Co-op News
Kentucky Co-ops Honor War Veterans
John Liszewski leaned toward Edward Ehalt, shook his hand and said “Thank you! Thank you for everything you’ve done for our country!”
Edward Ehalt jokes with a Navy cadet at a Baltimore airport. (Photo by Tim Webb)
The two men had never met; Liszewski just happened to be at Washington, D.C.’s World War II Memorial when Ehalt made the trip of a lifetime.
It was typical of the attention Ehalt received after landing at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Sixty-five cadets from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., waited at the airport to surprise Ehalt and 28 other war veterans during a trip sponsored by Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives and the Bluegrass Chapter of the Honor Flight Network.
“I got some tears before I even got through the whole line,” said Ehalt, 85. “The whole thing is wonderful. It’s nice to be here.”
The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization that flies America’s veterans for free to Washington, D.C., to commemorate their wartime service. On Oct. 22, the men spent the day visiting the World War II Memorial and other attractions around the capital before returning to Louisville, Ky., later that night.
This was the first year Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives sponsored an Honor Flight. The co-ops and their G&T, Winchester-based East Kentucky Power Cooperative, split the $300 per veteran cost to make sure the men, now in their 80s and 90s, would get the opportunity to see the memorial dedicated to them.
“Time is of the essence for these men,” said Mary Beth Nance, co-chair of the Oct. 22 Honor Flight and director of member services at Fleming-Mason Energy, Flemingsburg. “As many of our veterans get older not many of them will be around to see this.”
Most of the men, many in wheelchairs, remained quiet as they gazed at the large, dark gray stone arches honoring the memory of more than 400,000 U.S. troops killed during World War II.
As the men marveled at the structure, they were often greeted by strangers saying, “Thank you for your service.”
Hunter Priest, 15, gives flags to the veterans while thanking them for their service. (Photo by Marcia Gaysue)
“Spending the day with these heroes was just about the best day ever,” said Jeff Hohman, from Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives.
Ehalt served as a Marine and as an anti-aircraft gunner on the battleship USS New Mexico. He was wounded in January 1945 after surviving a kamikaze attack in the South Pacific. He spent two-and-a-half years on an Honor Flight waiting list to view the memorials.
David Sims, who served during the Korean War, also talked about his wait and planned to take an application home for a friend.
Currently, 100 men are on the Kentucky Honor Flight waiting list.
“[The experience] almost made you want to cry; it hit me real deep,” Sims said. “I’m 83, and I could’ve never come. My wife couldn’t push me around.”
The Honor Flight Network was conceived by Earl Morse, a physician’s assistant and retired Air Force captain, who wanted to honor the veterans he had taken care of. In May 2005, Morse gathered six small planes to fly 12 veterans from Springfield, Ohio, to Washington. This marked the inaugural flight for the network.
The success of this trip will help the cooperatives plan for the next one.
Tears streamed down the face of veteran Norman Young, 88, from Danville, Ky., as he read letters of gratitude from his family, as well as from employees of Inter-County Energy and other co-ops, during the return flight.
Young, who was sponsored by Danville-based Inter-County, received the Bronze Star for acts of bravery in Germany. “This was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Young said.
For Fleming-Mason’s Nance, the day was “indescribable.”
“Being greeted by huge crowds in Baltimore and on the return to Louisville made it a day none of us will ever forget.”