Joe Byron was a retired Manchester policeman helping investigate crimes against seniors when he struck up a friendship one day at the Mall of NH with an aging WWII vet, that he says changed his life.
“The more I talked to this gentleman, the more I appreciated just how much he had done for his country,” says Byron. “It is a generation that gave so much and really never asked for anything in return.”
Three years later, Byron, a 54-year-old Vietnam era vet, is looking to return the favor the best he can. In March, he launched Honor Flight New England, part of a national volunteer network that brings aging and terminally ill veterans down to Washington, D.C., for a full day, free of charge, to visit their war memorials for the first time. “These guys deserve it,” Byron says. “After what they’ve been through, so many of them have still never seen any of the memorials, either because they couldn’t afford it, or because their family was afraid to take them because of medical needs.”
On June 13, Byron, with the aid of several volunteers, veterans’ family members, and medical personnel (and sent off by a full complement of flag-waving greeters) took 19 area WWII vets on their inaugural Honor Flight – a trip that included visits to Arlington Cemetery and the WWII, Iwo Jima, Korean War, Vietnam, Air Force and Navy memorials. “Seeing these monuments on my own had struck me, of course,” Byron says. “But not nearly as much as when I saw the look in their eyes. I think for a lot of the guys going on this trip, it’s closure. I was amazed to hear the experiences they shared as the day went on.”
Byron recalls talking with one vet, who’d deposited soldiers onto Omaha Beach on D-Day and a half-century later suffered post-traumatic-stress-disorder after viewing “Saving Private Ryan. Another, an ex-POW from Hillsborough, had come within inches of losing his legs in the South Pacific. “We’re losing 1,000 WWII veterans a day, and so many don’t tell their story,” Byron says. “When they die, that history often dies with them. There are generations that need to know about their sacrifice.”
Byron and volunteers pay for Honor Flights entirely through private donations, with each visit costing $400 – volunteers and family members pay their own way. Future flights are scheduled for Sept. 20 and 26 and Oct. 17. For more information, visit www.honorflightnewengland.org.
