WASHINGTON — The stately gray pillars and bubbling fountains of the national World War II Memorial glistened in the late October sun. Bronze stars, large wreaths, engraved quotes and towering sculptures adorned the plaza.
If it weren’t for the Honor Flight Network, many of the veterans for whom the memorial was created would never get the chance to see it.
The national organization exists “to bring World War II veterans to Washington to visit their memorial, essentially, before it was too late for them,” said tour guide Alan Lewis, visiting with Honor Flight’s Columbus, Ohio, hub.
There are about 130 independent, nonprofit Honor Flight branches throughout the U.S., Lewis said. The group also serves Vietnam War, Korean War and Operation Desert Storm veterans.
On Saturday, hubs from Columbus, southern Indiana and central Florida peppered the memorial plaza, as did several hundred tourists on the unseasonably warm afternoon.
Karima Hurt (left), dressed in World War II period clothing as part of the National Park Service’s Living History program, gestures to members of the Honor Flight Network’s southern Indiana hub at the World War II Memorial in Washington on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017. (LINDSEY LEAKE/AMERICAN UNIVERSITY)
In her black lace dress, striped hat and white gloves, National Park Service volunteer Karima Hurt stood out from the crowd. She looked as though she’d just walked out of a church service in 1945 — which she said is on purpose.
Hurt is part of NPS’ Living History program.
“We dress in period clothing,” she said. “It reminds [the veterans] of some of the things and people, how the people would dress during those times. It brings back very fond memories.”
Each veteran is paired with a volunteer called a guardian, who along with service members in training greet them with whoops and cheers at the airport — in part to compensate for the happy homecoming many veterans never got.
More than 27,200 veterans remain on the Honor Flight waiting list. Hurt hopes they all have the chance to visit their memorial.
“We want to invite everyone across the country to find every veteran that served in World War II, Korea or Vietnam and put them in touch with the honor flights in their area,” she said.
World War II veteran Jim Cavanaugh was delighted to have been given the opportunity to visit the national memorial Saturday, calling it, “about the greatest thing since drinking water, or liquor.”
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This article was written on deadline for Lindsey Leake’s COMM 622 Writing and Editing for Convergent Media course at the American University School of Communication on Oct. 21, 2017.