Central Oregon Korean War veterans set off for D.C.
Several Central Oregon veterans of the Korean War are getting the trip of a lifetime — and it’s free.
On Wednesday, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office gave a send-off to more than two-dozen vets on a bus to Portland, where they’ll spend the night. After that, they’ll fly to Washington, D.C. for an all-expenses-paid weekend.
It’s called the Honor Flight, and represents something of a passing of the bond to a new nonprofit organization, Honor Flight of Central Oregon, primarily focusing on Korean War veterans, In recent years, the Honor Flight of Eastern Oregon was able to send nearly 600 WWII veterans to the nation’s capital.
Among those making this trip are 23 Korean War veterans and two WWII veterans from Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties.Along with their guardians and trip leaders, they will visit several military memorials, as well as Arlington National Cemetery and a visit with Rep. Greg Walden before a guided tour of the Capitol.
One former Seabee recounted a story about his time in Korea to NewsChannel 21. One day, he was tasked with installing a water pipe.
“I turned to go, and being nice and young and graceful, I stumbled over one of the (boards) that was holding the thing up — and just like unzipping a zipper, it made the whole mile or two or three fall down in the ditch,” Leonard Zierlein said. “I said, ‘Well, that’s taken care of, give me another job. Set me off to do something else.'”
Several veterans said they feel very appreciated by their country, and an event like this makes it even clearer. One said the country has come a long way since the Korean War, and especially since the Vietnam War, in terms of treating veterans right.
“The way they (Vietnam veterans) were treated, I’ll never forget it,” veteran John Meyer said. “I can’t believe that it happened. They were so cruel to them, calling them baby killers and such. What a terrible ordeal those poor guys went through, and a lot of them suffered terribly in Vietnam.”
“Americans now really are concerned about veterans,” he continued. “I can see it happening now more than ever. It’s wonderful how they treat the veterans now. The American people are very kind to veterans. Thank God. It’s a nice thing to have happening.”
Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson said he was honored to be part of the sending-off event.
“I can’t even put it into words,” Nelson said. “I’m overwhelmed with love for the veterans. I’m overwhelmed with support for these veterans because the freedoms we have and the rights we have were protected by these very hard-working women and men of our military.”
For more information: http://www.honorflightofcentraloregon.org/
