SAN MARCOS: Veteran takes Honor Flight to nation's capital

Organization helps fund trips for those who fought in World War II

By JOHN RAIFSNIDER - For the North County Times | Monday, July 28, 2008 7:02 PM PDT ∞

SAN MARCOS ---- World War II veteran Ray Hurt revisited his military past this month ---- all expenses paid.

The 88-year-old San Marcos resident and his son, Alan, took advantage of the nonprofit Honor Flight Network's free flights to Washington, D.C., for World War II veterans who want to visit the memorial honoring the 16 million Americans who served or lost their lives in the war.

The organization covers all the costs of flying World War II veterans to the nation's capital to see the National World War II Memorial and other memorials honoring America's military. The group also pays for food and lodging and most of the costs of a guardian ---- typically an accompanying family member or friend.

Hurt said the trip was truly memorable.

"That was an amazing thing they did for us, to pay for me and Alan to go back there and see that memorial," he said, adding that he also got to meet fellow veteran and former Sen. Bob Dole during the three-day trip.

"Everything was taken care of. I never would have gone back there on my own," Hurt said. "I'm 88 years old and I don't get around too well anymore. ... It made for an unbelievable experience."

Alan Hurt said he learned about Honor Flight while watching a national newscast earlier this year and immediately thought of his father, an Army rifleman who was wounded in the battle for the Philippines in 1945.

"As soon as I could, I got in contact with the folks at Honor Flight Network and submitted his name" for the free trip, Alan Hurt said. "I knew my father probably wouldn't do something like this on his own."

The Hurts left San Diego on July 11. Among the places they visited with other veterans and their accompanying guardians on guided tours the following day was Arlington National Cemetery, where they saw the Tomb of the Unknowns and witnessed a changing of the guard.

Later in the day, the veterans spent 90 minutes viewing the World War II Memorial. The memorial ---- which opened in 2004 ---- is flanked by the Washington Monument to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west.

The final stop on the whirlwind tour was an hourlong visit to the Iwo Jima Memorial, which includes a statue that depicts the raising of the American flag atop Mount Suribachi. Before returning to their hotel, the veterans assembled for a group photo in front of the statue.

Honor Flight President Jim McLaughlin said his nonprofit group was happy to fly the Hurts to the nation's capital.

"Because we require that each vet have someone with them ---- we call them guardians ---- during the trip to Washington, D.C., and especially when they are coming from quite a distance like the Hurts did, we'll cover almost all of the expenses of the guardian, as well," McLaughlin said by phone Monday from his Columbus, Ohio, office.

The group's Web site states it was created to honor the nation's veterans for all their sacrifices and that it gives top priority to World War II veterans and veterans with terminal illnesses.

For more information about the Honor Flight Network, visit www.honorflight.org or call (937) 521-2400.

John Raifsnider is a freelance writer for the North County Times. He can be reached at newsman@sbcglobal.net.