Many of us have heard the stories, or perhaps lived through the stories, of our service men and women as they returned home from the war in Vietnam. There were no welcome home ceremonies or celebrations, and the heroic veterans were ignored or treated badly.
But the Honor Flight Network, which had its beginnings in 2005, is doing some amazing work to honor these men and women who still survive many decades later.
Honor Flight Chicago began by honoring World War II veterans, then began to include Korean War veterans, and now is primarily honoring Vietnam War veterans of Chicagoland.
I have watched news coverage of the Honor Flights and their mission to fly veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials dedicated to their service. The trip and all of its amenities are provided free of charge to the veterans.
I began to appreciate the program even more when two of my personal friends made the Honor Flight trip in May. Stan McGraw has been my friend for more than 30 years, and Jack Rauscher and I grew up together on Lebanon Street on Aurora’s East Side.
McGraw is an Army veteran, and Rauscher a Navy veteran, who each served in Vietnam during the volatile 1960s. I visited each of their homes recently to talk about their service and about their recent trip to the nation’s capital.
More Top Picks Best Probiotic Supplements For Seniors
Their service stories had many similarities, and their appreciation for their Honor Flight experience was wonderful to hear about.
McGraw enlisted in the Army in 1963, and took basic training, advanced infantry training and further education before being assigned to the 34th Quartermaster Battalion at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.
He was sent to California by rail, and by ship to Quy Nhon Harbor in Vietnam in the fall of 1965. His unit was assigned to An Khe in the Central Highlands region where the artillery would “rattle our heads,” according to McGraw. The men lived and worked in tents the entire time with generators to produce electricity.
“I was afraid for my life one time about 10 days before my tour was up,” McGraw said. “The enemy were advancing toward the camp, and we were ready. But the battle didn’t materialize and we survived.
“I knew that I was going to come back because of my faith in the Lord — that I wasn’t going to be killed over there.”
He returned home in June of 1966, having attained the rank of Specialist E-5.
Rauscher joined the Naval Reserves in 1966, and completed boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes in early 1967. He was sent to California for advanced combat, survival and gunnery training. He received orders for the Mobile Riverine Force, and became what was known as a “River Rat.” He arrived in Vietnam after the 1968 Tet Offensive.
He began serving as an engineman on an armored troop carrier, which were nicknamed “tango boats.” These boats transported troops, primarily from the Army’s 9th Infantry Division, through the Mekong River Delta from the bay in the South China Sea to sometimes near Cambodia. These brave sailors were sometimes called the “Brown Water Navy.”
There were firefights along the way, but Rauscher said the scariest times involved the “calm before the storm.”
“The anticipation. We were nervous as heck until the bell rings, like in sports, and you’re ready to go,” he said. “We knew when we were getting to hot territory.”
Rauscher finished his tour in Vietnam as a Petty Officer 3rd Class, but spent some remaining months of his naval service in Seattle. He returned home in December of 1969.
Many of our heroic Vietnam War veterans have continued to suffer the aftereffects of exposure to Agent Orange during their service. Both McGraw and Rauscher have had degrees of disability and health problems as a result of that exposure. Interestingly, neither man complained or mentioned it until I asked about it.
I finished my friendly visits at each home listening to the wonderful Honor Flight experiences of Jack Rauscher and Stan McGraw.
Each spoke of the amenities they experienced on the trip — a trip which began at 4 a.m. at Midway Airport and didn’t end until close to 11 p.m. Meals and escorts for each veteran were provided, and wheelchairs as needed. All traffic in Washington was held up to allow their buses to proceed to each destination without delay.
The group visited the World War II, Lincoln, Korean War, Vietnam War and Vietnam Women’s Memorials, as well as the Air and Space Museum.
More Top Picks Best Ergonomic Chairs For College Students
There is a “mail call” on each return flight from Washington, with each veteran given cards and letters sent by relatives and friends. It’s always a highlight, and McGraw mentioned that he received at least 50 cards.
Probably the biggest highlight of the trip was the reception which awaited the veterans at Midway. Although it was almost 11 p.m., there were at least 1,000 people waiting, including bagpipers, bands, nurses and sailors in dress whites, all in attendance to give the heroes the welcome home which they had been denied so long ago.
“It was like night and day from when we returned from Vietnam,” Rauscher said. “Crowds of people met us as we returned. I couldn’t believe it.
“Most of my grandkids and two of my daughters were there, and all of my grandkids wrote letters.”
“It was fantastic,” added McGraw. “Two years after I applied, I finally got the call to go. It was the greatest day of a lot of people’s lives.”
Tom Strong is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.