Last Saturday, World War II veterans from the Piedmont Triad region went on the inaugural Triad Flight of Honor to Washington, D.C., to see the WWII Memorial for the first time. Now that they are home, local veterans and others are sharing what the trip meant to them.

The oldest living Surry County survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jack Leach, went on the trip along with Mount Airy resident Charles Dugger. Leach said he was proud to be chosen to go on the inaugural flight.

“It was a very wonderful trip. Everybody enjoyed it very much. The Memorial was beautiful. The only thing is it brings back too many memories. On one wall, it is covered in stars to represent the 16 million killed during the war. Each star represents one hundred men killed during action, that was very sad to me,” Leach said.

“We had a big day all day long. We had a wonderful reception when we came back in to Greensboro. We wasn’t expecting anyone to be back down there. We had a wonderful time. I would recommend it to anyone,” Leach said.

Although the veterans got to see many memorials during their visit to Washington, Leach said he enjoyed seeing the World War II memorial the most.

“The best thing was seeing the memorial itself. We’ve been waiting about 60 years to see it. I’m just really proud that the Flight of Honor did what they did. I’ll never forget that trip. It brought back a lot of memories. It was really a wonderful trip. I’m glad I was chosen,” Leach said.

Johnnie Gray of Westfield served in the Army during World War II in the European theater in Germany. He said the Triad Flight of Honor was a trip of a lifetime.

“I was in (the war) until we drove the Germans back and drove them into the Russians then they surrendered,” Gray said.

He served a little more than 23 months. He said when he got home the war with Japan was still raging, so he was prepared to get on a ship to go there and fight when the Japanese surrendered. He finished out his time in the states.

His oldest daughter, Sandra Ballard, Nancy Gammons, the middle daughter, and Beverly Conner, his youngest, were with his wife, Glister, at the Piedmont Triad International Airport to greet him when he returned last Saturday.

“I’ve never had a day just like that in my lifetime. It’s been a long time since I’ve been out of the Army, 60-something years, and I never did think something like this would happen,” Gray said.

Gray said he saw Howard Coble, Senators Richard Burr, Virginia Foxx and Kay Hagen at the airport. He was impressed to see them there.

Gray said he received a special surprise when he got to the World War II Memorial. He said the group was greeted by former Sen. Bob Dole and his wife, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

“I was sitting there and here came a woman to sit down beside of me and it was Elizabeth. And I said, ‘Elizabeth Dole do you still live in Salisbury?’ And she said, ‘No, I live here in Washington more now than we do in Salisbury.’ So I got to talk to her,” Gray said.

He said when he was discharged from the Army following the war his homecoming was uneventful.

“There was nobody there to say farewell when I got out of the Army. I lived in a little farm community. When I got home, they were glad to see me, but that was about the extent of that, no party, no nothing,” Gray said.

Gray said the thing that impressed him most about the trip was when they got off the airplane in Greensboro.

“All those people, I suppose there were a thousand or more. From little children from grown-ups and soldiers were saluting us, thanking us for what we did during the war. That, I guess was the most touching thing. I know I shed tears there. The whole day was good. It was awesome,” Gray said.

Betty Lynn, who played Thelma Lou as Barney Fife’s girlfriend on The Andy Griffith Show, was invited to go on the trip because she served in the U.S.O. during World War II in China, India and Burma in 1944 and 1945.

“It was a great experience — to be with all those men who served and all their stories that I heard. I got to hold the microphone for WXII so the men could talk into it on the Veteran of Foreign Wars bus we were on and they would talk into it. I got to hear things they wanted to talk about — experiences they had. It was really very touching,” Lynn said.

Lynn said she left her home at 4 a.m. and got back at midnight that day. She rode with the veterans and guardians on the VFW Honor Guard van from Veteran’s Park to PTIA.

“We had all these bikers that escorted us to the airport. They had flags flying and it was amazing. All of them were thrilled to be able to do this and to get up there and see the gorgeous monument. It’s just so beautiful.”

Lynn said after the group visited the WWII Memorial, they traveled to see the Vietnam Memorial wall.

“That just breaks your heart. You can barely stand to look at it — it’s so sad with all those names,” Lynn said.

“Everything was perfect. It couldn’t have been better. I sure thank them all. It was really important to me,” Lynn said of the Rotarians and volunteers who made the trip possible. “I’m very grateful. It’s just an experience that I will never forget.”

Bob Meinecke, president of the Mount Airy Rotary Club, went on the trip as a guardian. Each guardian is assigned to three veterans during the Triad Flight of Honor.

“There was just so much love and support from people who would just reach their hands out to the veterans and thank them. There were just hundreds and hundreds of people that lined up wherever we went.

“What was really cool is that the airplane we were on was given top priority. One person kidded that the only plane that got higher priority that day was Air Force One,” Meinecke said with a laugh.

“We spent about two hours at the monument and that was probably the most emotional for a lot of the guys, most of which had never been to the memorial. You could see the tears pouring down from some of the fellas who were emotionally overcome because they could remember all of their fallen comrades who weren’t there to enjoy this with them,” Meinecke said.

Before leaving Washington the group visited the FDR Memorial and ended up at the new Airforce Memorial.

“It’s very unique and quite spectacular,” Meinecke said.

The next Triad Flight of Honor will be taking off from PTIA on Oct. 28 at 8:30 a.m. Mount Airy News Reporter Mondee Tilley will on that flight as a guardian in charge of three veterans from the Elkin area.

The Triad Flight of Honor is sponsored by Rotary District 7690.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.