Washington, DC (WBEN) 37 veterans and their guardians spent a memorable week in Washington, DC as part of Mission 22 of Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight. Their first stop was in Baltimore.
Town Crier welcomes Honor Flight as they arrive in BaltimoreTom Puckett WBEN Photo
As the veterans arrived in Baltimore, a town crier, ringing his bell, announced the arrival. "God Bless our veterans, God Bless America, Land of the Free, Because of the brave," shouted the town crier at the terminal at Baltimore Washington International Airport.
Archie Oleszkowski was playing the kazoo as he arrived. "I have relatives from Baltimore, but I'll tell you, the greeting we got made me cry. You know, it's something that I didn't anticipate," says Oleszkowski. He says he was looking forward to the Vietnam War Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. "I'm going to look up some of my buddies that passed away in the Korean War, that's the way it goes, you know, and I love the Marines. The Marines are the best. You know, I'm a Navy man, but I'm a hospital corpsman," adds Oleszkowski.
Veteran Archie OleszkowskiTom Puckett WBEN Photo
World War II MemorialTom Puckett WBEN Photo
The first tour stop on Saturday April 18 was the World War II Memorial. Monuments representing each of the then 48 states surround a fountain at the center.
The monument impressed Ron Sutz, who served in the Army during the Vietnam Era. "It's amazing," says Sutz. "It's just amazing, the beauty and the architecture is just fantastic." Sutz was a dental technician serving in Germany. "I traveled all over Europe and had a wonderful time, and served my country as well. And I took care of a lot of the people that came in for the dentist chair," says Sutz. He recalls the dentist telling him both got leave when the dentist did, opening the door for travel. "I said, "Well, I don't get that kind of time because you're an officer,' but he said don't worry about it, you have it, so when he would go on leave, I would go on leave, and I got myself a 1957 Mercedes that I bought from a sergeant going back to Alaska, so I bought it for $75 I and I travel all over. I got my international driver's license, and just enjoyed myself over there," says Sutz. Sutz was also impressed by the welcome, calling it heartwarming.
WWII Memorial with Honor FlightTom Puckett WBEN Photo
Tim Van Buren served in the Army during the Vietnam War, and took in the World War II Memorial. "It's the biggest war, and it was terrible that all the stuff that happened during that," says Van Buren. He was in artillery in the army. "I was in the First Infantry Division, and I was in Dao Chiang for a while and moved around. I went from 105 howitzers to Aidan self propelled. They transferred me over to First Field Forces the last seven months because First Entry Division pulled out and came back home, and I didn't have enough time to come home, so I stayed there," explains Van Buren.
He says among his memoires, meeting different people from all over the country. "You don't know anybody that you just go where they tell you to go, do what they tell you to do, you know, and that much I can do for what I learned, because I was in artillery. You don't do much for that around here for using artillery, like you're not a diesel mechanic or anything, or flight instructor, or whatever. So, yeah, that's quite an experience," says Van Buren.
Van Buren was among those looking forward to seeing the Vietnam Memorial. We'll bring that Tuesday.
WWII MemorialTom Puckett WBEN Photo
