Write a commentOn April 27, 84 veterans boarded Honor Flight 20 out of Syracuse and headed for Washington, DC. Hannibal’s own Lou Gilbert was one of those veterans.
Lou and his daughter, Wendy Blake, signed him up for this flight 5 years ago. This was his day- to remember, to honor, and to be honored.
Each veteran brought along a guardian. Lou brought his daughter to make the flight. With over 100 people seeing them off at the airport just before 9am, they took to flight. Volunteers helped get the veterans past check-in and onto the plane. Most had wheelchairs to be packed up and that was gladly taken care of by the volunteers. Then, as they were treated to breakfast on board donated by Dunkin’ Donuts, they anticipated the day with the rest of the veterans. But when they got to DC, they did not realize they would be greeted by a much bigger fanfare. It was a huge “Welcome” and “Thank you for your service” with handshakes on all sides that many Vietnam veterans did not receive the first time they came home. Lou recalled being on a plane in 1966 from California where a woman asked him how many women and children did he kill. This experience was the opposite, and made him feel proud to have served his country. Wendy Blake, his daughter, recalled it as “an outpouring of people welcoming him home; a very emotional moment for everyone.”
Then it was off to the bus where they went to see the Monuments, the Pentagon, the Capitol, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They were given lunch and dinner through the generosity of Arby’s. It was a bit rainy, so the Honor Flight volunteers handed out ponchos, waters and snacks to everyone. Lou said, “The rain didn’t damper a thing.”
Lou looked at the names on the wall and remembered that time in 1965 through 1966 when he was in Vietnam. He remembered a guy he went to high school with, Raymond Bowman, who was a part of the 173rd Airborne. Lou Gilbert was a part of the 168th Engineers. While overseas, they often got together at the tent for drinks. Lou recalled, “There was always beer and soda, but never enough food and ammo.” Lou and Bowman would get together and chat. Bowman was studying to be a minister and offered much needed comfort to the men. One day, Lou’s Sergeant told Lou to pack his bags. He was going home on the next flight. Lou told his friend Bowman if he wanted anything delivered to his mother or sister, he would take it to them. Bowman did. Lou left 110° Vietnam a few days later and landed in 70° California. After a short time of acclimation, he boarded a plane to -22° Syracuse - home.
Upon Lou’s arrival home, the storm of 1966 raged around him. It took a week or two to shovel out, but he was finally able to visit the Bowman family. He rang the bell and Mrs. Bowman answered. He gave her what Ray sent and told her Ray sends his love and he was ok. Mrs. Bowman was shocked. She then told Lou that Ray had been killed in action and the date? The day that Lou Gilbert boarded the plane in Vietnam to come home.
Lou and Wendy continued looking at the names of other comrades. Some he knew, some he could not remember. Only 12 out of the 164 in his unit got to come home. Lou was one.
By 5 pm in DC, it was back on the plane for mail call time. The veterans received a bag of mail from friends, family, school children, acquaintances—the list was endless. He could not get even half of his mail open before they landed in Syracuse.
Another much larger fanfare was waiting for him there. First-time volunteer Pam Tuohey stated, “Watching the faces of the vets as they were welcomed back and thanked for their service with love and compassion” was one of her highlights. “Some had tears in their eyes,” she noted. A ceremony was performed at the airport honoring these brave vets.
For Lou, this was not the end of his day. The Hannibal Legion Riders escorted him back to the Hannibal Legion where he was greeted by more welcomers and a buffet dinner.
Lou's Honor Flight experience ended by being escorted to the Hannibal American Legion by the Hannibal Legion Riders.
This experience, according to both Lou and Wendy, was unforgettable, beautiful, and emotional. He also heard that one of the veterans he knew from the plane never woke up the day after his Honor Flight. A family member said he was happy to go and have this experience with Honor Flight.
To Mr. Gilbert and to all the veterans of our nation, we at iHeart Oswego salute you and thank you for your service and your sacrifice. We will never forget.
The mission of Honor Flight is to fly as many veterans as possible to Washington, DC to see the monuments of the respective wars they fought in. In the 19 years that Honor Flight has been running, over 275,000 veterans have taken this journey. And this is free to veterans as a volunteer supported experience. Guardians are asked for a small donation; however, places like the American Legion often fundraise for the guardian’s flight. If you would like to participate, donate, or volunteer, go to https://www.honorflight.org for details. Pam Tuohey told iHeart, “It takes a lot of volunteers to run such a massive operation—a lot of workers behind the scenes. With collecting donations, organizing the welcoming parade, getting wheelchairs on and off planes, RNs on the flights, this is where the work is to pull it all together.” Thank you to all the volunteers and donors. What an incredible service you do at Honor Flight to give the veterans of this country the respect and dignity they so deserve.
