Group flies World War II vets to memorial

Mathew Helsper, 87, a forward observer with the 2nd Infantry Division in World War II, took an Honor Flight on Wednesday to the World War II memorial in Washington, D.C. The charity helps get vets there to see the memorial in their lifetime. (Sandy Bressner photo)

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Sun City resident Mathew Helsper boarded a plane at Midway Airport in Chicago for Washington, D.C., with a number of warnings ringing in his head.

Helsper, 85, was bound for a one-day trip to the National World War II Memorial, a much-belated tribute to him and the 16 million other Americans who fought to help liberate the world from tyranny. He was joined on the Aug. 20 flight by 55 other veterans of the war, courtesy of a nationwide charity doing its best to bring as many veterans of the war as possible to the memorial before the “Greatest Generation” leaves us.

Although he had seen a lot in Europe as a forward artillery observer with the 2nd Infantry Division, people advised him that the memorial might be more than he and others could take.

“I’d been warned by five different phone calls that it’s going to be pretty emotional, and the older you get, the more soft-hearted you get,” Helsper said.

It’s a very common reaction among veterans visiting the memorial, said Tom Randall, spokesman for Honor Flight Chicago, the local branch of the charity founded to bring World War II vets to it. And the feeling is mutual among the organizers and the volunteers who shepherd them.

“It’s a very emotional thing,” Randall said. “The part that bothers most of us is when a veteran says, ‘You know, my buddy wanted to see this, but he just died and never got the chance.’ ”

Congress approved the creation of a national memorial in 1993, after three previous unsuccessful attempts since 1987. After a decade of fundraising and picking a location, the memorial on the east end of the Reflecting Pool was opened to the public in April 2004 and dedicated the next month, almost six decades after the war ended.

The next year, a retired Air Force captain and private pilot founded Honor Flight after personally flying several veterans to the memorial. The agency now has 69 hubs in 30 states, with Chicago’s having started this year with three flights thus far.

Of the 16 million veterans of the war, about 2.5 million still are alive, according to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates. More than 1,000 die each day. Put in perspective, that’s about twice the number of veterans Honor Flights Chicago has flown out to the memorial to date, plus the 400 on the waiting list.

Many of the veterans who are left, who as young men jumped out of planes and stormed the beaches of Normandy, or fought their way across Pacific atolls, are too old or sick to make it to the monument by themselves. Each flight is accompanied by “guardians,” or volunteers who pay their own way to escort veterans and attend to their needs.

Among them was Sandy Helsper, Mathew’s daughter. She said her dad did fine, but choked up a bit when an ROTC honor guard saluted them upon returning to Chicago. For many veterans, she said, the emotion of the memorial is second to how people at the monument treat them.

“Just the fact that strangers were coming up to them, shaking their hands and saying, ‘Thank you,’ ” Sandy Helsper said. “These old men were so proud. It means so much to them to be recognized.”

McHenry veteran William Berry, 87, made several donations over the years to get the $175 million memorial built, and took the June 20 honor flight to see the memorial. The Navy Air Corps navigator, who served in the Pacific theater, said the trip was overwhelming at times, especially the Freedom Wall.

The wall contains a gold star for every 100 Americans who died in the war. The wall is filled with 4,048 stars.

“I dropped a few tears while I was out there, I know that,” Berry said. “You look at all those stars on that one wall, and you think, ‘Geez, all those guys ...’ ”

Honor Flight Chicago plans its fourth and final flight of the season in September, Randall said. But fundraising efforts are under way to cram in a fifth flight before they resume in spring 2009, charity Vice President Mary Pettinato said.

Berry said he hoped that as many World War II veterans as possible got to participate.

“It’s something I think that every World War II veteran has a right to see,” he said. “I probably wouldn’t have gotten there on my own.”

How to sign up for a flight

World War II veterans can get on the waiting list for Honor Flight Chicago by downloading the form at www.honorflightchicago.org, and mailing it to Honor Flight Chicago, ATTN: Veteran Application, 2001 W. Churchill St., Chicago, IL 60647. The form can be faxed to 773-278-7724. Honor Flight will not accept applications by e-mail.

How to volunteer and donate

To volunteer as a guardian to help veterans on the trip, fill out the guardian application at the Web site and mail it to the same address, with ATTN: Guardian Application on the envelope. Guardians pay their own way for the trip, including airfare and $50 to cover the day’s costs.

Donations can be mailed to the same address, or can be submitted electronically at the Web site. Honor Flight Chicago is a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency.

On the Web

You can learn more about the World War II Memorial by visiting www.wwiimemorial.com.