Submitted photos All of the Honor Flight veterans on June’s flight.

The Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight took off to Washington D.C. again earlier in the month of June, carrying veterans from Jamestown, Dunkirk and Youngsville among the ranks of veterans being honored this time around.

The most recent Honor Flight took place from June 12 to 14 and included Jamestown veteran Jack Anderson, Dunkirk veterans Jonathan Carroll and David Roach, and two veterans from Youngsville, Elwood Beck and Richard Gruber. The flight brought them to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials and to honor each veterans’ time in the service.

Roach served in the Navy during Vietnam. He said he joined in 1974, following having an uncle killed in Vietnam in 1968. While he did not know the uncle before his death, Roach said he wanted to join up in his memory.

“I had gone on the Honor Flight once before with my brother, as his guardian,” Roach said. “There were some issues with his health at the time, so I was not able to enjoy it as much the first time. I had a friend that kept hounding me to do it, so I signed up to go myself. It brought me peace of mind.”

Roach said his favorite parts of this trip, even though he had seen them before, were the Vietnam and Korean memorials. He added that the Korean memorial was almost eerie as it looked like the soldiers in the memorial were marching out of the swamp towards them as they enjoyed looking at it.

Beck served in the Army for two years, and spent 18 years in the Air Force. While in the Army he went to radio school in Fort Knox, noting that he was meant to be sent to Korea but had his orders canceled. He was held at Fort Knox for a while before he was sent as part of an outfit to Germany, and his unit went to replace a World War II outfit there. Beck noted that this was the first regiment to be a replacement unit like that.

When applying for the Honor Flight, serving in areas such as Vietnam or Korea were included as one of the qualifications, he added.

“I served in Vietnam, Taiwan, and almost Korea,” Beck said. “I am 91 years old. There was one veteran with us that served in World War II, and in January he turns 100.”

The journey for the flight began in Jamestown, and then Beck said they took the bus to Buffalo before flying to Baltimore and on to Washington. There were two bus loads, and Beck’s daughter, Virginia Beck, came with him as well to see all of the memorials in Washington D.C. Beck added that it was his daughter who signed him up for the Honor Flight.

“It was one of those things he really wanted to do, a bucket list item for him,” Virginia Beck said. “He went there for his senior trip in high school, so none of the monuments were there back then. I heard about the Honor Flight from some of the guys at the Legion and he didn’t know much about it, so we started looking it up to see what it entailed.”

She added that they had found a trip out of Philadelphia, that was a bus ride the entire time, which would be hard for Beck with him being 91, so the Buffalo Niagara flight was significantly easier. Virginia Beck said that with her dad’s age it was also something she really wanted to do with him, as there are probably not too many trips left for him, so they were both very happy to be able to go on the flight.

“It was truly something I wanted to do for him to allow him to see all of the monuments and things,” Virginia Beck said. “It was a wonderful experience to have with my dad; everyone was so amazing and nice, and it was a very pleasant trip.”

Beck was also given the chance to meet the South Korean Ambassador, who was there to give two special presentations to the two veterans on the flight who had served there, after hearing that Beck almost went to Korea as well.

Virginia Beck also noted that they did not know Gruber before the trip, even though they both came from Youngsville and she said Youngsville is not very big. For Gruber, he wanted to go on the Honor Flight because of the way those who fought in Vietnam were treated on coming home.

“I was glad to serve,” Gruber said. “I wanted to go on the trip because of the way we were treated when we were discharged; we were really looked down on. I had heard about the Honor Flight but didn’t know much about it. It was wonderful, and the whole thing really felt like a welcome home.”

Gruber said his favorite part of the trip was experiencing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, especially as they got to be next to the honor guard and get a front row seat to that. He said the trip was a really “moving experience” for him from start to finish.

Anderson served during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs, at the end of the Cold War. Working with the Kennedy Organization, he said he felt they were able to make a big impact on the Cold War, including when they were able to stop a nuclear torpedo from sinking their aircraft carrier. Anderson was in the Navy until 1963, followed by four years in the reserve. These days, at 84 years old, he said he continues to be very active with veterans and veteran groups such as the Dwyer Group.

For the Honor Flight, Anderson said he was asked if he would like to go, and said he would, adding that he was the only one there who served during the Cuban Missile Crisis. From the moment the group left Jamestown, accompanied by a motorcycle escort consisting of American Legion Riders, Patriot Guard New York Riders, Brothers by Choice Riders, and two Jamestown police escorts, Anderson said they were treated like royalty.

“The motorcycles were with us until Fredonia, and then we flew to Baltimore and on to D.C.,” Anderson said. “It was magnificent to see the monuments and the city. It was a real treat, I have no words, except to say they treated us like royalty.”

With 33 veterans in total on the flight, Anderson said the entire time they had everything they needed, including doctors. Anderson referred to the experience as a lifetime experience, saying he recommends all veterans go on the flight, for their “last tour” as it says on the back of the shirts the veterans on the Honor Flight receive. Additionally, he noted that America is one of the safest countries and that “we are so safe and blessed with our outstanding military that keeps us protected.” The group was also interviewed for Channel Seven and Channel Two news, with their interviews to be aired over the next few days. Anderson said both he and his daughter were able to tell a lot of the truth that was not told back in the time he was serving, during those interviews.

Carroll traveled with his great-grandson, Anthony Miller, as his travel buddy, and was one of four veterans chosen to lay the Honor Flight’s 10th Anniversary Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He said he was proud to have served and to have had the opportunity to serve his country.

“The Honor Flight was a good experience,” Carroll said. “I was glad we got to do it. I really liked seeing the Vietnam Memorial, and getting to share that with my great grandson was my favorite part. It was nice to see that people still care.”

Flag Day was also the final day of the trip for the veterans, who got to spend time at Fort McHenry in Baltimore that day.

Any veterans or family members interested in learning more or signing up for the next Honor Flight can contact the Fenton History Center at (716) 664-6256 and ask for Barb Cessna, Vets Finding Vets coordinator.