NORTHAMPTON — Under cover of darkness, a small group of military men will leave for an epic adventure Saturday.
The men, all veterans of either World War II or the Korean War, will embark on an “honor flight,” a trip to Washington to visit war memorials. The nonprofit organization Honor Flight has 105 chapters around the country and brings veterans to Washington at no cost to them.
Easthampton residents Corado “Nino” Bracci and Robert Weidhaas will join Norman Gray of Southampton, Rudolph Marek of South Hadley, Leonard FourHawks of Florence, and Ernest Ouimette of Holyoke.
The group will leave from the World War II Club around 3 a.m. Saturday. The public is welcome to come and help send the veterans on their way but there is no formal program planned.
They will travel to Boston’s Logan International Airport, where they will join other WWII and Korean War veterans from across New England. The group will then fly to Washington where they are scheduled to visit the National WWII Memorial on the National Mall, as well as the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. They are scheduled to return early Sunday morning.
“To be able to go down to Washington and for the first time see the magnitude of our nation’s respect through the memorials that our nation has built in their honor, it is extremely emotional,” said John Paradis, Honor Flight volunteer. A veteran himself, Paradis accompanied his father on an honor flight years ago.
“After the marriage to my mom and the birth of their kids, it was the greatest day of his life. It has that kind of impact on these veterans, many of whom came home, put their mobility bags or sea bags in the closets and never talked about the experience,” Paradis said. “Now they are here in their golden years, a lot of memories come back. This provides tremendous closure to them.”
Korean War veteran Weidhaas said he is thrilled to be going on the trip. Serving in the Marine Corps in Japan, Weidhaas said a small part of his paycheck during his service went to help build the Marine Corps War Memorial, which was inspired by the iconic 1945 photograph of Marines raising a U.S. flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
South Hadley resident Kelly Reed will accompany her father, Marek, on the trip. She said her mother applied two years ago for an honor flight, and now that it is a reality they are excited.
“From the day that we heard that we were selected to go on this trip, he has been thinking about it,” Reed said.
Marek is a Korean War veteran who served in the Navy.
“For me, getting to spend this day with my dad, it will be a great bonding experience,” she said. “For my dad, it will be great for him to see the monuments and be in the nation’s capital with other veterans and hearing different stories.”
FourHawks, a veteran of both the Korean War and Vietnam War, was signed up for the program by his wife, Amalia, a few years before flights opened to Korean War veterans. The couple said they didn’t think about it again until receiving a letter that he would be on the flight.
“I was surprised as well as shocked, because I had forgotten all about it,” Leonard FourHawks said.
A fellow Korean War veteran, Bracci said Wednesday he is looking forward to meeting up with all the other veterans. Bracci served as an Army non-combat engineer and was stationed in Germany.
“It would be rewarding to reminisce and recall some of the instances we were involved in,” he said. “I enjoyed my military time and I was glad to do my duty.”
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.