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Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 27 October 2019 27 October 2019

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

On Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center, an event welcomed home veterans from various conflicts with a celebration to honor those who recently and in the past participated in Honor Flights.

Honor Flights for the southern New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, region, fly veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the various war memorials.

Elaine Prickett, who with her husband, organizes each Honor Flight out of the El Paso airport, said the organization is a non-profit organization. "Why does this program work? It makes veterans feel special and honors them. The veterans receive a full police escort out of Las Cruces, which is switched over to Texas officers at the state line. They fly first to Dallas, Texas, where when they travel through the airport, they are met by cheering crowds. In Washington, D.C., a town crier announces each veteran and the group receives a full police escort, which is reserved only for dignitaries. Their visit to the World War II memorial is at the Texas and New Mexico pillars. We tell the Vietnam veterans at the Vietnam Memorial that we are proud of them and welcome them home, because when they returned home, they were not welcomed. At the Korean War Memorial, a brigadier general and a Korean state official welcome them. We also go to the Air Force Memorial and then to Arlington to lay a wreath at the Unknown Soldier grave. People come up to them everywhere along the way."

On the bus on the way back to the airport, the organization holds an old-fashioned mail call and gives out packets of letters to each veteran by name. Schoolkids send the letters to them.

"We get back to El Paso, and there are bands and cheerleaders, with the airport packed with people," Prickett said. "At Memorial Medical Center, where the New Mexico veterans gather, there are flags and banners welcoming them home.

She introduced David Morrison, a Gulf War veteran who served as World War II veteran Jacob Randall Miller's guardian.

"We couldn't do it without the guardians," Prickett said. "Each veteran has his or her own assigned guardian. The guardians pay their own way. We pay for the veterans. As an former schoolteacher, it's the first field trip I've been on where I've had to order oxygen."

She recognized Gold Star Mother Mary Cowan, who attended with her husband, Tip, a recipient of an Honor Flight in Mission 6. The May flight this year was Mission 12, which most of those who were honored at this celebration had flown on.

Prickett, when she introduced Miller, said he was the fastest moving World War II veteran she had ever seen. "He really moved. And today we're going to sing Happy Birthday to him. But I have rules about singing Happy Birthday. It has to be fast, not the slow version you often hear."

Everyone joined in to sing.

Miller of Mimbres, one of the honorees of Mission 12, on the day of this celebration, was celebrating his 98th birthday. "It was a trip of my life. I really enjoyed it."

Each member of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 358 color guard, who posted and retired the colors, approached him and saluted him, thanking him and telling him Welcome Home.

Prickett said honor flights are not just to visit the memorials, but they are healing for the veterans. "We try to get them to speak on camera, but many are reluctant."

One Vietnam veteran, Manny, who had gone on an Honor Flight told her he was 18 years old when he served, and his job was picking up body parts. "We cried a little bit. He said at the wall: 'People ask me what names I'm looking for. I didn't know their names.' Three months later at the reunion, we made a video of him speaking. His wife came up to me and thanked me for getting him to tell his story. She said he had never wanted to talk about his experiences, and now he goes to schools and events, which he had never done before. Another World War II and Korean veteran said: 'I'm finally home now.' Another World War II veteran, on this last flight, broke down crying. His friend, a fellow scout who replaced him on point, was shot. He had never dealt with it the way he needed to. What we do for them helps their healing and gives them a sense of closure."

Cristobal "Chris" Chavez, a Korean and Vietnam veteran, said: "The whole trip was great. We saw a lot in one day. One of the best moments, as a Korean War veteran, was, as you enter the monument, you see 19 soldiers creating reflections against the wall, which makes 38 soldiers. The number 38 represents the 38th Parallel, which marks the DMZ (demilitarized zone) now. We spent three months at Inchon before replacements came in."

Prickett said the videos from May are on the website honorflightnm.org. "I warn you to have a box of tissues nearby."

William Hart, a Vietnam veteran, said the best way he could describe it, was "50 years ago, we took a breath and held it until this flight, when we exhaled. Thank you for this flight. We wished we could let our emotions go. I was a crew chief on a Huey helicopter. I saw guys on that wall that I let out of a helicopter and they didn't come home. The healing of this experience is beyond words. Thank you, thank you."

Ray Davis, a Vietnam veteran who went on Mission 11 last year, said the Honor Flight was the most emotional thing "I've ever done. These yellow jackets honor us. Elaine and Linda and Dennis would get us off the bus, even those with wheelchairs. The jackets are yellow so they can tell where we are. Until you see the wall, you don't understand how many lost their lives in that conflict."

Allen Rosenburg, a Korean War veteran from Columbus, said his greatest thrill was to be in a caravan led by state police and local police and ones on motorcycles, going down the highway at any speed they wanted and passing through every red light. "And mail call. They handed us each an envelope with our name on it. I read the first one and thought I couldn't read another, but Elaine told me to keep reading. After the first, it was so enlightening. Every letter remembering us. I was happy and crying. The ones from school children were just amazing. Whoever got these children to write to us did everybody a favor, thank you. The history books now have about two paragraphs on World War II. I'm still on a high from the trip. I tell everybody about it. I'm so happy I was asked to go. I want to tell you how I became aware of this. I volunteer to take patients to Las Cruces from Columbus. Several months ago, the patient across from us had a Semper Fi cap on. We got to talking and come to find out he was in the same outfit I was in at the same time. He remembered I was the one with all the cameras. The patient I had taken was so excited she was telling everyone. We went to Sam's Club and she was telling the story. Next to the one she was talking to was Elaine Prickett. That's how I found out about Honor Flight. I'm so glad I went on this trip."

"We are called the Honor Flight stalkers," Prickett said. "I always worry a little bit about talking to veterans just anywhere, but that day I had my Down's Syndrome brother with me, so I looked kind of respectful, I guess. And yes, that's often how it happens."

David Morrison, who served as Miller's guardian, said it was an honor and a privilege "to get to know these fellows. If you are willing to be a guardian volunteer, I know veterans who would benefit from this. If you know any veterans, let them know about it and bend their ears. I'm sure these gentlemen right here would recommend it."

Prickett said, "Last May, a veteran sat with me and said: 'You finally cracked my shell.' Last year, my husband and I took over the planning because those planning it were moving away and we didn't want the program to stop. It costs $35,000 per flight to take these veterans. We want them to have everything. Guardians pay their own way. We need veterans who have a passion for veterans. They have to push a wheelchair and walk about 10 miles. We need volunteers, who can pay their $1,000. We need help getting the word out and you becoming veteran stalkers."

Miller waved his hand to speak. "David was a very good guardian. He kept me from walking into the Navy Memorial pool." The audience laughed with him.

"We cover all over southern New Mexico and El Paso," Prickett continued. "Our veterans are not getting younger. We prioritize World War II and then Korea. We have a waiting list for Vietnam veterans. We are trying to do two trips a year to get the waiting list down. A doctor veteran, a Vietnam corpsman, told me: 'You don't know how much it meant to get a cardboard welcome home sign. I have it on the wall in my office.'"

She announced the veterans would go to Wrangler's, where lunch would be provided, and she noted that Luis Terrazas had provided coffee and doughnuts. "The Grant County Commission let the group use the lobby of the conference center. Thank you."

Jesse Ochoa organized the event to welcome the veterans home from their Honor Flight. He thanked everyone who participated and helped.

The World War II and Korean veterans may say it's too hard from them to go, Prickett said. "But we do everything and take care of everything to make it possible, wheelchairs and oxygen, whatever is needed. We take a physician with us. Dr. Benson of Memorial Medical Center's Emergency Department goes, and we have some nurses. We have firemen who go as guardians. They make great ones. We have two veterans that go every year as guardians, because their trip meant so much to them."

Several audience members had announcements. One mentioned Wreaths Across America, which will take place Dec. 14, 2019 at Fort Bayard National Cemetery.

[Editor's Note: You can find a form to fill out and mail locally to purchase wreaths, so that again this year, every gravesite at Fort Bayard National Cemetery can have a wreath. Visit http://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-releases/54018-order-form-for-wreaths-across-america-to-take-place-121419 to print out a form and mail it.]

Davis announced that the Western New Mexico University Veterans Resource Center will hold a grant opening on Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Paulo Veltri, director of the veterans' resources center, and student. "We recognized there weren't services for the student veterans, so we have taken it upon ourselves reaching out to the local veteran service organizations to bring back the camaraderie veterans have with fellow veterans. We have programs and hear about suicide and how people say they have lost their purpose. My personal experience differed from anyone else's, but we all have shared experience. The center is in the PE Complex, room 150. We are building the program and are still in the first steps. Spread the word. The greatest thing for us is seeing you present for us. We need the community bond. I see partnerships with younger veterans who are coming into college."

Rosenberg reiterated how important the 50 letters were to him. "You can't imagine how much they were appreciated. Some were serious, some thanking me, and some were humorous. These children need feedback. We will call the schools and set up a visit."

Prickett said the organization will create thank-you cards.

"My father-in-law, about eight flights ago, was putting letters in envelopes," Prickett said. "We have to preview them. The first one he picked up said: 'I'm sorry you died in the war.' That's why we preview them."

Linda Widbur, RN, who helps coordinate the flights, said she had a daughter of one of the veterans call her. "It was our oldest veteran at 101 years of age. Her daughter told me her mother had joined water aerobics to get more fit for the trip. And a couple in the same assisted living facility were also coming on the flight, so they joined water aerobics as well. We reassure everyone that we really watch for health issues. We cope with oxygen, heart problems, diabetes issues. We look after all the veterans in our care. And yes, we do take lady veterans."

"A few years ago, we had a program where the wives could come, but not as guardians," Widbur said. "For a wife to come along, they would have to be required to help their husband with medications, but not be a guardian. We realize that wives are important, but we have to get the numbers of veterans down first. The priority is World War II and Korean veterans. We have waiting lists for Vietnam veterans from 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. We also prioritize anyone with a life-limiting illness. They go to the top. We have a waiting list, but we reassure you, we haven't forgotten about you."

Hart said the trip is a solemn one, with a lot of tears shed, "but we do have humor, too. We were on the bus going down Pennsylvania Avenue, with a driver who has been driving veterans on honor flights for years. He said: 'Today, we're just going to do something we don't generally do in D.C..' One of the veterans in the back yelled out: 'Tell the truth?' That kind of takes the edge off."

Miller recounted a story that was told to him by Elaine's father-in-law. "At the Vietnam Wall, some of the names are up high and there are ladders for people who want to take a rubbing of a name. A person was up on the ladder, and an elderly couple down below was watching. When he came down the ladder, the couple asked him why he was taking that name. He replied that the name was his best buddy and was killed in Vietnam. And they said it was their uncle."

Prickett said it was a Japanese couple and happened last May. Glenn, who was taking the rubbing, told the couple how his friend had died going out to save someone. "So, it gave Glenn closure, as well as the couple. If we had been three minutes either way at that wall, it wouldn't have happened. God is in the details."

Ochoa brought his phone up to the microphone and played "Silver Wings," the Green Beret song.

Mario Kirker, a World War II veteran, from Mission 12, said he was in Guam. "I had gotten to know a lot of the sailors and Marines. We saw two tanks get hit and it left a big hole. A man came up to me crying, saying that 105 Marines had been killed in that attack."

He said he hoped there would be more gatherings like this. "My sister and my daughter want to be volunteers. Thank you."

Widbur said Kirker's name had been given to her by Gene Stailey, a World War II veteran. He said to her: "I have a name for you – Mario Kirker."

The event ended with gratitude all around.