Flying Our Veterans
The National World War II Memorial honors the sacrifices made by the “greatest generation.” Now, a program offers veterans free flights to the memorial so they can receive their tribute.

While thousands of visitors have traveled to the National World War II Memorial since it opened last year, it’s not been easy for some World War II veterans to make the costly trip. Now, the Honor Flight program of the aero club at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, uses light airplanes to fly veterans from Ohio to see the memorial dedicated to honor their sacrifices.

The volunteer program was conceived by retired Air Force Capt. Earl Morse, a physician’s assistant, to honor the veterans he has taken care of the past 27 years. The veterans are flown free of charge; the flights are financed solely by individual donations. The project signed up more than 160 veterans for seven trips over the summer. The last flight takes place in October, and flights will resume in April with the warmer weather.

Gettysburg on the Web

The Army has launched a new historical Web site to honor the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle, which took place 142 years ago, was one of the bloodiest of the Civil War.

The Battle of Gettysburg Web site offers users an interesting perspective on the Civil War, featuring pop-up icons, narrated sound bites, an animated battle space, historical video footage, information on weaponry and statistics, and profiles of men and women who served during the war. The site is located on the Army’s Web site at www.army.mil/gettysburg.

Sub to Sub

This summer, USS Cod and the Netherlands American Society of Ohio commemorated the 60th anniversary of the rescue of the crew of the Dutch submarine O-19. On July 8, 1945, the Dutch submarine ran aground on Ladd Reef in the South China Sea. Unable to free itself, O-19 was at the mercy of any Japanese warships and planes in the area. U.S. Navy submarine USS Cod, responding to a coded message, arrived at the scene that day but was unable to pull the O-19 from the reef. After removing the 56 Dutch sailors to safety, Cod destroyed the O-19 to keep any of its equipment from falling into Japanese hands. The rescue was the only international submarine-to-submarine rescue in history.

USS Cod, now a national historic landmark permanently berthed in Cleveland, made seven war patrols and is considered a member of the Dutch submarine fleet by the Royal Netherlands Navy.