Three Marinette County Men Take Honor Flight

On Veterans Day and always, we stand tall to thank everyone in the US military who served in the past and present. Additionally, we stand in special salute to three Marinette County veterans. Two brothers—Wence and Simon Nowak—and Wence’s son Paul (who served as their guardian and is also a veteran) were honored on November 9, 2022 during the one-day Honor Flight to Washington DC. Their day began in darkness at 2:30 am, when they left Crivitz for the International Airport in Appleton, WI.
But before it’s “wheels up” at the Appleton airport in a 6:00 am departure, let’s pause and briefly describe the Honor Flight program. What is it? How did it begin?
It was 2004, the year the National World War II Memorial was completed in Washington DC. Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain, was working in a veterans’ clinic in Ohio with many patients who were WW II vets. He asked many of them if they were going to see the new Memorial—most said yes! Mr. Morse saw the vets several months later and “I’d ask them if they’d gone to see it. Three hundred of them, and not one of them had been to the Memorial. Reality set it. They were never going.”
Emotionally moved by this heartbreaking reality, Mr. Morse himself offered to fly two veterans to the Memorial. After seeing their tears and gracious acceptance of his offer, he proposed his idea to 300 private pilots at a local Air Force base. Eleven pilots volunteered—they paid for the veterans’ flights to Washington DC and personally escorted them around the nation’s capital.  By 2005, assisted by Jeff Miller who is the son of a WWII veteran, an organizational board was formed, money was raised, and volunteers assembled. It was “wheels up” for the Honors Flight program.
Since that first “wheels up” in 2005 when six small planes flew twelve veterans, nearly 250,000 US veterans have visited our nation’s memorials as part of the Honor Flight program. This program is a non-profit organization that honors the veterans with an all-expenses paid one-day trip. The program is all privately funded and receives no federal or state monies. There are over 133 chapters (hubs) across the country. Wisconsin is a very active participant in the Honor Flight program—it has five hubs (Freedom in La Crosse; Never Forgotten in Wausau/Mosinee; Stars & Stripes in Menomonee Falls/Milwaukee; Badger in Madison/Dane County; and Old Glory in Appleton).
Now let’s return to Wence, Simon, and Paul’s Old Glory departure that early morning on November 9, one day after a total lunar eclipse, the “blood moon,” and the morning after Election Day. It was the perfect day to honor those who have defended, preserved, and fully understand our nation’s democracy. The honor began with a warm welcome at the Appleton airport, color-coordinated shirts and jackets, photos, and, of course, donuts and coffee.
This flight was the 60th mission launched by the Old Glory Appleton hub since 2009. On this mission, there was a total of 89 veterans (88 men and one woman) from northeastern Wisconsin who represented all five military branches (Navy, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Air Force). Their ages ranged from the early 70’s to the middle 80’s. Each individual veteran usually has one assigned volunteer—a guardian that assists them throughout the day. On this flight, the guardians included seven additional veterans who served in this role. Besides the veterans and the guardians, there are airline staff, medical personnel, photographers, and media aboard every flight.
After landing at Dulles National Airport in Washington DC under clear blue skies, the day continued. All of the veterans, guardians, and support staff were escorted onto several modern, state-of-the-art tour buses with an informational, well-spoken guide on each bus. The veterans visited several memorials: WWII, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Marine Corp Memorial, and the Air Force Memorial.
One of the local veterans’ favorite memorials was the Arlington National Cemetery which includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard. The white marble Tomb sits atop a hill overlooking Washington DC. It was created in 1921 to provide a final resting place for one of World War I’s unidentified service members; Unknowns were added in 1958 and 1984. The military guard was originally established to protect the Tomb and keep visitors from climbing or stepping on it. Now, the guard is changed in a precise and elaborate ceremony around the clock--every hour through the winter and every half hour through the summer. An inscription on the Tomb reads: “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”
The day was full. The veterans ate on the bus, on the fly--an Arby’s sandwich never tasted so good. They shared stories and experiences. “Did someone say Kaiserslautern, Germany? I was there too! Wasn’t that motorpool something else? And those night rides to France…do you remember…coming back with a trunk filled with good champagne!” They laughed and they remembered, in joy and in sorrow. They were honored with a surprise, in-flight mail call while returning to Appleton. The messages the veterans received in their mail from family and friends saluted and cherished them. Letters and pictures in their mail described what they did then and what they do now; what they learned as soldiers and what they teach us as veterans.
The final gesture of honor was the crowds of family and friends who welcomed back the veterans and their guardians at the Appleton airport at 9 pm. In the welcome-back parade at the airport, some veterans were in wheelchairs, others were using oxygen, others were leaning and limping….but everyone was smiling, grateful, humbled, and honored. The parade hallway was filled with wild applause, screams, flag-waving, music, banners, cameras, signs, and, of course, tears and hugs of “Welcome Home” and “Thank you for your service.” One little boy’s sign read, in a scribbled 8-year-old handwriting, “You are my hero, Grampa!” You are right, young man. All the veterans are our heroes—loyal soldiers then and honored men and women now.