American Valor – Military Tribute

Ozark Honor Flight

The Ozark Honor Flight was a perfect tribute for military veterans according to Morsey Saunders who wrote this article and submitted it to the Springfield, MO News Leader.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all who sponsored the Ozark Honor Flight to Washington, DC. to see all those wonderful sites. My favorite was observing the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

Yesterday gave me a sense of gratification for being a fellow serviceman along with those who died for this country. Times pass, and we tend to store memories of those who did not come home. However, seeing all those memorial sites brought them flooding back. Memories of fellow men serving next to me will never be forgotten. Time can never erase such memories.

As a young man, I was eager to join the military to be a part of the men and women protecting our fine country. I tried to enlist while still attending school; however, the recruiter said no, I had to complete my schooling. Immediately upon graduation, I headed straight back to that recruiting office, where I was accepted. After my basic training, I was fortunate to become a Marine pilot. I flew aircraft from the Escort
Carrier Guadalcanal, as well as being stationed in Peking, China, where I flew missions over the Great Wall of China.

Thank you again for your consideration to me as a veteran. Also, to give appreciation to all who wrote thank-you letters to each of the veterans taking this flight. What a treat getting "Mail Call," as it was during the war.

Plus a special thank you to the guardians who volunteered to assist each of us.

This background on the Ozark Honor Flight was written by Paula Morehouse with KY3 News in Branson, MO

SPRINGFIELD — Just before 8 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, nearly 400 Japanese warplanes attacked the home port of the United States’ pacific fleet. Sixty-eight years later, from the banks of Lake Taneycomo in Branson, some of the survivors of that attack and other veterans of World War 2 listened to the National Anthem and remembered.

"If you want to feel like you were there, it was organized confusion and nobody knew what was going on," said Pearl Harbor survivor Al Collins.

From a VFW hall in Springfield more than six decades later, they read the old headlines and they remembered.

"The worst thing about it was the people that were burnt. They had hundreds of ‘em in the barracks there and nothing to ease their pain or nothing, it was terrible," said Pearl Harbor survivor Guy Piper. "I saw these three planes coming and I saw one get the California."

"Everybody was running every which way, and we didn’t know what to to run from," said Collins

When the smoke started to dissipate from the onslaught of bombs and bullets, more than 2,000 Americans died.

On this day, Americans across the country, including the Ozarks, pause to remember Pearl Harbor and our World War 2 heroes.

"It was total dedication. They volunteered to sign up the next day and went over there," said Chip Milner, who served in Vietnam.

The time to pay homage is fading. The number of World War 2 veterans left in the United States is fast disappearing, dying at a rate of more than 900 a day.

Those who fought, survived and are still able to tell their story said the lessons of the World War 2 should also be remembered.

"We ought to know what’s going on around us, instead of forgetting that it can happen," said Collins.

Last Nov. 17, a planeload of World War 2 veterans took part in the first Ozarks Honor Flight, which takes our heroes to Washington, D.C., to see the National World War 2 Memorial. The next Ozarks Honor Flight is tentatively scheduled for next April 13.

The veterans fly free, the guardians and volunteers pay their way. Donations are always welcome for future Honor Flights. You can send tax-deductible contributions right here to KY3.

We also have a special phone number to call and make a donation 417-268-3390.