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World War II vets stream toward DC monument

EFFINGHAM, Ill. — The chance viewing of a segment on a television news program gave Don Niehart an idea that has enriched the golden years of 296 World War II veterans from the southeastern third of Illinois.

“I was watching ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ when they featured a guy from Ohio who was doing it,” Niehart said. “I called him the next day to find out how he did it.”

“It” is the Honor Flight program, in which volunteer “guardians” accompany World War II veterans to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Niehart said 296 veterans from a triangular piece of land that roughly corresponds to the southeastern third of the state have taken the trip since the first flight last April 22. He said this year’s round of flights will begin next month.

Niehart didn’t serve in the military himself, but the Effingham resident said setting up the flights has been a way for him to serve those who did.

“This is my way of giving back for not serving,” he said.

Niehart said the trips have come too late for many World War II veterans, who are dying at the rate of about 1,000 per day.

“We did this about 60 years too late,” he said. “A lot of veterans can’t ever go. But our philosophy is to get those who are able out there before they are gone.”

Each trip follows a similar format. Effingham-area veterans board a chartered bus from Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the wee hours of the morning, with breakfast provided by Martin’s IGA-Plus.

After the bus arrives in St. Louis, the vets catch a plane to either Reagan National Airport in Washington, or Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Then it’s on another chartered bus to the World War II Memorial in D.C.

The group spends about an hour and a half at the World War II Memorial, before moving on to the Navy, Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam memorials. The vets also see the monument to those who served on Iwo Jima before capping their trip with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery, where they view the changing of the guard.

The group then flies back to St. Louis before returning to Effingham in the late evening to a welcoming crowd.

“There’s usually 300 to 400 people waiting for them,” Niehart said.

Area veterans who went on the trip offer high praise for the experience.

“It was wonderful,” said Eugene Smith of Farina, who flew 38 missions over Europe as a B-17 bomber pilot.

“The weather was awful, but it was still a great trip,” he added. “I’d heard about the memorial, but I never thought I’d get to see it. It’s well worth anybody’s time to go see it because it’s a wonderful sight.”

Smith, who took his honor flight on Veterans Day, enlisted in the Army Air Corps at age 21. He started out as a gunner but was soon trained as a pilot. He was discharged as a captain on April 19, 1946.

Some veterans weren’t sure they could physically handle the trip.

“At first, I didn’t think I could hold up,” said Al Julliard of Effingham. “But I talked to people who went on the first flight and they said I wouldn’t have any problem.

“I thought it was tremendous,” Julliard said. “It was something I’ll never forget.”

Julliard said the vets also got a treat when they got off the airplane in D.C.

“They had alerted other passengers that World War II veterans were on the plane,” he said. “The other passengers then stood in the terminal to shake our hands and thank us.”

Julliard was drafted into the Army as an infantryman in the summer of 1943. Assigned to the 88th Infantry, he was wounded in Italy in October, 1944, but went back on the front line in early 1945 until the war ended.

Several veterans said the trip evoked a number of emotions.

“When we got ready to fly home, there was a number of people there to shake hands with us,” said Graydon Horath of Effingham, who served in the Army from 1942 to 1945, mostly in Alaska. “Some of those people were kids who hadn’t even been born yet when we went.

“That was so humbling, it brought tears to my eyes.”

Dr. Henry Poterucha, also from Effingham, said the trip gave veterans a chance to reminisce about those days more than 65 years ago.

“The trip gave us a chance to recall the meaning of what we went through,” Poterucha said. “It was a serious time without much laughter or gaiety. We again realized there were people who sacrificed a lot more than we did.”

Poterucha enlisted in the Army Air Corps after graduating from high school in 1944. After 17 months spent stateside, he was discharged at the end of 1945.

At least one veteran enjoyed the trip so much he went back as a guardian.

“I was never so thrilled in my life,” said Bill Wendling of Altamont. “It was the most awesome trip I had ever been on.”

Wendling, who served in the Army from July 1945 to January 1947, went on the first trip last April 22 as a veteran. In October, he served as guardian for another veteran.

Wendling said the high point of the trips for him was meeting former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, a World War II veteran who was the 1996 Republican presidential nominee.

“It was just fantastic that he was out meeting World War II guys,” Wendling said.

Don Bushue of Effingham was the guardian for veteran Smith. Bushue said he appreciated the opportunity.

“I would say it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for somebody,” Bushue said.

Guardian Tracy Berberich, also of Effingham, went on the June flight and, like Bushue, said it was a highlight of her life.

“It was one of the top 10 things I have done or will ever do,” Berberich said. “The best thing for me was the pleasure of spending time with men and women who gave everything for our country.”

Jennifer Westendorf, another guardian, can’t say enough about the program.

“The Honor Flight program is an amazing organization that focuses on honoring the veterans who gave so much for our freedom,” Westendorf wrote in an e-mail. “Don Niehart and his staff have put together a terrific event and think through every detail of the trip.”

Westendorf said the trip was “such a moving experience.”

“I had the privilege of meeting several wonderful men who have now become lifelong friends,” she said.