bay.

But when someone mentioned the most decorated hero of World War II, I had to admit that I had never heard his name before. I couldn't even Google it because I couldn't tell from hearing it how to spell it.

Audie Murphy.

"You DON'T know who Audie Murphy is?" one veteran asked me on the bus, as we waited to enter Arlington National Cemetery.

The tour guide had just finished telling the veterans that Audie Muprhy was buried there.

He did not have to tell them who Audie Murphy was.

Audie Murphy plays the main character in the 1955 World War II movie "To Hell and Back."

Thanks to Netflix, I saw that movie this week.

The movie tells the remarkable tale of a teenager who entered the Army despite being under 18 years of age, and how this kid earned more medals than anyone else in the war. The movie ends with the kid standing all alone inside a burning American tank, repelling both German tanks and infantry with the .50 caliber gun on the tank's turret.

The most remarkable thing about this story is that it's true. That is exactly what Audie Murphy the soldier did. Audie Murphy the actor was playing the lead role in the book that Murphy wrote after the war.

After that movie, Murphy acted in many other lesser-known films, many of them westerns. He died in a small plane crash in 1971.

Now, I can tell a World War II veteran that I know who Audie Murphy was. I can even point out his tombstone at Arlington.

There are a few other lessons to learn before you try to be a media guy on an Honor Flight.

Such as:

- Do not bother trying to type a story on your laptop computer on a moving bus. Too much bouncing and too much light makes it impossible to see the typing errors you make.

- Spend a few days before your trip resting (I did). You're going to need the energy. An Honor Flight day is one of the longest you can have. It's also one of the best.

- Every veteran has a story. His story may not be as dramatic as some others, but it is always worth hearing.

- Lots of people love to show their appreciation to our veterans. They have stories worth hearing, too.

- The extra camera I brought in case someone needed one was redundant; everyone has a camera. But the extra batteries were absolutely essential.

And finally:

The Honor Flight organization -- virtually all volunteers -- does an amazing job of organizing these flights. This program is certainly are worthy of our participation and our contributions of time and/or money.