Northland Honor Flight Vets Reunite
Posted at: 10/27/2012 5:35 PM
| Updated at: 10/27/2012 11:25 PM
By: Travis Dill
The Northland Honor Flights have helped hundreds of World War Two and Korean War veterans visit memorials in Washington D.C. free of charge. Those veterans met up at Denfeld High School on Saturday for a reunion.
John Stojevich, a Korean War veteran, was very thankful for the group that helped him get to Washington.
“The people who organized this thing should be running the city, the state and the federal government,” Stojevich said.
He says that during the trip he ran into an old friend at a memorial.
“And I heard somebody holler 'Hey Serg' and here was a guy that I hadn't seen since 1953,” Stojevich said.
He said mail call was an important part of the day during the war. The honor flight reenacted that.
“So then the lady hollered 'mail call' and they had gotten mail from each of our family members and passed out the letters on the plane. It's kind of unique,” Stojevich said.
John said he wouldn't have made it to Washington D.C. without the flight, but there was one issue with the trip.
“My only complaint was they fed us too much,” Stojevich said.
Doyle Cossin also fought in Korea and received three Purple Hearts for his sacrifice. He said the trip was emotional.
“When we saw that memorial for the Koreans, we had six vets there, none of us could take it. It's just so moving,” Cossin said.
Cossin reflected on the freedom that cost him and others so much.
“The freedom that a lot of people just take for granted, well, we don't take that freedom for granted because we really paid for it,” Cossin said.
But he said a young boy recently thanked him for his sacrifice.
“But that kid, when he said 'thanks for my freedom' I could see in his eyes and his voice that he really meant it. And I got so choked up I couldn't even talk,” Cossin said.
Dozens of veterans were smiling Saturday at Denfeld High School as they shared their experiences. Honor Flight Northland has helped nearly 450 veterans visit Washington D.C. in the last two years.
 |
Print Story | | |  |
