By Dan Bechtold
Editor
Judy Bartels of Winner enjoyed the experience of an honor flight trip to Washington, D.C.
The mission of Midwest Honor Flight is to transport America’s veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit those memorials dedicated to honor the service and sacrifices of themselves and fellow veterans.
Bartels went on the honor flight on May 16. She served as a guardian for a Navy veteran from the Rapid City area. She had to be at the airport at 3:30 a.m. and the flight left at 6:30 a.m. and they were back in Sioux Falls at 10:30 p.m.
Friday night before the flight there was a banquet at the Sioux Falls convention center. Bartels could ask any veteran to be her guest. She chose Tyler Sampson and the two enjoyed a delicious meal.
Bartels volunteered do be a guardian. She went to the Tripp County veterans service office in Winner and filled out the paperwork to be a guardian. Several weeks later she was notified she had been selected and was being paired with a veteran from Piedmont.
The duties of a guardian are to physically assist the veterans at the airport, during the flight and at the memorials.
The group saw all the memorials in one day.
The South Dakotans met Sen. John Thune and Rep. Dusty Johnson at the Lincoln Memorial.
Bartels said her veteran was very impressed with the Navy memorial. For Bartels, her favorite was the Vietnam Memorial because that was the era in which she was raised.
Bartels noted it was heartening to see the veterans enjoying the memorials.
They also saw the changing of the guard at the Arlington National Cemetery. Bartels said this was awesome.
This was Bartels first trip to Washington, D.C. and she was glad that she went on the trip.
It had meaning for her since her dad, brothers and uncle all served in the Army.
Loading ...