By Don Hill
I was honored to be invited to take part in the Indy Honor Flight program this last week. It was their 33rd flight. The Indy Honor Flight organization has now sent more than 2,700 Indiana veterans to Washington, D.C., to view the war memorials.
This trip was made up of 86 veterans throughout the state. They ranged from 70 to 100 years of age. Each veteran had a guardian to accompany them. I was pleased to have my daughter, Suzi, go with me.
I was one of the few Korean War veterans on this trip. There were only three or four of the World War II veterans. Most of them had already been deployed as well as most of the Korean war vets. Most of this group was Vietnam war veterans.
Honors were bestowed upon us everywhere we went. Crowds at airports, TV cameras, “Thank you for your service” signs and hundreds of well-wishers of all ages snapping pictures greeted us at every stop. The largest was the gymnasium full (I mean standing-room-only) crowd at Decatur Central High School upon our arrival home at 1 o’clock in the morning,
Police escorts, pass-through no-security checking at the airports, luxury buses and every convenience possible were taken care of by the Indy Honor Flight volunteers. There must have been a hundred of them.
I felt like the “old man” of the outfit since I was teaching when these “kids” went off to the Vietnam War. I had visited the memorials six years ago and had rubbed off the names of my former students from the wall.
Naturally, I was honored to stand at the Korean War monument. All of the monuments are so impressive that they are viewed mostly in silence. Grown men hugging, some weeping. The World War II memorial is so large and grand, which it should be, but the Korean War memorial is so realistic. It is a rifle squad wading through the rice paddies. Nothing glorious. Just a day in war. The memorial is now being added to by adding the names of those who heroically gave their lives there.
It is known as the “Forgotten War.” This is the reason I often wear my Korean War veteran’s cap. I do not want it to be forgotten. When people thank me for my service, I have a card I give to them. On one side of the card reads “I wear this Korean War veteran’s cap because I can. I returned unharmed. Those on the other side of this card either did not return or came home wounded physically or mentally. I want to keep the memory of those alive.”
On the other side of the card reads “36,574 Americans killed in action / 103,284 Americans wounded in action / 92 Americans killed since the cease fire / 7,800 Americans still missing in action.”
The government did not call it a war. They were not there. The Korean War veterans are slowly slipping into history just as the thousands of those in other wars. It seems our youth must stand up to the horrors of war. They do it bravely and honorably in order the people of the world do not live under tyranny. Sadly, there will be more monuments.