Last week, we posted the results of our 14th annual bankwide flag collection, during which our branches accept worn and tattered American flags, which are then handed off to the American Legion to be properly retired by veterans and Boy Scouts. In conjunction with the flag collection, North Shore Bank and our employees also donate money to two groups that send American military veterans on honor flights — free daylong trips by chartered jet to Washington, D.C., to see the monuments in our nation’s capital.

In 2011, Jim Saladin, our VP in charge of consumer credit and collections, had the opportunity to be part of an honor flight. His story offers a glimpse into these remarkable journeys supported by your donations.

Jim at the National World War II Memorial with a picture of his father-in-law, Bob Decker.

Bob Decker died in August 2011, not long after undergoing surgery for a shattered hip. Just one week later, his family received a letter from Stars and Stripes Honor Flight saying that the 88-year-old World War II veteran had been selected for a flight to Washington, D.C. in November.

“He’d really been looking forward to it,” said Jim Saladin, who was Bob’s son-in-law. “He hadn’t been to Washington in 40 years.”

The veterans who take part in honor flights typically travel with a companion — a younger, more mobile person who can help them get around, usually a family member. Jim had planned to visit D.C. with Bob, and had paid $500 to accompany him. After Bob’s death, Jim figured he’d skip the trip. “But,” he learned, “there are always some veterans whose families can’t afford to go with them.” When he was offered the chance to travel with another veteran who needed a companion, Jim accepted.

Jim’s new veteran, Wesley Graham, had worked on road construction projects while serving in Japan at the end of WWII. Jim met Wesley and also went through training for the honor flight. But training couldn’t prepare him for the reality of transporting 150 octogenerians and nonagenerians from Wisconsin to the East Coast, through a major city, and back in one day.

Old-timers, short travel times
“We went in two jets. It takes about an hour and a half to load the plane when you’re loading 75 80-plus-year-old guys!” Jim said. “Everyone’s moving kind of slow.” However, because the honor flights use chartered jets, the veterans and their companions didn’t have to go through airport security on either end, which helped expedite the process.

Wesley Graham, the veteran Jim accompanied, in front of the Washington Monument.

Things were also sped along later, after the jets landed at Reagan National Airport and the travelers boarded tour buses: Official police escorts drove along with the buses.

“It really minimizes the traffic time,” Jim said. “It’s pretty cool to be in the bus seeing the police getting after people to move out of the way.”

The police escorts, he noted, are a nice way to honor veterans, but serve a practical purpose by moving traffic along. The honor flight tour made five or six stops throughout the course of the day, and because of the veterans’ age, loading and unloading the buses took a good chunk of time. Without help from police, it’s unlikely the veterans could see as much of the capital as they do.

“These guys mean business,” Jim said of the honor flight organizers. “It’s a really well-run organization. They take roll call repeatedly after a stop, to make sure you don’t lose anybody.” Organizers also have to allow for the veterans who use wheelchairs that need to be brought into the buses on lifts.

“I was very fortunate in that Wesley was very mobile,” Jim said. “He could do pretty much whatever he wanted to.” In fact, Jim found himself talking to another companion on the flight into Washington. When the plane landed, her father and Wesley hopped up and were heading down the aisle before the younger people could catch up.

“One of the things they preach to you at the training is that you’re supposed to be within three feet of your veteran at all times,” Jim said. “We looked at each other, laughed, and said, ‘We’re not even off the plane and we’ve already lost them!’”

Some veterans, of course, were not so spry. “Some stops, not everyone got off. They preferred to rest,” Jim said.

Gratitude and appreciation
After seeing the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, the travelers headed home. On the tarmac prior to the return flight, the organizers did a mail call. Before the trip, they had asked the veterans’ family and friends to write letters thanking the men and women for their service. “They get to read the letters on the way back to Milwaukee,” Jim said.

And then there was the musical entertainment: A group of young women dressed like the Andrews Sisters — the singing group famous for “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” — swung by to share a little of the old razzle-dazzle with the soldiers. “You’d have people who were in their wheelchairs or crutches or not getting around,” Jim said. “When those girls came around, all of a sudden, they could stand!”

But the most heartwarming surprise came after the vets had landed and disembarked in Milwaukee. Jim had been told that there would be people waiting to greet the veterans, but had no idea what kind of crowd awaited them.

“There were just thousands of people there, with signs and cheering” he said. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen or experienced. I still get chills when I think about it.”

Though he wished he could have traveled with his father-in-law, Jim notes that the trip might have been very difficult for Bob, who had trouble getting around and might not have been willing to use a wheelchair. And regardless, Jim found the experience enlightening and enriching.

“The moral of the story is: This is worthwhile to our veterans, and the honor flight groups are worthwhile organizations to support,” he said. “It makes a difference to their lives.”