FOND DU LAC/STURGEON BAY (NBC 26) — The Mission 62 Old Glory Honor Flight was only one day, but for many of the 86 veterans who took the trip, the memories will last a lifetime. The trip took them from Appleton International Airport to Washington D.C., where they had the opportunity to visit monuments made in their honor.
More than a week later, veterans said the emotions are still high.
Vietnam veteran Dick Kaluck said the day was a whirlwind of emotions.
“It brings that 54 years ago all of a sudden condenses that right into the moment with other veterans and everything and all sharing the same experiences,” Kaluck said.
Ed Heyward, also a Vietnam vet, said he was moved when crowds of people welcomed them home to Appleton after the journey.
“I almost lost it right there,” Heyward said. “I had tears running down my cheeks walking out to the car. That's what it did to me.”
But when Heyward thinks back to that day, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
“The wall is always emotional… simply because of the names that I know that are on there,” Heyward said.
For Heyward, the visit to the wall had special significance. When he was there, his family surprised him from North Carolina and he met his great-grandson for the first time.
“It's a bag of mixed emotions,” Heyward said. “Simplest way to put it as I had two families, those names on the wall and my, my blood relatives.”
The trip was also important for the friends the veterans lost in war.
“I was there for them,” Heyward said.
Kaluck said he was moved by reading letters from grade school kids on the flight back home,especially one letter from a little boy.
“He called me very brave because I did something that other people afraid to do, and it's touching. It's very… it gets me very emotional,” Kaluck said.
Both vets said they will keep these memories their whole lives. Kaluck even made a binder with photos, letters and other mementos of the trip.
“That's going to be, gonna be kept and passed to my kids when, when I go,” Kaluck said.
The veterans said they would encourage all veterans who are eligible to go on future honor flights.
“It should be experienced by everybody that's ever put a uniform on,” Heyward said.
