Not Forgotten

WWII veterans take a trip to D.C. to visit the memorial built for them.

By Ericka Andersen,  November 14, 2008

Wherever they went, Kilroy was always there first.

Scratched into one of the monument walls was a phrase they’d seen many times before more than 60 years ago: “Kilroy was here.”

Written on every wall and every mountain in every country during WWII, Kilroy’s presence was like a time warp. Legend has it that the first man to arrive on the war scene would always make his mark as “Kilroy.” So when 40 World War Two veterans visited the Memorial built in their honor on November 12 in Washington D.C., they weren’t surprised to find their old friend.

The old soldiers were brought together this week through Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization created to send WWII veterans to D.C. to visit the Memorial built for them. With 1200 elderly WWII veterans dying each day, the time left for them to see the memorial is dwindling. Over 12 million of the 16 million WWII veterans have passed away. One man signed up for the Hoosier Honor Flight died before the trip.

When Army Reserve Colonel John Tillford heard about the Honor Flight program, he was determined to launch the effort in his hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. His father, four brothers and his wife’s five uncles served in the war. All have since passed away. It was time to honor them, he said.

Four months ago, Tillford held the first organizational meeting and days later received a $5,000 donation from the CEO of a major local company. The donation-based program encountered only one real problem: finding enough seats for interested participants.


Sam Fritch was one of the first to become interested in the Honor flight Program. He was a B-24 Air Force turret gunner stationed in Fosa, Italy during the war. Prior to this week’s visit, the closest Fritch had come to D.C. was when his Air Force unit flew in formation over the funeral service of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 15th, 1945.

“I went and put my foot right on where he was, “ Fritch told me. The sacred ground where Roosevelt lay beneath Fritch’s plane 63 years ago was his first pit stop in D.C. Because bombers were not often chosen for things like a Presidential funeral, those that flew over Roosevelt that day considered themselves especially privileged.

When the veterans arrived at Dulles International Airport Wednesday morning, a surprise grand welcoming awaited the men as they exited the terminal. A large group of National Honor Flight volunteers gathered, providing an ovation that lasted more than 10 minutes for these American heroes. When I asked the men about their unexpected welcoming, they were speechless and tearful.

“They just wouldn’t stop clapping,” said Army Private Ralph Young. He shook his head, smiled and covered his heart with a trembling hand. They had been waiting for this thank you for years.


Indiana State Representative Peggy Welch also traveled to D.C. to express her thanks. But the trip was exceptionally personal for her.

“My [late] dad served toward the end of WWII in the Navy,” she said. “And I love the military, the ceremony and the honor here (…) but as a state representative, this is another way for me to serve and honor them for what they did for this country.”

Army Sergeant Jennings Pooley echoed those thoughts. He was “touched” by the airport welcoming gala and the memorial brought back memories, including those of a fighter pilot brother lost during the war. His plane went down over the Pacific Ocean never to be found, an incident Pooley said his mother “never got over.”

Despite losing his brother, Pooley encourages young men and women today to join the military. “We are not a great country because someone said, ‘here it is,’…we must remain vigilant,” he said.

Army Major Ben Bruce had no words for how he felt when he walked into the airport that morning to the cheering crowd. He could only thump his chest and hold back tears. Army Sergeant Kenneth Dilliard said he was just happy to be “still walking and alive” after surviving a shrapnel attack to the arm during his deployment.

When it came to talking about what really brought them here the cheerfulness dissipated. Even after 60 years, no one wanted to talk about the war.

James Richart, a former radioman in the Navy, sat in his wheelchair surveying the creamy stone of the newly built memorial. Richart said his only thoughts were of “the guys that aren’t here.”

After the WWII Memorial visit, I sat next to Navy Electrician First Class David Hunter on a bus ride to Arlington Cemetery. He said the airport welcoming had “made the trip worth it.”

“I’ve never been shown the thanks and respect as I have today,” Hunter said. “But, you know, I didn’t do anything heroic or historic…”

As we rode over the sacred ground of Arlington, the Army tour guide pointed out famous headstones, like that of former Naval officer President John F. Kennedy and Navy Captain Charles Burlingame, who lost his life on 9/11.

A funeral procession could be seen from a distance and the men peered in silence through the cramped bus windows. The tour guide told us that approximately 40 funerals are performed every day and that over 342,000 veterans lay entombed in the Cemetery.

We got off the bus and made our way toward the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the Changing of the Guard Ceremony. As a surprise, four men from the Honor Flight group were chosen to participate in an honorary wreath hanging ceremony.

Four octogenarians, one in a wheelchair, followed the lead of the young Army officer. The men hung the wreath in place and saluted as Taps played solemnly in the background.

The others watched from behind the roped area, with prideful gazes. For many of the men, the military had been a distant memory until this trip. The sights and sounds of war were long forgotten and gladly buried. But they needed to be reminded how much their service mattered -- and that their country hadn't forgotten them.