Et cetera : A day for sharing stories: Honor Flight vets share memories with peers, family

Andrew Andrew at the WW Memorial during the Honor Flight.

John Brown visits the Air Force Memorial.

Gehring

Larry McGrath and William Bascom discuss their military service at the Vietnam Wall.

Norm Walker's family gathers around him after his return from the Honor Flight.

William Olin, a Marquette alum, met two Marquette students at the Iwo Jima Memorial.

A former student of an Iowa WWII vet is honored on the Vietnam Wall.

Veterans had "Mail Call' as they flew home from DC.

A father and son pose with Iowa WWII veteran Lloyd Van Winkle, Jr.

Honor Flight reunion: Iowa Vet Keith Hyde met his sister Julia Ardoin at the WWII Memorial.

Iowa vet James Dyer receives a hug from a Ground Crew volunteer upon arrival in DC.

Norm Walker and his guardian Penny Olson pose by the Iowa pillar of the WWII Memorial.

Clyde Cammack was among the Iowans to visit the WWII Memorial.

Carol Powell and daughter Nancy Sadler in front of a fountain at the WWII Memorial.

Coast Guard vet Carol Powell shared many stories of her service during the Honor Flight.

Honor Flight: Carol Powell reads a card from her great-grandchildren on the plane ride back to Iowa.

Andrew Andrews believes he is alive today because of full-blooded Indian who said his last name was White.

Andrews, a World War II infantry veteran from Troy Mills, recalls his first day as a soldier in Africa when he met the man who called himself White. Andrews said the Native American never let anyone know what is first name was.

"He said to me, 'Do what I say and we will get out of here alive,'" Andrews said while riding a bus through Washington, D.C. during the June 5 Eastern Iowa Honor Flight.

Nearly 70 years after meeting White, Andrews still vividly recalls the words of his fellow soldier.

"He said to me, 'When I say get down, you get the hell down on your belly, holding your rifle out in front of you like this,'" recalls Andrews, gesturing with his hands to show how he would hold his rifle after hitting the dirt.

"He could walk up to you and you would never hear him coming," recalls Andrews. "But he kept me alive."

Andrews' story was one of countless that veterans shared during their day-long trip to Washington, D.C, where they saw the World War II Memorial and many other military monuments.

POW guard

While traveling around D.C., Andrews received a message from a grandson in Iowa, who had already posted some photos of his grandfather's trip on his Facebook page. The grandson suggested that his grandfather share his stories of guarding German POWs.

He did.

 Andrews said he would often let the German POWs leave camp to go to a store to buy things, and they always returned. Other soldiers criticized him, but Andrews said he had another view of the "enemy."

"I asked him once if he wanted to be a soldier," recalled Andrews. "He said, 'Hell, no! They came to my house and got me.'"

Andrews then told the German that he too, had been drafted.

"He did not want to be there, and I didn't want to be there, either," he recalls.

Coast Guard

This Honor Flight included several women who served in the U.S. military during World War II.

Carol Powell of Cedar Rapids served in the U.S. Coast Guard. Even though she ended up working in an office and attending business training school twice, she had to go through six weeks of basic training.

After the war, Carol said, she had already been two to office training schools, so she used her GI bill to pay for pilot's lessons. She learned how to fly a plane, but decided to abandon her pursuit of a pilot's license when it came time to learn how to stall a plane in mid-air and restart it.

"She thought that didn't make sense," said her daughter, Nancy Sadler. She's pretty adventuresome but she thought that was going too far."

Sadler, of Ely, said she learned many things about her mother's military career that she had not known before.

"I did learn some things about my mom that I had not known before. I knew she was in the service but during our trip, I really got to quiz her about that more and go in depth about what that involved."

Sadler said her mom shared with her the memories she has of basic training, and living in barracks in near St. Louis before the Coast Guard was able to find a more normal living space. She also learned how that her mother, even though she had already been to business college, was required to take the 15-week Coast Guard Yoeman's Course.

The trip, said Sadler was exciting for them both.

"Mom just loved it," she said. "She thought it was fantastic. She had never seen the WWII Memorial or Arlington National Cemetery, and she was very happy to go."

The trip was also inspiring for the daughter.

"It was exciting for me," said Sadler. "I've gotten my love of God and country from her and this Honor Flight was so patriotic -- I was so moved by all the people including the children who came up to the vets and were so respectful."

Sadler was also inspired by the reception the veterans received in DC as well as at the Eastern Iowa Airport when the veterans returned to Iowa.

"Our reception at home was really over-the-top," said Sadler. I didn't expect it. I thought maybe we would have some family members or maybe the DAR. I did not know it would be hundreds and hundreds of people with a band and people singing."

Other Iowa veterans, in Washington, D.C, a day before the 68th anniversary of D-Day, shared their memories of the horrors of that day with a reporter from USA Today. See that story HERE.