Honor Flight Chicago

Veterans take part in a fl ag ceremony at the WWII Memorial on May

11 as part of Honor Flight Chicago.

The oldest of the World

War II Honor Flight

veterans at 99-year-old,

Mr. Lochner plays along

with The Legacy Girls.

Three vets from Knox, Indiana

pose in front of the Lincoln

Monument.

Thanks to the combined efforts of the

schools in Lyons Township 96 World War

II veterans took part in Honor Flight Chi-

cago on May 11. Honor Flight Chicago

is a non-profi t organization that honors

America’s veterans for their sacrifi ces by

transporting these heroes to Washington,

D.C. to visit and refl ect at their memorials.

Thanks to the generosity of the schools of

Lyons Township, and with the help of lo-

cal businesses and community members,

more than $60,000 was raised to fund

one fl ight for 96 of our nation’s heroes.

Each of the servicemen and women who

participated in Honor Flight Chicago had

inspiring stories of service and sacrifi ce.

Each of them waited about one year to

participate in Honor Flight Chicago;

nearly 1,400 veterans remain on the wait-

ing list.

Chester Aszklar, a paratrooper with the

82nd Airborne who was captured and

worked on a German farm as a prisoner

of war for 19 ½ months has plans to visit

local schools to speak to students and

thank them personally for helping fund

his Honor Flight.

“It was kind of cool that schools from all

over the LT area came together for this

special cause. It was nice to be a part of

that!” said Amanda Bolton, 8th grader at

Park Junior High.

“Highlands Middle School has close to

300 in the entire student body. We were

so proud even though we are probably

the smallest of the 8 schools, we raised

over $8,200 to help get the veterans to

Washington DC,” said Diana Kafkes, 7th

grade student.

“Our students really got behind the idea

of thanking our veterans. We thought it

was important to teach them how to be

good citizens, how they can contribute

and how they can demonstrate patriotism.

I’m proud that our kids were so invested

and involved in this project,” said High-

lands Junior High Sixth Grade teacher

Christine Phillip.

The day-long Hon-

or Flight allowed

for a trip to the

World War II Me-

morial, the Lincoln

Monument, Korean

and Vietnam Me-

morials and a tour

of the Smithsonian

Air and Space

Museum. Each

veteran was paired

with a guardian, a

volunteer who ac-

companied the vet

on each leg of their

trip.

Team Efforts

Fund a FlightFunding an Honor Flight is no easy task,

but through the combined efforts of eight

schools and thousands of students, the

trip came to fruition. Restaurant and

movie nights, t-shirt sales, before school

milk and donut breakfasts, lollipops and

patriotic pins, pen and pencil sales, a

Pampered Chef party, as well as Gurrie

Middle School’s Party with a Purpose,

where each student had to raise $20 for

Honor Flight Chicago in order to attend,

all contributed proceeds to the fundrais-

ing efforts.

The LaGrange Theatre Movie Night

raised $1,200 in a single evening. “Being

a local theatre and a business that thrives

on community support, we fi nd it’s equal-

ly important to give back to the com-

munity. Honor Flight Chicago is such

a worthwhile

cause that we

were happy to

get involved,”

said John Rot of

the LaGrange

Theater. A table

was set up in

the theatre

foyer, and a

World War II

veteran, who

had been on an Honor Flight, greeted the

kids as they came in and thanked them

for supporting veterans. A DVD explain-

ing Honor Flight Chicago and its mission

was shown to movie goers as a preview.

First National Bank of LaGrange donated

more than $1,100. They immediately

pledged $500 at the LaGrange Business

Association meeting, where the Honor

Flight program as well as veterans were

introduced. The bank put out a donation

bucket, encouraging the public and bank

employees to donate, and raised another

$600. “First National Bank of LaGrange

is fortunate to be in a community where

we were

able to help

this mis-

sion! Thank

you veter-

ans for your

service to

our nation,”

said Dan

Hennebry,

presi-

dent First

National

Bank of

LaGrange.

According

to St. John

of the Cross history teacher and school

fundraising coordinator Tom Clausing,

“St. John of the Cross was the fi rst school

to say ‘yes!’ and answer the call for help!

Eager to assist their high school raise

money for our

nation’s he-

roes, St. John

held a variety

of fundraisers

from selling

red, white and

blue brace-

lets, to selling

concessions at school games and events.

One student even donated his money

from the lemonade stand he worked on

his own. We were honored to be part of

this effort!”

Tracey Rousonelos, Honor Flight Chi-

cago Ambassador, LTHS parent, and

Chair of Fundraising Effort, said, “It’s a

long way to sponsor a whole fl ight, even

for a big school like LTHS. Early on, the

focus was how to bring this great cause

to an entire community. Seven associate

schools eagerly got on board, along with

local business associations, Rotary Clubs,

churches, parents and residents. Wanting

to help these young philanthropists raise

money, the energy and excitement in our

community was infectious! This is truly

an example of how ‘it takes a village’ to

come together and make possible some-

thing great for these deserving American

Navyman Leonard Prescott admires the

NASA Shuttle Enterprise at the Air and

Space Museum.

heroes. I could not be more proud of

LTHS, of our 7 schools that worked so

hard, and our entire village that supported

all these efforts!”

Raising AwarenessEqually important

as raising funds

for Honor Flight

Chicago, teachers

and local schools

raised awareness

about being good

citizens.

St. Francis Xavier

has participated

in Honor Flight in

past years, but this

year was different.

This time there was

a community-wide

goal to sponsor an entire Honor Flight.

St Francis built a memorial to honor

veterans. Each student was given a paper

“brick” and asked to write a dedica-

tion on it to a veteran. When more than

700 bricks were returned to school, 5th

graders built a wall for all to view and

collected the donations that accompanied

the bricks. Chris Morkin, St. Francis 5th

grade Service Parent volunteer, said,

“The entire Honor Flight process, from

fundraising to the welcome home, em-

bodied and embraced us as citizens. The

Honor Flight is a rare and unique oppor-

tunity to be a part of, especially since this

generation is quickly passing.”

Park Junior High teacher Vicky Schorsch

said, “What a truly memorable experi-

ence this was for our students as well as

the vets! From the beginning when our

students had a chance to meet WWII

vets who had already been on an Honor

Flight, through our fundraising, letter-

writing, and participation in the Welcome

Home ceremony, our students gained

a greater appreciation for the men and

women who serve our country! It also

proved to be a wonderful service project

and community-building opportunity.”

Thankful Vets and VolunteersOn the fl ight back from Washington DC,

each veteran received Mail Call: the

arrival of letters from home, which was

an important part of serving overseas.

Thousands of letters were given to the

veterans, with handwritten notes from

family members, colorful pictures drawn

by elementary school students, and heart-

felt notes of thanks from well wishers

and volunteers.

“I smile at the memory of colorful bun-

dles of mail; our students’ letters to the

veterans, and the simple but thoughtful

drawings some of the younger students

created,” according to St. Cletus Board of

Education member Heather Alpe.

Perhaps the most impactful and moving

event of the day-long trip was the Wel-

come Home the veterans received upon

landing in Chicago. Hundreds of active

duty men and women dressed in full

uniform saluting and standing at full at-

tention lined the walk from the departure

gate to baggage claim. Behind them were

nearly one thousand students, parents,

friends and patriotic citizens who came

to the airport to welcome them home. A

sea of red, white and blue, with ban-

ners, balloons and American fl ags fi lled

the terminal with non-stop applause and

cheers for each veteran.

The veterans were fi lled with gratitude.

Army corporal Eddie Samuels said with

tears in his eyes, “I’m overwhelmed. I

really admire these kids and what they’ve

done for us. Thank them for me.”

Gurrie Middle School is no stranger to

Honor Flight Welcome Homes, in fact,

May 11 was the their 9th! Gurrie students

agreed that

this was,

“by far, the

most excit-

ing and

rewarding

Welcome

Home since

we started

helping

with fl ights happen,” said 7th grader

Kelsey Sheehan.

Honor Flight Chicago was as inspiration-

al for the vets as it was for the volunteers.

Lyons Township High School Principal

David Franson was among the lucky vol-

unteers. He said, “Honor Flight Chicago

was a rare privilege to thank and support

our WWII veterans. It was made particu-

larly special for the fact that it was the

entire Lyons Township community that

made this trip possible. Thanks to the en-

thusiastic and steady efforts of associate

school districts, area parochial schools,

local businesses, churches, LT’s students,

staff, and parents, 96 veterans were hon-

ored. It was a chance for all those who

participated to personally touch history.

‘Thank you’ to all of our country’s WWII

veterans!”

Help Honor

Flight Chicago

reach its goal

of send-

ing every

veteran

to Wash-

ington D.C. to see their war

memorial and our nation’s

monuments. Please consider

donating today. Log on to the

website at www.honorfl ight-

chicago.org or call

1-773-227 VETS (8377).

Active duty personnel escort the Honor Flight vets off

the plane, while others salute in recognition.

LTHS Student Council Advi-

sor and teacher Martha Elliott

said, “The veterans could not

believe the generosity, the sense

of adventure, and the love they

felt throughout the day as they

took part in the Honor Flight. In

return, I could not believe how

much each one of them touched

my heart as they spoke from

theirs.”

Coming together with our com-

munity and neighboring schools

to meet this goal was an amaz-

ing experience. It wasn’t simply

about fundraising, but more

importantly about collaboration

and community building. Our students

experienced fi rst hand the power they

have to make a difference. Their collec-

tive determination to achieve this goal

was rewarded the evening of May 11th

when they assembled together to

thank and applaud those 96 veter-

ans, Alpe said.

Ryan P. Williamson, CFP®, CCPS,

Certifi ed College Planning Special-

ist with College Horizons echoes

those comments, “What Honor

Flight Chicago does for the heroes

of our country is indescribable.

Both of my grandfathers and one of

my grandmothers served in WWII.

Unfortunately, they all passed be-

fore the completion of the Memo-

rial in Washington was completed.

I fi rmly believe that all surviving

Thanks to all the schools that

made the May 11 Honor Flight

Chicago possible:

Lyons Township High School

Highlands Middle School

Gurrie Middle School

Park Jr. High

St. John of the Cross

St. Cletus

St. Francis Xavier

McClure Jr. High

Shoulder to shoulder, 96 WWII vets take part in the

fl ag ceremony at the WWII Memorial.

WWII Veterans deserve to see the memo-

rial erected in their honor. Many of us

take our privileged lifestyle for granted,

yet without these heroes we wouldn’t be

so fortunate.”

Perhaps Park Junior High 7th grader

Bridget Kirby says it best, “It was abso-

lutely breath-taking! My great-grandfa-

ther fought in the war, and even though

he is not here anymore, it felt like he was

there at that moment. I would not trade

the smiles and tears that I saw on the

veterans’ faces for anything!”

Please help send another fl eet of World

War II veterans to Washington DC to see

their war memorial and nation’s monu-

ments. Consider donating to Honor Flight

Chicago by calling 1-773-227-VETS or

log on to www.honorfl ightchicago.org.

Stanley Nowak and his Honor Flight guard-

ian at the Air and Space Museum. Hugs of thanks and gratitude abound for vets

Freedom Riders greet vets at the airport.

Vets remember the fallen at Arlington Cemetery.

The Chicago police and fi re departments

salute the vets upon their return to Midway

Airport. The Korean War Veterans Memorial

Left: Three buddies

from Knox Indiana

pose beside the Lin-

coln Memorial.

HONOR

FLIGHT

CHICAGORight: Vets take part

in the fl ag ceremony

at the World War II

Memorial.

Veteran Curtwright at the Air and Space Museum with his Guardian, Captain John Malfi tano, Commanding Offi cer Naval Station Great Lakes.

Vets received letters from friends, family

and students for Mail Call on the fl ight

home. Servicemen share a smile at the Welcome Home.