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ALEXANDRIA, Virgina — Sixty-five World War II vets visited their memorial in Washington D.C. The journey fortified their patriotism, but also stirred pain inside.
"It brought back memories of my old buddies. I wish they could've seen it before they all died,” said Jack Hansen, a WWII Army paratrooper.
Visiting the WWII Memorial took Navy veteran Mark Barrett back to age 18 — a reminder of the reality.
"It made me appreciate where I'd been born and raised. The older I've become, the more I've become convinced that this is the greatest country in world,” Barrett said. "Very sobering. Brought back lots of memories."
Digging up that pain had a positive effect, however.
"I've always wanted to come here, but I didn't think I'd have a chance to do it. I was gratified to be here this morning. It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling,” Barrett said.
His daughter Yvonne Bennett was Barrett’s Honor Flight guardian.
"From the first time I saw Honor Flight on TV, that very first flight, I turned my husband and I said, 'My dad needs to take that trip,' ” Bennett said.
Sharing this chapter together makes their bond even stronger, she said.
"It's really important to me to see the sites that mean so much to him, because he's not going to be here forever,” Bennett said.
That's the way this experience affected many of the veterans and their guardians — and that's one objective behind Utah Honor Flight.
"Truly honored to be here,” Barrett said.
