MUST SEE: Local Vets Visit National World War II Memorial

Churchville resident Fred Caldwell was working on the amphibious docks on the beaches of Normandy, France on September 22, 1944. He said the work was tough but it helped fuel the Allies push to overtake the Nazis.

When Caldwell and the other World War II veterans came home following the conflict, there was not much of a home coming ceremony. One veteran recalled coming back with his war buddies, going to find a job and starting a family.

“It’s just what you did at that time,” the veteran said.

Exactly seventy years after Cladwell worked the docks that fueled the defeat of the Nazis, Caldwell and 160 other local veterans, almost all of whom served in World War II, visited Washington D.C. and the memorials dedicated to their sacrifice.

The trip was part of Honor Flight Philadelphia. The volunteer-backed nonprofit thanks veterans across the United States by transporting them to the nation’s capital for their day of honor. Locally, the veterans went by bus but many Honor Flights use planes to transport veterans from as far away as Alaska.

The Bucks County Government, Parx Casino, Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick and a slew of other agencies along with hundreds of volunteers donated their funds, time and effort to make the trip special for the veterans.

“This is incredible … all the places we visited. Oh wow, it’s incredible,” Allentown World War II veteran Maur Levin said while standing at the Air Force Memorial, which overlooks the federal buildings that make the Washington D.C. skyline so recognizable.

The trip started early Monday morning when volunteers showed up at the Parx East portion of the Bensalem casino to prepare for the hundreds of incoming Honor Flight veterans and volunteers. By 6 a.m., six filled buses were escorted down Street Road and onto I-95 by officers from the Bensalem, Falls and Philadelphia police departments. The escort didn’t stop when the buses left Pennsylvania, Delaware State Police and the United States Park Police picked up the escort.

“That’s the quickest I ever got to D.C.,” Pacific theater of operations veteran Levin said while laughing. “Last time I came down here with my wife, I got lost and needed to ask a police officer for help.”

The special recognition didn’t stop with the police escorts.

The veterans first visited the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at Arlington National Cemetery. The veterans, a number using wheelchairs, watched the somber changing of the guard ceremony alongside visitors who only learned about the sacrifices the veterans made  during history classes.

“It’s great the people are here to pay their respects,” Caldwell said. “There were men who gave everything for this country.”

The buses then took the veterans past the Women’s Memorial and Navy’s Iwo Jima Memorial. The buses each had tour guides, bus number 4 featured an Army member from South Carolina.

After a picturesque travel route overlooking Washington D.C., which buzzed with the sound of helicopters and jetliners, the veterans stopped at the impressive Air Force Memorial in Arlington. The memorial features black granite walls with inscription and three stunning spires that represent a precision flying maneuver known as the “bomb burst.”

PHOTOS:  Local Veterans Get Opportunity to Visit War Memorials

A boxed lunch served up by Arby’s, Honor Flight volunteers and Bucks County Recorder of Deeds Joseph Szafran was given to the veterans and the volunteers assigned to them. The volunteers were called “guardians” and wore distinctive blue shirts.

While eating lunch, Bucks County Commissioner Charlie Martin looked at the group of gathered veterans and spoke of their impressive service for the country.

“The things they did for us,” he remarked in an introspective tone.

One veteran, who only identified himself by saying he was from Bristol, said he only did what he was asked to do. He added that his service in Europe during World War II was so he could come home and enjoy freedom with his family.

After lunch, the veterans loaded on their buses and headed back into Washington D.C.

The Korean War Memorial on the National Mall was first. Some of the Korean War veterans on the bus trip took photos together as a group of tourists walked by, some thanking the men and at least one female veteran for their service.

While standing at the nearby Lincoln Memorial, Middletown resident and Vietnam veteran Allan Silverberg spoke of the sacrifices those who served in the five branches of the armed forces gave. He said he was there as a guardian to help the veterans who were older and needed help.

“Today, we are trying to pay off some of their sacrifices,” he remarked.

The moment many of the veterans were waiting for came as the buses pulled up to the recently built National World War II Memorial. The memorial was built decades after more than 400,000 service men and woman gave their lives to defeat the Nazis, Italians and Japanese forces in bloody battles.

The excitement on the faces of the World War II veterans was clear as they went through the arch that provides entry to the memorial. Some were spotted looking at the pillars that showed the states and territories where United State service people who served in the war came from. After spending close to an hour at the memorial, the veterans were treated like celebrities and a large group photograph was taken.

“Who are these men?” a tourist from Indiana asked.

“They’re the heroes who won World War II,” a guardian answered back.