--> NEW INFO: the Honor Flight team asked me to get the letters to them by November 7th! so, you have a week to get it to me at MY ADDRESS so i can give it to them. sure, any stragglers i'll just bring to the airport, but try to get any letters to him via my address this week - THANKS!<--
--> ALSO - the veterans will return to Lambert that night around 7:45pm, if you want to be there, bring the kids, make up signs, and come along - be aware that parking is the WORST, so target getting there at 6:45<--
my father has been invited to go on the Veteran's Day 2015 Honor Flight, which is a trip donated to veterans sending them to Washington DC, that focuses primarily on veterans from World War II, then those from Korea, and so on.
(my father served in both WW2 and Korea)
some information on it can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_Flight
the flight leaves early in the morning, arrives in DC, and shuttles them around to the various sites in a fashion that honors their service and those who they lost. the vets are there all day - then on the flight back they are treated to something called MAIL CALL.
while in the service, especially in combat or after a long time at sea, getting mail from home was a treat for the vets - so keeping with that, this last effort is made for them. on the flight back, each veteran is handed letters from their local politicians thanking them for their service - and with that (and more importantly) from people they know, friends of their family, and their families, thanking them for their service.
many consider it the best part of the trip.
with that in mind, I'm asking all of you to write a letter to my dad - something short and simple - thanking him for his service and the service of the veterans of his generation.
i didn't know how to ask for this, so i looked online.
- some people got thank you cards from the grocery store
- some people just wrote thank you on post cards
- some people sent pictures of their kids (one person thanked the vets for being the reason their kids speak english and not german, ha).
- some thanked vets because they never got to thank the ones they already lost
- some organized their kids' classroom (some kids just write 'Dear Veteran')
- some sent a corporate thank you
- one was the hand prints of someone, their spouse, their kids, and the dog, with a note that said, 'thank you for giving our family a free home'
- some younger vets sent pics of themselves in the service with messages like 'thank you for leading the way'
- some people remembered other members of the family already passed
- some people made plaques so the vet could hang the thanks on their walls
- some people thanked them for their own kids
- some people just marveled at the sacrifices made by vets 60 years ago vs now
- and you can write whatever you want.
so here is how this will work:
since my father is 89 (and considered one of the young ones), they prefer a 'guardian' go with each vet. it has been decided that should be me (i wanted it to be my niece, but apparently they need someone who can pick the veterans up and so on in the event of a crisis). so i'll be there to see to his needs.
i can collect anything you would like to send, and will give it to the organizers when we get on the flight. so, if you would like to send him anything, send it him at my address:
Commander Richard R. Valenta
814 Dickson Street
Saint Louis, MO 63122
to give you an idea of the impact it will have:
and if you're not familiar with Honor Flight:
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