The Greatest Generation Remembers Its Sacrifice

Nov. 12, 2007 — -- Of the original 16 million World War II veterans, a mere 3.5 million survive today. Many of them descended upon Washington, D.C., for Veterans Day, to remember, celebrate and honor their comrades.

To see, touch and feel the World War II Memorial, which opened to the public in April 2004, is an opportunity some men thought they would never receive.

"I never thought I'd make it," one veteran said.

"It humbles you so much. It's hard to say," another veteran added.

Now, some of those former armed forces members, who previously had been unable to view the site — created in their honor — in person, are getting a chance to visit the memorial, thanks to one veteran.

Thousands of veterans are being ferried and flown to the memorial thanks to the vision of retired Air Force Capt. Earle Morse.

Morse founded Honor Flight Network, and has aided 5,000 veterans to get to Washington since his program began.

For more information on Honor Flight, go to honorflight.org.

"For them, for their sacrifice — and to have a memorial and no way to see it — it's like, what is the point?" Morse asked.

With the help of community organizations and corporate donors, Honor Flight has helped veterans like Air Corps Staff Sgt. Virgil Leonard to finally reach their dream — all without spending a penny of their own, often limited, income.

"I don't know how to explain it. I don't know how to describe it. It's just super," said Leonard, who had been too afraid and too frail to make the journey alone, before Honor Flight Network's help.

With between 1,200 and 1,500 World War II veterans dying per day, the organization gives top priority to the most senior veterans, and those who are terminally ill. And while, today, Honor Flight uses commercial airlines to accommodate the maximum number of vets possible, its growth is a far cry from its first flight in May 2005, when six small planes flew WWII veterans from Springfield, Ohio, to the nation's capital.

The shared experience is one that only they truly can understand, even when they are total strangers to one another.