Orientation Planned for Fourth Honor Flight to D.C.

PASCAGOULA -- Orientation for the fourth Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight has been set for 8 a.m. Aug. 25 at the Joppa Shrine Center in Woolmarket.

Honor Flight organizers are looking for volunteers to help "make the day go smoothly for our guardians and veterans," said Jennifer Walton, Honor Flight secretary.

She said medical team also needs medical volunteers to assist in evaluations of the prospective veterans.

The fourth Honor Flight has been set for Sept. 25, and the WWII veterans will leave from the Gulfport International Airport.

Walton may be contacted at jpresley31@hotmail.com, or 251-709-7378.

Honor Flight Veteran Sends "Thank You" Letter

We received a very sweet and sincere letter from one of our veterans, Leroy
Worsham, from the April flight. I wanted to share as this makes our efforts ALL
worth it! Thank you for everyone's continued support!!! -- Jen Walton, Honor Flight

I would like to thank each and every one of the honor flight team for giving us WWII veterans the trip to Washington. It was an unbelievable experience for us veterans.
When I got home somebody asked me to tell them about it and I told them I could describe it by using five words – Awesome – Interesting – And Highly Emotional.

It was awesome to me for the way it was all planned. Your group did a fantastic job of planning this all out and it went off like clockwork. There was no wasted time anywhere. Those of your team that went with us did an exceptionally good job of bossing us around. But that’s what it
takes when there is a big bunch of old men like we were.

It was interesting in that I was able to see some things that I have never seen before. There was so much to look at it made it hard for us to take it all in. You could spend weeks in Washington and not be able to see it all. Your group picked out the things that you thought us World War II veteran would be the most interested in and showed them to us. I am not able to say that one thing interested me more than anything else because it all interested me.

Now I come to the last one – Highly Emotional.
The older I get, the more emotional I have become. And this to me was an emotional trip. Three things got really close to me. The first was the WWII Memorial. I knew from the very start that it was going to be hard on me so I told my guardian that I would like to be by myself as I went through the memorial. He respected my wish and stayed a little piece away from me, but I noticed that he kept me in his sight all the time. I did real good until I stood in front of the wall with all the gold stars embedded in it. Those stars made me think of all the friends that I had who did not make it through the war. We had 101 from my home county that did not make it home and I knew almost every one of them. Standing there and thinking about them was not
easy but it’s part of life.

The second time was at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I was up on the balcony where I could look over the changing of the guard. There was a large crowd there and I was standing behind a group of children until one of them noticed me and made them move and let me get to the
front where I had a better view.

As I stood there I could count about 90 veterans in wheelchairs. This got to me and I knew as I watched the changing of the guards that I would never make it through the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I did not want those children to see an old man
break down, so I went around to the back of the building where I would be by
myself. It’s a good thing I did.

The third time was when we got back to Gulfport and saw the crowd there to meet us. As we came off the plane and saw all those people lined up on both sides of where we had to walk was a very emotional time for me.

Mail call was very special but I did not realize just how special it was until the next day when I sat down by myself and read all the letters that were sent to me. I was particularly impressed with all
the letters from the school children. I did not know any of them and they did not know me but they all thanked us for what we did the World War II. I have written to each of these children and thanked them for writing to us veterans. They deserved an answer.

Your organization is doing a tremendous job of honoring the veterans of World War II. I really do not think that we deserve it because we just happened to be the gentlemen when World War II came along. We saw our duty to protect our nation and 16 million of us responded to the call.
The bad part is that it cost us the lives of 400,000 Americans. There are the ones that I think are heroes.

Again let me thank all of you who made this time possible. I am 93 years old and do not have much time left but during the time I do have left I will remember this trip and what it meant to me.

I would appreciate it if you would someway communicate my thanks to all the people connected with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight organization. You are a great group of people doing a remarkable job of something that is not easy to do.

Yours,
Leroy Worsham

Honor Flight Booth At Jackson County Fair

PASCAGOULA -- Jen Walton said that t-shirts for the Honor Flight will be available at the Jackson County Fair this week at the group's booth in the county's civic center.

The booth will be open from 5 to 9 p.m.

Volunteers will be allowed to provide a shirt and other items for donations to the Honor Flight program.

Applications for guardians and veterans will be available at the booth.

Volunteers are needed.

1 More Day Until Honor Flight 2

Clara Webb, Barbara Chachitz and Katherine Gill (Photos/stories found at Mississippi Press)

PASCAGOULA -- Of the 87 veterans expected to make the second trip for Mississipi Gulf Coast Honor Flight, three are women.

Clara Webb, Barbara Chachitz and Katherine Gill are among the former military personnel who will make the trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial, other war sites and civilian monuments.

The Sept. 21 journey, the second since the initial Honor Flight on May 11, includes the veterans, their guardians, Honor Flight staff, medical team and local media, who will depart from and return to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport off U.S. 49.

ITINERARY:

4:30 a.m. -- Assemble at Joppa Shrine Center in Woolmarket.

5:30 a.m. -- Buses leave for Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.

6:30 a.m. -- U.S. Air charter departs Gulfport.

8:38 a.m. -- Land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C.

9:30 a.m. -- Buses depart for WWI Memorial

10 a.m. -- Bagpipe procession and wreath-laying at WWIII Memorial

10:30 a.m. to noon -- Box lunches at WWII Memorial; continue visit of WWII Memorial

Noon -- Depart WWII Memorial on driving tour of other sites.

12:15 p.m. -- Arrive at Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam War memorials.

1:45 -- Depart Lincoln Memorial.

2 p.m. -- Arrive at Iwo Jima Memorial.

2:25 p.m. -- Depart Iwo Jima Memorial.

2:45 p.m. -- Arrive at Arlington National Cemetery.

3 p.m. -- Observe Changing of the Guard.

3:15 p.m. -- Observe wreath-laying.

4 p.m. -- Depart for Reagan airport

5:30 p.m. -- Depart from Washington, D.C.

7:50 p.m. -- Arrive at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.

Press Lets Public Get to Know Honor Flight Veterans

World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

PASCAGOULA -- Over the past several weeks, the Mississippi Press has been releasing the names and photographs of veterans expected to make a trip to the U.S. capital during the second Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight set for Wednesday, Sept. 21.
The Press calls the segment "Meet the Heroes."
If you missed the 87 men and women veterans in the newspaper, you may follow the above link to see who will be traveling to the World War II Memorial on Sept. 21 in Washington, D.C.

Some of the veterans making the trip:
William Kimble of Pass Christian, Gerald Klecker of Pascagoula, J.G. Lewis of Wesson, Darwin Maples of Lucedale; Angelo Papale of Gulfport; Eugene Spearman of Saltillo, Homer Wales of Gautier, Clara Webb of Biloxi, Barbara Chachitz of Biloxi, Stanley Fiveash of Poplarlville;
Edward Huse of Slidell; Edwin Mauterer of Diamondhead; Harry Quinn of Madison; Herbert Tepper of Hattiesburg, Claiborne Traweek of Quitman; Dorris Ward, General Bullock of Moss Point; Robert Horne Sr. of Lucedale; David Dotson of Winona, Max Juchheu of Grenada, Robert Clunie of Hattiesburg;
Richard Anglin of Tupelo, Katherine Gill of Biloxi, Jeff Haynie of Gulfport, Glen Norwood of Oxford, James Oakes of Hattiesburg, John Rhymes of Monticello, Harold Roberts of Collins, James Roberts of Greenwood, Lloyd Thurman of Silver Creek and Leonard Warren Hazelhurst.

Herman Abbey of Byram, Walter Barnham of Hattiesburg, Edward Bishop of Meridian, Jack Creech of Hattiesburg, Otey Jackson Jr. of Macon, Victor Lee of Hattiesburg, Noah Mills of Carthage, M.L. McCormick of Gautier, Robert Reeves of Diamonhead, Joseph Sasser of Carthage, John Stonecypher of Lucedale.

Information and applications are available at MS Gulf Coast Honor Flight, P.O. Box 1912, Gautier, MS 39553, by e-mail at mgchonorflight@gmail.com, and at http://www.mgchonorflight.org/.
Donations mailed to Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight, c/o Kiwanis Division 14 Foundation, 516 Brandi Lane, Gulfport, MS 39507. Contributions also may be made at any Hancock Bank.

The daylong trip will include visits to the World War II Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima Monument, and to the Arlington National Cemetery to view the changing of the guard.

Veteran Rodgers, Family Surprised by WWII Attention

Bilbo Rodgers of Pascagoula (Meet the Heroes)

PASCAGOULA -- Bilbo Rodgers has a second invitation from the Pascagoula Rotary Club to attend their meeting on Wednesday, June 8, at the Grand Magnolia Ballroom.

The invitation is part of the public attention that has been bestowed upon Rodgers, a veteran of World War II, since he and 83 other veterans made the inaugural trip of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight on May 11.

Pascagoula Veteran Recalls D-Day Experience

The Mississippi Press/June 06, 2011

He feels "pretty good" about all the attention, though he and his family have been surprised my his seeming celebrity status now.

"I've done got to be real popular," he said this morning. "They're excited about it. They think it's real good."

Though he didn't know it until the next day, the greeting between his daughter, Julia Holmes, and himself at the Gulfport-Biloxi Regional Airport, where Gulf Coast residents had gathered to welcome home the Honor Flight veterans, was the front page photograph in The Mississippi Press.

"That flight to Washington really brought it to the light," he said. "I didn't think all of this would come of it."

At the WWII memorial, Rodgers was among three South Mississippi veterans who took part in the laying of a wreath.

Holmes, Rodgers' eldest daughter and child, also is excited about the attention he's received lately, he said.

Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight

Rodgers said all of the World War II veterans were treated to a number of recognitions by area businesses and community groups before they made the May 11 trip to the nation's capital to tour the WWII monument built in their honor. The veterans also toured memorials for soldiers who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and they were part of a sight tour of the Lincoln Memorial.

"Before I went on the flight Ingalls gave us a big dinner for the World War II veterans," he said.

During April, Beau Rivage casino provided a tribute that included a show. Veterans were allowed to bring another guest, said Rodgers. "I carried Aubrey Williams and another guy from our area."

Honor Flight: Last Call for the Big Day

Bilbo Rodgers of Pascagoula, James Beasley of Natchez, and Henry Little of Pascagoula are among the WWII veterans making the first Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight. (Photos from Meet the Heroes)

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI -- Today marks the final day before nearly 90 veterans from World War II will board a flight to Washington, D.C., where they will view the monument built in their honor as well as several other war tributes.

The first Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight begins about 5 a.m. at the Joppa Shrine Center in Woolmarket, where members will load buses to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport for the trip to the nation's capital.

MEET THE HEROES: A tribute and history of the veterans vailable at The Mississippi Press.

The veterans are expected to receive a coastwide send-off in the morning and a hearty Welcome Back at the airport when they return Wednesday night about 7:30 p.m.

ROTC students and various other military groups, cheerleaders, high school bands and other students, businesses, residents and coast government officials are expected to number about 3,000, according to Wayne Lennep of Moss Point, vice president and spokesman for Honor Flight.

Honor Flight Meets with Volunteers in OS

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight organizers have about three weeks to gather final monies needed to send some 90 veterans to the nation's capitol May 11.

The call for more volunteers garnered about 30 residents at a meeting Wednesday night in this city, according to reporter Harlan Kirgan at www.gulflive.com/themississippipress.

"Basically what this meeting is about is fundraising," said MGC Honor Flight President Kim Foster. "all the money to be raised needs to be raised by April 1."

She said $15,000 has been collected in the last two weeks.

Honor Flight Ramps Up Fundraising