Wellhaven veteran experiences once in a lifetime trip
Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017 is a day that Robert “Bob” McLawhorn will never forget. The day may have begun and ended in the same place, but what happened in between was described as both “humbling and memorable,” by Bob.
Bob, who is a Navy and Air Force veteran, recently had the honor of participating in a one day trip to Washington D.C. He was a military musician, who served overseas during the Korean War. The trip is available to veterans through a La Crosse-based organization called Freedom Honor Flight. The goal of the program is to simply fly veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials that stand in their honor at no cost. To date, more than 1,800 veterans have participated in the program. Bob’s application for the program was completed by his friend and fellow American Legion member Jim Miller, of Legion Post 121 of River Falls, WI.
“At first, I didn’t know what it was,” Bob explained, “But Jim explained it to me and then I decided to go on the trip.”
On Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, Bob travelled to La Crosse, WI to meet up with a group of servicemen who were all taking the trip. He was set up with his own hotel room to spend the night. Early in the morning on Saturday, Sept. 16, Bob and the other servicemen boarded a plane and flew to Washington D.C.
Once landing in D.C., the group travelled in a handicapped accessible coach bus. There were 100 veterans and each received a personal escort to make the trip as easy as possible. Each veteran was escorted by wheelchair, and pushed by their personal volunteer around the many sites. Visits included the World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Marine Corps War Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Bob’s favorite monument was the Korean War Memorial, as he served during the Korean War.
“The ground is all green and there are only a few trees. The main thing is the soldiers were made out of materials that looks like ghosts, so it looks like the ghosts of those killed in Korea. That was very impressive, almost frightening. It was rather quiet there as people were honoring what it stood for,” Bob said.
At each stop, the group of veterans was greeted by different groups of people to show their appreciation.
“Every time we got off the bus, there were people to meet us. There were brass bands to play for us, people applauding us and all that good stuff. Some children would come up to hug you and say thank you. It was marvelous!” Bob explained.
The day trip was jam packed with so many different activities that lunch and snacks were served on the bus and the group ate while driving to the next stop. Following all the sites, the group flew back to La Crosse and Bob stayed the night, returning to Wellhaven Senior Living on Sunday, Sept. 17.
“I’ll never forget it, let’s put it that way. It was just fantastic, I enjoyed every minute,” Bob said, “It was humbling and memorable because the people treated us like we were kings or royalty or something.”
Our love for Veterans
Caring for veterans, like Bob, is important to TLHA as our history dates back to one family’s loss during the Civil War. A 15-year-old Ernst Boessling from Belle Plaine volunteered to serve with the Minnesota troops. He died in September of 1863 in service to his country at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
His mother, Sophie, had saved the government death benefits she received all the years after Ernst died. Wanting to provide a home for others like herself, she donated the money and her family’s farmland to build das Alten und Waisenheim—the Aged and Orphans’ Home. Now more than a century later, Sophie’s gift continues to benefit countless lives including several veterans. Currently, throughout the TLHA care communities, 80 residents have served in the armed forces. Share the love! You can suppor t our ministry by making a gift today!