My father, Jack Richards, served on the USS Forrestal during the Vietnam War in the late 1960’s. He voluntarily enlisted right out of high school at a time when the US Military had to draft men in order to have what they felt was enough personnel to fight the war.
The USS Forrestal was the US Navy’s first “supercarrier” (for those of you who are not familiar with military operations- think a late 60’s version of “Top Gun”).
He was on the ship in the Gulf of Tonkin on July 29, 1967 when a fire started under an A-4 aircraft and consequently started a series of accidental explosions on the ship.
134 of his fellow sailors were killed that day.
As with many returning military of that time period, my dad was not treated very kindly when he returned home. I think that many have forgotten, and our younger generations haven’t been taught (or it has been sugar-coated) how the Vietnam veterans endured not just protesters calling them baby killers, but how they had rocks thrown at their busses and were spat upon.
Like many veterans who came home from Vietnam, my dad didn’t talk much about his time in the service.
The only story I really had heard from my dad about his time serving was the Forrestal fire- and that is probably because he swears his leg is in a photo in Life Magazine! But all joking aside- he tells stories about how they had to push airplanes overboard in order to stop the flames from spreading. Now that I’m an adult man with a 19 and 21 year old sons of my own, I can’t imagine what it would be like to have them on a ship and going through that.
I learned about the Stars & Stripes Honor Flight about 5 years ago at my daughter’s high school during an open house. We purchased a couple of t-shirts and received a DVD documentary on the honor flight as a gift for our donation to their non-profit.
You can watch that documentary here.
The Honor Flight is a non-profit organization that sends military veterans from World War 2, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War to Washington DC to see their Memorials. It is staffed by an “army” of volunteers and the veterans are flown at no-cost and joined by a guardian. Guardians can be a family member that is at least one generation removed (ie. not a spouse or sibling) or the veteran is partnered with a volunteer.
Every moment of this one-day experience is carefully planned out to thank each veteran and show appreciation for their sacrifice and service. From the moment we stepped off of the jetway in Washington D.C. to a welcoming crowd of people clapping and holding “thank you” signs, to having a motorcade escort to each of our destinations, to arriving home in Milwaukee to a huge crowd of supporters welcoming the veterans home – many of whom, never having received any kind of proper homecoming before.
I saw my dad open up from being unsure of going on the trip in the first place to shaking hands with dozens of people with the biggest smile on his face during the Welcome Home!
I heard and saw my dad go from being concerned that the thunder of clapping “welcomers” at the DC airport might be protestors (remembering his arrival back from Vietnam) and looking over his shoulder at the memorials with concern to slowly but surely having a shift in understanding that no one was going to “protest” veterans like that these days. That he can admit that he was a Vietnam veteran and no one would spit on him. That it is something that he should be proud of.
I hope he knows that his military service is something his entire family has always been proud of.
There were many stories shared by my dad and the other veterans on the trip that have been bottled up for years, many tears were shed, and lots of laughter throughout the day.
I can’t remember the last time I was able to spend an entire day with my Dad and just enjoy ourselves. Looking at other guardians on the trip, I know this was a day they would never forget as well.
Richards Group Waukesha Insurance worked with our Allstate Foundation and we were able to earn volunteer grants so that we could provide a donation for $2,000 to the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. This donation will help pay for the flights for veterans. The Stars and Stripes Honor Flight is entirely volunteer supported with no paid employees- 97% of every donation dollar goes directly to the program.
Learn more about donating here.
The Stars & Stripes Honor Flight are looking for more veterans for this experience for next year! They told us that the waitlist is no longer that long and it is expected that your veteran will likely fly next year.
If you would like your World War 2, Korean War, or Vietnam War veteran to have an experience that they deserve and will never forget, please visit the Starts & Stripes Honor Flight website (seriously just look at the cover page of their website for an idea of what this experience is like) and fill out an application.
It will be one of the best days of your veteran – and your lives!
